Search This Blog
June Reviews Link-Up
July Reviews Link-Up
August Reviews Link-Up
September Reviews Link-Up
October Reviews Link-Up
November Reviews Link-Up
December Reviews Link-Up
2024 Literary Escapes Challenge
- Alabama (1)
- Alaska
- Arizona (1)
- Arkansas
- California (3)
- Colorado (1)
- Connecticut
- Delaware
- Florida
- Georgia (1)
- Hawaii
- Idaho (2)
- Illinois (1)
- Indiana
- Iowa
- Kansas
- Kentucky (1)
- Louisiana (1)
- Maine (1)
- Maryland
- Massachusetts (2)
- Michigan
- Minnesota
- Mississippi
- Missouri
- Montana
- Nebraska
- Nevada
- New Hampshire
- New Jersey
- New Mexico
- New York (2)
- North Carolina (3)
- North Dakota
- Ohio
- Oklahoma (1)
- Oregon (2)
- Pennsylvania
- Rhode Island (1)
- South Carolina
- South Dakota
- Tennessee (1)
- Texas (2)
- Utah
- Vermont (2)
- Virginia (1)
- Washington (2)
- West Virginia
- Wisconsin
- Wyoming
- Washington, D.C.*
International:
- Australia (1)
- Canada (1)
- England (7)
- France (1)
- Indonesia (1)
- Ireland (2)
- Italy (1)
- Scotland (2)
- The Netherlands (1)
2024 Build Your Library Reading Challenge
Monday, December 30, 2019
Frankly, It's A Lot of Fun
4:30 AM
(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:
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!
Subscribe to:
Post Comments
(Atom)
Reading
Listening
Followin' with Bloglovin'
-
Time Travel Thursday3 hours ago
-
Paris to the Moon by Adam Gopnik5 hours ago
-
-
-
Loyally Luke Review + giveaway11 hours ago
-
#ThrowbackThursday. Stephen Fry in America13 hours ago
-
-
-
The Wild Lavender Bookshop by Jodi Thomas17 hours ago
-
Daily Prompt 15 May Wednesday20 hours ago
-
-
World of Books ~ Review1 day ago
-
-
-
Spoon To Be Dead By Dana Mentink1 day ago
-
Displaced Persons - Joan Leegant2 days ago
-
Reading Recap April 20242 days ago
-
-
-
-
-
-
Bridge to Bat City3 days ago
-
-
Blood Rubies by Mailan Doquang6 days ago
-
-
-
-
47. The One and Only Family1 week ago
-
A bit of catching up1 week ago
-
-
May TBR2 weeks ago
-
-
-
-
March Monthly Wrap-up1 month ago
-
-
-
-
-
What Happened to Summer?7 months ago
-
6/25/23 Extra Ezra10 months ago
-
-
-
-
-
Are you looking for Pretty Books?1 year ago
-
-
-
-
-
Grab my Button!
Blog Archive
- ► 2021 (159)
- ► 2020 (205)
-
▼
2019
(197)
-
▼
December
(65)
-
▼
Dec 30
(9)
- Psychological Thriller a Surprising, Compulsively ...
- Frankly, It's A Lot of Fun
- On the Come Up A Powerful Novel About Following Yo...
- I'm Not Dying With You Tonight An Exciting Thrill-...
- Thought-Provoking SLAY an Intriguing, But Conflict...
- Acevedo Mixes Up Magic With Sophomore Novel
- Stand-Out YA Novel Eye-Opening and Moving
- Raw, Hard-Hitting Drug Addiction YA Novel a Diffic...
- Intriguing YA Forbidden Romance/Murder Mystery A L...
-
▼
Dec 30
(9)
-
▼
December
(65)
- ► 2018 (223)
- ► 2017 (157)
- ► 2016 (157)
- ► 2015 (188)
- ► 2014 (133)
- ► 2013 (183)
- ► 2012 (193)
- ► 2011 (232)
- ► 2010 (257)
- ► 2009 (211)
- ► 2008 (192)
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