debi_g's review against another edition
4.0
“We all just want to love who we want to love” (129).
Strong Bildungsroman plot, large cast of distinct characters, and potent sense of place combine to surprise and delight.
Strong Bildungsroman plot, large cast of distinct characters, and potent sense of place combine to surprise and delight.
clair_shaw's review against another edition
2.0
If you like books that are 90% virtue signaling and 10% plot this is the book for you.
Seriously, it was so bad. I felt like I was reading a long winded facebook rant by one of my super soap-boxy friends. It was so whiny.
Frank: "No one understands! Having racist parent's is so hard! Even if they are trying to be inclusive and open-minded they are still just so dense and so embarrassing! Ugh! Why do people expect me to know stuff about Korean food? I mean, yeah I'm Korean-American and I actually know more than the average person, but RUDE! How dare they assume! I mean, I could have said I don't know much about Korean food, but then I wouldn't get to whine! And whining is my favorite! Did I mention my parents are so totally racist? And white people are so ignorant! and if you try to talk slow for someone who has a strong accent you're racist! and if you ask too many questions you're ignorant! and if you don't ask enough questions you're a racist! And did I mention racism?"
This could have been good. I don't know anyone from my generation that has parents who are completely without their biases. But it was too much preaching and not enough everything else and half why through I just realized I didn't care enough about the characters to endure anymore.
Seriously, it was so bad. I felt like I was reading a long winded facebook rant by one of my super soap-boxy friends. It was so whiny.
Frank: "No one understands! Having racist parent's is so hard! Even if they are trying to be inclusive and open-minded they are still just so dense and so embarrassing! Ugh! Why do people expect me to know stuff about Korean food? I mean, yeah I'm Korean-American and I actually know more than the average person, but RUDE! How dare they assume! I mean, I could have said I don't know much about Korean food, but then I wouldn't get to whine! And whining is my favorite! Did I mention my parents are so totally racist? And white people are so ignorant! and if you try to talk slow for someone who has a strong accent you're racist! and if you ask too many questions you're ignorant! and if you don't ask enough questions you're a racist! And did I mention racism?"
This could have been good. I don't know anyone from my generation that has parents who are completely without their biases. But it was too much preaching and not enough everything else and half why through I just realized I didn't care enough about the characters to endure anymore.
mariethelibrarian's review
4.0
A weak 4 stars. It annoyed me and was a bit too long. But that ending made me tear up.
0k_b's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
inspiring
sad
tense
medium-paced
4.5
lanosmith5's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
laurenann10's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
silvern0va's review against another edition
DNF at 10%. I don't enjoy either of the Yoon's writing. I feel like their writing borders on pretentious and has far too much exposition.
brittany_tellefsen's review against another edition
2.0
Frank Li, is a Korean-American teen who is constantly at war with his traditionally Korean parents, and typical American Culture. So when he falls for a white girl at school, he knows that his parents will never approve.
Luckily for him, a child hood friend is in the same situation. So, to help each other out, the two decide to fake-date in front of their parents and then they can proceed to date whomever they want.
But, throughout the course of their false relationship, Frank and Joy discover their feelings may not be so fake after all......
Honestly guys? This book......was kind of a hot mess.
I really enjoyed David Yoon's writing style. I thought it was clever, witty, humorous, modern, and, at many points, sarcastic. There were times when I found myself laughing at some of the observations of, or banter between characters, and others where I appreciated the way certain thoughts and feelings were conveyed.
However, I don't feel that David Yoon was able to effectively tell the story that he may have wanted to tell, or perhaps he was just trying to do too much with very little space.
One aspect of this book that I enjoyed, was the glimpse into Korean/Korean-American culture. The main character of this book struggles with his hyphentated existence. He just wants to be American, but does not feel he can due to the expectations of his parents, as well as how he is viewed as a minority by society.
I also appreciated the notion that other ethnic groups can be, and are, racist. White people don't have a monopoly on racism. And David Yoon expresses, quite frequently, how very racist Frank's parents are for only wanting their children to be with other Koreans, and how wrong their views regarding other ethnic groups, including white people.
It is, in fact, these racist tendencies that are supposd to fuel the plot but, in many instances, I actually felt like they became the plot in itself. What might have been a sweet love story, was just doused and drowned in cultural observations and Frank's fight agains the obtuse beliefs of his parents.
Additionally, can we talk about the extreme case of insta-love that happened here?
Frank is fake-dating Joy. She is a girl he grew up with, but she is someone he never had romantic feelings for before. And, for the majority of the book, he shows no interest in her. But then, suddenly, they have a handful of person interactions, and the book shows maybe two or three instances of Frank learning to appreciate Joy in a new way and.....BAM! Love. Frank is immediately ready to ditch the white girl for Joy.
AND.....all of this happens within perhaps the first 50% of the story. So, what we go into believing will be the whole book, is just a fraction of it. Instead, Yoon wove in another plot line with Frank's father, which I guess was supposed to add a harder-hitting element, one where everyone realizes just how precious life is and how we all just need to get over our own petty bullshit and love one another.
Oh......and....Spoiler Alert: He and Joy break up in the end. Which really just negates the majority of what happens in the book.
This book had absolutely no cohesiveness. David Yoon was trying to tell too many different stories in one, which made it nearly impossible to connect with any particular story line or character.
And can we also talk about the two flippant remarks he makes about how police officers just like to go around shooting innocent black kids? As if every single police officer loves shooting black kids for a hobby? Because that isn't problematic.
The more I write about this book, the more I don't like it. I was going to stick with a 2.5, but I think a two is probably more well deserved.
Luckily for him, a child hood friend is in the same situation. So, to help each other out, the two decide to fake-date in front of their parents and then they can proceed to date whomever they want.
But, throughout the course of their false relationship, Frank and Joy discover their feelings may not be so fake after all......
Honestly guys? This book......was kind of a hot mess.
I really enjoyed David Yoon's writing style. I thought it was clever, witty, humorous, modern, and, at many points, sarcastic. There were times when I found myself laughing at some of the observations of, or banter between characters, and others where I appreciated the way certain thoughts and feelings were conveyed.
However, I don't feel that David Yoon was able to effectively tell the story that he may have wanted to tell, or perhaps he was just trying to do too much with very little space.
One aspect of this book that I enjoyed, was the glimpse into Korean/Korean-American culture. The main character of this book struggles with his hyphentated existence. He just wants to be American, but does not feel he can due to the expectations of his parents, as well as how he is viewed as a minority by society.
I also appreciated the notion that other ethnic groups can be, and are, racist. White people don't have a monopoly on racism. And David Yoon expresses, quite frequently, how very racist Frank's parents are for only wanting their children to be with other Koreans, and how wrong their views regarding other ethnic groups, including white people.
It is, in fact, these racist tendencies that are supposd to fuel the plot but, in many instances, I actually felt like they became the plot in itself. What might have been a sweet love story, was just doused and drowned in cultural observations and Frank's fight agains the obtuse beliefs of his parents.
Additionally, can we talk about the extreme case of insta-love that happened here?
Frank is fake-dating Joy. She is a girl he grew up with, but she is someone he never had romantic feelings for before. And, for the majority of the book, he shows no interest in her. But then, suddenly, they have a handful of person interactions, and the book shows maybe two or three instances of Frank learning to appreciate Joy in a new way and.....BAM! Love. Frank is immediately ready to ditch the white girl for Joy.
AND.....all of this happens within perhaps the first 50% of the story. So, what we go into believing will be the whole book, is just a fraction of it. Instead, Yoon wove in another plot line with Frank's father, which I guess was supposed to add a harder-hitting element, one where everyone realizes just how precious life is and how we all just need to get over our own petty bullshit and love one another.
Oh......and....Spoiler Alert: He and Joy break up in the end. Which really just negates the majority of what happens in the book.
This book had absolutely no cohesiveness. David Yoon was trying to tell too many different stories in one, which made it nearly impossible to connect with any particular story line or character.
And can we also talk about the two flippant remarks he makes about how police officers just like to go around shooting innocent black kids? As if every single police officer loves shooting black kids for a hobby? Because that isn't problematic.
The more I write about this book, the more I don't like it. I was going to stick with a 2.5, but I think a two is probably more well deserved.
mogar_pogar's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
relaxing
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
jcpdiesel21's review against another edition
3.0
Okay, but not what I was expecting and squanders some excellent potential. Everything devoted to Frank's family dynamics and culture is illuminating and fantastic; this should have been the spotlight rather than the weak romantic storyline, which is ultimately disappointing. The story builds up from the beginning in one direction, only to swerve halfway through in a different although fairly predictable direction, and then fizzles out in that department entirely to finish by focusing on the much stronger plotline centered on Frank's family. At times it feels like Yoon is trying too hard with the teenage lingo to cringeworthy effect. Not sure I will bother with the follow-up.