Frankly in Love

By: David Yoon

Narrated by: Raymond J. Lee

Length: 10 hrs and 11 mins

Publisher's summary

An instant New York Times best seller and number one indie best seller!

A William C. Morris YA Debut Award Finalist

An Asian Pacific American Librarians Association Honor Book

Two friends. One fake dating scheme. What could possibly go wrong?

Frank Li has two names. There's Frank Li, his American name. Then there's Sung-Min Li, his Korean name. No one uses his Korean name, not even his parents. Frank barely speaks any Korean. He was born and raised in Southern California.

Even so, his parents still expect him to end up with a nice Korean girl - which is a problem, since Frank is finally dating the girl of his dreams: Brit Means. Brit, who is funny and nerdy just like him. Brit, who makes him laugh like no one else. Brit...who is white.

As Frank falls in love for the very first time, he's forced to confront the fact that while his parents sacrificed everything to raise him in the land of opportunity, their traditional expectations don't leave a lot of room for him to be a regular American teen. Desperate to be with Brit without his parents finding out, Frank turns to family friend Joy Song, who is in a similar bind. Together, they come up with a plan to help each other and keep their parents off their backs. Frank thinks he's found the solution to all his problems, but when life throws him a curveball, he's left wondering whether he ever really knew anything about love - or himself - at all.

In this moving debut novel, David Yoon takes on the question of who am I? with a result that is humorous, heartfelt, and ultimately unforgettable.

©2019 David Yoon (P)2019 Listening Library

Critic reviews

A William C. Morris YA Debut Award Finalist

An Asian/Pacific American Librarians Association Honor Book

An Amazon Best Book of the Year

A Kirkus Reviews Best Young Adult Book of the Year

A Junior Library Guild Selection

An Indies Introduce Title 

"Extraordinary...a beautifully layered novel about first love, tribalism and that brief, magical period when kids have one foot in high school, one foot out the door...Yoon explores themes of racism, forgiveness and acceptance without getting earnest or preachy or letting anyone off the hook. And there’s a universality to the story that cuts across cultures." (New York Times) 

"With echoes of John Green and To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before, it’s poised to be the biggest YA debut of the year." (Entertainment Weekly) 

"Yoon’s fresh and nuanced approach to Frank’s struggle to navigate cultural tensions amplifies both the vulnerabilities and the strengths that can come with being a child of immigrants.... Yoon underscores the value of honoring both who you are and where you come from." (Time magazine) 

Boring and flat

I wasn't a fan. The characters felt like unlikeable caricatures (similar to the characters in The Big Bang Theory). The dialogue was really odd. I couldn't relate to or care about any of them. The whole thing is predictable from the end of chapter four and it's just a drudge from there.

sweet easy read/listen

This book is well written and performed. I definitely recommend the audio performance. sometimes it was over the top, but overall, I loved it. These characters are high schoolers and sometimes it feels like we are reading about 30-year-olds.

The most boring book ever

Nothing happens and this book is so boring😐

I really wanted to like it but I just didn’t.

Great book

Love David and Nicola Yoons books so so much. First time I listened to one though. Narrator was good almost felt like their first take though. Inflections seemed wrong like they didn’t know what the rest of the sentence was suppose to be before reading it.

It's About Race

This is a book about a Korean teenager and his ultra intelligent friends who think about race all the time. It colors all their waking minutes, all their relationships and all their dreams. Some races (like "whites" and even to some extent older Asians) are completely reduced to their stereotypes and caricatures. If modern teens actually obsess about race this much these days they have a very sad and limited view of the world.

Oh, there were also some short lived teenage romances and one unrequited gay crush. I think the author would have had a more powerful story if he had concentrated more on the relationship between the adults and their class struggles and how that translated into a new country and culture.

3.5 stars

This was a coming of age story about a young man who is fully American but has Korean immigrant parents who are very into their roots. They want him to date Korean girls and focus on things to better the family. It frustrates him, but at the same time, he loves his parents very much. His sister has left home and has not been on speaking terms with their parents, and he is very close to her and misses her a lot.

The romantic story is really nice in this and the ending was not bad either. I enjoyed the characters and felt connected to them as I read this story.

An Enjoyable Read

I knew this was going to be an enjoyable read since I’ve heard nothing but great things about this book. I learned a lot about the Korean culture and much more.

Good story

I liked how it challenges racism and even the main character's whole view of his parents. It is a good coming-of-age story.

A Most Excellent Production

The story, the writing, and the narration were superb. I highly recommend this book for teens and adults alike.

another great ya book.

I honestly think all late teens should read it. it's so realistic. the characters were very easy to relate to. if anybody gets a chance they should really check it out.