Frankly in Love - David Yoon

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⭐ 9.0/10

(Originally written by Magdalene)

Based on the title and description, I thought this would be a lighthearted rom-com, but I was pleased to discover it was about so much more. It is about love, but so many kinds other than romantic - love for parents, best friends, childhood friends, classmates, sisters, etc.

Frank Li (frankly - get it?) is a nerdy Korean-American teen in his senior year, and has to deal with all sorts of things - racist parents, his first (white) girlfriend, a disowned sister, SATs, moving on after graduation... Again, I was surprised to see this book take on so many topics, but I thought it handled them all really well. It dives deep into Korean-American culture, as well as how it feels to be the child of immigrants. My parents aren't Korean, but I could still relate hard. Also this book has an example of one of the healthiest male friendships I've ever seen. Two bros comfortably saying I love you and hugging each other all the time? YES!

This book is somehow also really funny and bittersweet at the same time - it's not all happy endings. And I prefer all the happy endings. But this is a great pick for someone wanting to read more books by and featuring POC.

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