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xchickadee's review against another edition
5.0
First I want to thank Bookish First for the opportunity to read and review this book.
This book was amazing. I loved that it showed how no ones family is perfect. They all have issues. Frank trying to teach his parents how to not be racist, was interesting. But he does it in a respectful way.
I really loved the fake dating trope. I thought it was fun! Joy and Frank made it work with out it being confusing to the reader. The way it was written made it seem very believable.
Frank and Q's friendship was amazing! I love how they were always there for each other and were not afraid to show it! The way they texted each other was so funny! I loved "old Chap" it was gold!
Frankly In Love is one of my favorite books of the year. This book was real! It was heartfelt and beautiful. The characters were so real. You couldn't help but love them all. Even his parents were lovable.
I had high hopes for David's book because I love his wife's books. And I will tell you right now that it wasn't a disappointment! David and Nicola Yoon are now both auto buys!
This book was amazing. I loved that it showed how no ones family is perfect. They all have issues. Frank trying to teach his parents how to not be racist, was interesting. But he does it in a respectful way.
I really loved the fake dating trope. I thought it was fun! Joy and Frank made it work with out it being confusing to the reader. The way it was written made it seem very believable.
Frank and Q's friendship was amazing! I love how they were always there for each other and were not afraid to show it! The way they texted each other was so funny! I loved "old Chap" it was gold!
Frankly In Love is one of my favorite books of the year. This book was real! It was heartfelt and beautiful. The characters were so real. You couldn't help but love them all. Even his parents were lovable.
I had high hopes for David's book because I love his wife's books. And I will tell you right now that it wasn't a disappointment! David and Nicola Yoon are now both auto buys!
lulu_jy's review against another edition
5.0
"you love hard enough to cry," says Q. "i admire that."
bought this book on a whim because it was discounted and you know i can't pass up on a good discount. oh and also because i had wanted to read it since forever.
to summarize: i wish i had read this sooner...
the beginning feels like every classic romance book, boy meets girl, boy falls in love, yada yada. but then you get to the end and you CAN’T STOP SOBBING BECAUSE YOU RELATE TOO MUCH WITH THE STRUGGLES OF BEING ASIAN. this book isn't just about love between a boy and a girl; it's about family, about friendship.
it's heart-warming, relatable and realistic. maybe a little too realistic because i got some major ick reading about the SATs. like, i like my books to bring me to another land, not to give me a wake-up call that there are always more asian kids smarter than you (these kids are scoring high 1500s like what).
also you know how lgbtq+ representation is important? yea i agree, but not when it's forced. the author really just had to shove that in in the last chapter.
bought this book on a whim because it was discounted and you know i can't pass up on a good discount. oh and also because i had wanted to read it since forever.
to summarize: i wish i had read this sooner...
the beginning feels like every classic romance book, boy meets girl, boy falls in love, yada yada. but then you get to the end and you CAN’T STOP SOBBING BECAUSE YOU RELATE TOO MUCH WITH THE STRUGGLES OF BEING ASIAN. this book isn't just about love between a boy and a girl; it's about family, about friendship.
it's heart-warming, relatable and realistic. maybe a little too realistic because i got some major ick reading about the SATs. like, i like my books to bring me to another land, not to give me a wake-up call that there are always more asian kids smarter than you (these kids are scoring high 1500s like what).
also you know how lgbtq+ representation is important? yea i agree, but not when it's forced. the author really just had to shove that in in the last chapter.
heyheyheykristie's review against another edition
2.0
DNF @ 67%. I don't know if I will finish this book. Honestly, I don't like Frank and listening to him complain about his parent's racism without him almost ever actually doing anything about it is pretty triggering for me.
kells_'s review against another edition
2.0
I really liked the cover of this book, but the story itself was disappointing.
Firstly, there was a lot of stuff in this book that I found cringey. For example, Frank calls him and his group of friends at school "the apeys," simply because they take AP classes. If that were the case in my school, everyone would basically be called "the apeys," because everyone takes/goes on to take at least one AP and that name in general is just cringey. Something else I found cringey was that there was one scene where Frank, the main character sucks cocoa from his girlfriend Brit's hair. That was just so weird, was that supposed to come off as romantic??? Because it really wasn't. My friend and I were making fun of this because seriously, who does that??? In general, I just found some of the dialogue in this book cringey as well. It feels like David Yoon was trying too hard at some points to sound like a teenager & sometimes Frank and his best friend referred to each other as "my dear old bean." I'm sorry, what teenager calls their friend that? Secondly, Frank irked me. He fake dates someone else when he ALREADY has a girlfriend, and kept that from his girlfriend. It just irked me when he kept stuff from her to fake date someone else and HE WENT ON TO KISS THAT SOMEONE ELSE TOO. That's cheating and I'm against cheating in books. Thirdly, I felt that the one moment of sex the book contained was inputted just for the sake of having the characters lose their virginity, usually I'm into the sex scenes in romance books but I was eh abt this one and I feel like the book could have done without it. Additionally, even though Frank and Joy had chemistry, they kinda seemed better off as friends. They shared a good first kiss & confession to each other but not only did Frank ALREADY HAVE A GF at the time, but their actual relationship wasn't as nice. Maybe they fit better as close friends instead of lovers. When I was around 40% into the book I already lost interest & I went on to start and finish a few other books before this one (lol). I basically forced myself to finish this book for the sake of finishing it, this would usually become a DNF for me.
I generally found this book to be unlikable, but let me mention a couple good things about it. -There was a nice friendship between Frank & his best friend Q. -There was a realistic portrayal of first generation immigrants being racist. -I did like Frank & Joy's friendship. -I liked how much Frank's parents cared for him. -I liked how he had a good relationship with his sister. -Nice cover.
Firstly, there was a lot of stuff in this book that I found cringey. For example, Frank calls him and his group of friends at school "the apeys," simply because they take AP classes. If that were the case in my school, everyone would basically be called "the apeys," because everyone takes/goes on to take at least one AP and that name in general is just cringey. Something else I found cringey was that there was one scene where Frank, the main character sucks cocoa from his girlfriend Brit's hair. That was just so weird, was that supposed to come off as romantic??? Because it really wasn't. My friend and I were making fun of this because seriously, who does that??? In general, I just found some of the dialogue in this book cringey as well. It feels like David Yoon was trying too hard at some points to sound like a teenager & sometimes Frank and his best friend referred to each other as "my dear old bean." I'm sorry, what teenager calls their friend that? Secondly, Frank irked me. He fake dates someone else when he ALREADY has a girlfriend, and kept that from his girlfriend. It just irked me when he kept stuff from her to fake date someone else and HE WENT ON TO KISS THAT SOMEONE ELSE TOO. That's cheating and I'm against cheating in books. Thirdly, I felt that the one moment of sex the book contained was inputted just for the sake of having the characters lose their virginity, usually I'm into the sex scenes in romance books but I was eh abt this one and I feel like the book could have done without it. Additionally, even though Frank and Joy had chemistry, they kinda seemed better off as friends. They shared a good first kiss & confession to each other but not only did Frank ALREADY HAVE A GF at the time, but their actual relationship wasn't as nice. Maybe they fit better as close friends instead of lovers. When I was around 40% into the book I already lost interest & I went on to start and finish a few other books before this one (lol). I basically forced myself to finish this book for the sake of finishing it, this would usually become a DNF for me.
I generally found this book to be unlikable, but let me mention a couple good things about it. -There was a nice friendship between Frank & his best friend Q. -There was a realistic portrayal of first generation immigrants being racist. -I did like Frank & Joy's friendship. -I liked how much Frank's parents cared for him. -I liked how he had a good relationship with his sister. -Nice cover.
bookishtiff1's review against another edition
3.0
Fake dating trope: Yes or No?
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This is a story about Frank Li and his friends and family and their lives living in America whilst also being Korean or African. The story follows Frank Li who fake dates Joy Song (I think that’s her name) because his parents want him to fall in love with a Korean girl whilst he believes he loves Brit, an American. His family is extremely racist and believe in the stereotypes about the different races and areas of America. The story takes a turn when Frank Li starts spending more time talking to Joy and realises at a friends wedding that he may not love Brit after all.
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This book has both strengths and flaws. This is a great book for adding diversity to your shelf as well as being a great story to show how people of different races are affected by what seems mundane to us. However, I was not a fan of Frank or the story in general. The fake dating only lasted for a small portion of the book which is both great and also disappointing. I just feel like the ending wasn’t what I wanted and I still had questions about where Frank and Joy stand with each other. I rated this 3 stars on goodreads. I loved that at the back of the book David promotes his wife’s work, that was a really cute detail to me. On the plus side, it is a quick read and is kinda happy which is very unlike most of the books I read!
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This is a story about Frank Li and his friends and family and their lives living in America whilst also being Korean or African. The story follows Frank Li who fake dates Joy Song (I think that’s her name) because his parents want him to fall in love with a Korean girl whilst he believes he loves Brit, an American. His family is extremely racist and believe in the stereotypes about the different races and areas of America. The story takes a turn when Frank Li starts spending more time talking to Joy and realises at a friends wedding that he may not love Brit after all.
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This book has both strengths and flaws. This is a great book for adding diversity to your shelf as well as being a great story to show how people of different races are affected by what seems mundane to us. However, I was not a fan of Frank or the story in general. The fake dating only lasted for a small portion of the book which is both great and also disappointing. I just feel like the ending wasn’t what I wanted and I still had questions about where Frank and Joy stand with each other. I rated this 3 stars on goodreads. I loved that at the back of the book David promotes his wife’s work, that was a really cute detail to me. On the plus side, it is a quick read and is kinda happy which is very unlike most of the books I read!
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aformeracceleratedreader's review against another edition
medium-paced
3.0
I have mixed feelings on this because it did some things well, like touching on being the child of immigrants especially Asian immigrants, and some things not as well. I didn't hate the teen romance overall but think it could've been haven't a little differently/better. I teared up a little bit with everything that happened with Frank and his dad but some of the things seemed a little rushed.
Also didn't hate the end but didn't love it either.It maybe sort of hints at how Frank and Evon's relationship might shift as they go to college but I wish Frank and Joy was a little better wrapped up and how Frank and Q navigate their relationship as well!
Also didn't hate the end but didn't love it either.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Pregnancy, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Racism, Classism, Death of parent, Grief, Cursing, Gun violence, Alcohol, and Bullying
daumari's review against another edition
4.0
I feel like I say this about every other YA romance, but this was really cute! The entire thing being in present tense felt a little odd at first, but it really sets the reader right in Frank's head. There's a ton of specific cultural notes for second generation Korean-Americans (am reminded of the Viet Thanh Nguyen quote about writing as if you're the majority, do not pause to explain, etc. The romance also has a bit of that universal teen feeling of wondering whether this is a for now romance, with college looming at some point but "then what?" after that ends.
There's what I felt was a clever use of language about ~290 pages in, when two adults have an argument. As a second generation kid, Frank isn't necessarily fluent in Korean, so the text actually changes to Hangul and most readers will be right there with Frank, not comprehending why two friends are suddenly mad at each other. I used a phone translation app and while I know that wasn't perfect, it got across the point (and another adult later gives their version of what happened in the next chapter). That REALLY felt like an unapologetic existence, and I thought it was neat.
Also oh man I did not need to remember the stress around college admissions and then knowing that your friends will be farflung after graduation. :(
There's what I felt was a clever use of language about ~290 pages in, when two adults have an argument. As a second generation kid, Frank isn't necessarily fluent in Korean, so the text actually changes to Hangul and most readers will be right there with Frank, not comprehending why two friends are suddenly mad at each other. I used a phone translation app and while I know that wasn't perfect, it got across the point (and another adult later gives their version of what happened in the next chapter). That REALLY felt like an unapologetic existence, and I thought it was neat.
Also oh man I did not need to remember the stress around college admissions and then knowing that your friends will be farflung after graduation. :(
booksnooksandcooks's review against another edition
You lost me at the manic pixie dream girl love interest.