By David Yoon
Frankly in Love follows high school senior Frank Li who attempts to find a balance between his Korean parents’ traditional values and his Southern California upbringing. His parents expect him to “Date Korean,” but when he falls for Brit Means, a smart and beautiful girl who happens to be white, from his AP Calculus class, things become complicated. Joy Song, a family friend, is on the same boat with her Chinese-American boyfriend. The two decide to have a fake relationship as the perfect solution to keep their parents off their backs; however, Frank learns that it’s not that simple. This heartfelt coming-of-age novel explores love, family relationships, racism, and identity in the most relatable way possible. The story not only guides the reader on the experience of falling in love for the first time, but it also navigates through a family’s journey of loving and accepting each other, despite their flaws and differences.
David Yoon is a New York Times bestselling author from Orange County, California. His book Frankly in Love, was a William C. Morris Award finalist and an Asian/Pacific American Award for Young Adult Literature Honor book. He is married to novelist Nicola Yoon and drew the illustrations for her #1 New York Times bestseller Everything, Everything.
Written by Pooja Manjakandy. Graphics by Haley Ma. Click to see the original post on Instagram!