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A review by b_tellefsen_rescuesandreads
Frankly in Love by David Yoon
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.