Search This Blog

2024 Bookish Books Reading Challenge (Hosted by Yours Truly)

My Progress:


30 / 30 books. 100% done!

2024 Literary Escapes Challenge

- Alabama (1)
- Alaska (1)
- Arizona (1)
- Arkansas (1)
- California (7)
- Colorado (1)
- Connecticut (1)
- Delaware (1)
- Florida (1)
- Georgia (2)
- Hawaii (1)
- Idaho (2)
- Illinois (3)
- Indiana (4)
- Iowa (1)
- Kansas (1)
- Kentucky (1)
- Louisiana (1)
- Maine (1)
- Maryland (1)
- Massachusetts (2)
- Michigan (1)
- Minnesota (1)
- Mississippi (1)
- Missouri (1)
- Montana (1)
- Nebraska (1)
- Nevada (2)
- New Hampshire (1)
- New Jersey (1)
- New Mexico (1)
- New York (8)
- North Carolina (4)
- North Dakota (1)
- Ohio (2)
- Oklahoma (1)
- Oregon (2)
- Pennsylvania (2)
- Rhode Island (1)
- South Carolina (1)
- South Dakota (1)
- Tennessee (1)
- Texas (4)
- Utah (2)
- Vermont (2)
- Virginia (2)
- Washington (3)
- West Virginia (1)
- Wisconsin (1)
- Wyoming
- Washington, D.C.* (2)

International:
- Australia (2)
- Bolivia (1)
- Canada (3)
- China (1)
- England (20)
- France (1)
- Ghana (1)
- India (1)
- Indonesia (1)
- Ireland (4)
- Italy (1)
- Poland (1)
- Russia (1)
- Scotland (3)
- The Netherlands (1)

My Progress:


51 / 51 states. 100% done!

2024 Historical Fiction Reading Challenge

My Progress:


44 / 50 books. 88% done!

2024 POPSUGAR Reading Challenge


36 / 50 books. 72% done!

Booklist Queen's 2024 Reading Challenge

My Progress:


52 / 52 books. 100% done!

2024 52 Club Reading Challenge

My Progress:


50 / 52 books. 96% done!

2024 Build Your Library Reading Challenge

My Progress:


35 / 40 books. 88% done!

2024 Pioneer Book Reading Challenge


17 / 40 books. 43% done!

2024 Craving for Cozies Reading Challenge

My Progress:


21 / 25 books. 84% done!

2024 Medical Examiner's Mystery Reading Challenge

2024 Mystery Marathon Reading Challenge

My Progress


17 / 26.2 miles (3rd lap). 65% done!

Mount TBR Reading Challenge

My Progress


38 / 100 books. 38% done!

2024 Pick Your Poison Reading Challenge

My Progress:


91 / 104 books. 88% done!

Around the Year in 52 Books Reading Challenge

My Progress


52 / 52 books. 100% done!

Disney Animated Movies Reading Challenge

My Progress


124 / 165 books. 75% done!

The 100 Most Common Last Names in the U.S. Reading Challenge

My Progress:


76 / 100 names. 76% done!
Monday, December 30, 2019

Frankly, It's A Lot of Fun

(Image from Barnes & Noble)

As the child of hardworking Korean immigrants who sacrificed to move to the U.S. in order to give their children a better life, Frank Li is expected to assimilate.  But not too much.  Although he was born in Southern California and not even his parents use his Korean name, Frank is nevertheless expected to marry a Korean girl.  Problem:  Koreans are not exactly plentiful in Playa Mesa.  Also a problem:  Frank has already fallen hard for smart, funny Brit Means, who is white.  Thanks to his older sister's marriage to a Black man and her subsequent disownment from the family, Frank knows exactly how his loving (but totally racist) parents react to mixed-race relationships.  He can't let them know about his.

Enter Joy Song, the daughter of a couple Frank's parents know from Korea.  Joy's got a secret she's keeping from her own racist parents—she's dating a Chinese boy.  In order to keep all the adults in the dark, Frank and Joy decide to fake-date each other, a ruse that delights their parents.  When things go awry and then awry-er, Frank learns some important lessons about friendship, family, first loves, and forging the future for himself that he really wants.  

Frankly in Love by David Yoon is a funny, upbeat story that's more than just a romance.  Although the story spends a lot of pages on Frank's fumbling about on his path to true love, it also hits on issues of identity, racism, parental expectations vs. children forging their own paths, the struggles of those with hyphenated identities, and what love really means.  Frankly in Love has poignant parts along with humorous ones.  Frank's voice is especially engaging.  He's funny, self-deprecating, and thoughtful.  His friends are a likable bunch; even their flawed, sometimes totally clueless family members feel authentic.  The novel gets long, but overall, it's an enjoyable romp that's entertaining, thought-provoking, and fun.  I could have done without the strong language and R-rated bits; otherwise, I liked Frankly in Love a lot.

(Readalikes:  Um, I can't think of anything.  Can you?)

Grade:


If this were a movie, it would be rated:


for language, violence, and innuendo/sexual content

To the FTC, with love:  Another library fine find

1 comment:

  1. This one is also on my TBR shelf and I've heard good things about it from a number of people so I am looking forward to reading it.

    ReplyDelete

Comments make me feel special, so go crazy! Just keep it clean and civil. Feel free to speak your mind (I always do), but be aware that I will delete any offensive comments.

P.S.: Don't panic if your comment doesn't show up right away. I have to approve each one before it posts to prevent spam. It's annoying, but it works!

Blog Widget by LinkWithin


Reading

<i>Reading</i>
Murder is Bad Manners by Robin Stevens

Listening

<i>Listening</i>
The Boy Who Cried Bear by Kelley Armstrong



Followin' with Bloglovin'

Follow

Followin' with Feedly

follow us in feedly



Grab my Button!


Blog Design by:


Blog Archive