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tiffani_reads's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
magyvonne's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
bluelilyy's review against another edition
1.0
frankly, this book was pretty terrible.
i was bored for like 75% of the time and i only continued reading because i promised myself i would.
honestly this was a waste of $2 and my time.
i almost cried at a certain part but didn’t because i literally couldn’t care less about these characters.
also frank was a god awful person and he never had to face any consequences or make up for his god awful actions towards other people.
so in conclusion, david yoon is not as a good an author as his wife lol
booksrachelreads's review against another edition
4.0
So fun. So meaningful. Perfect amount of cheese. Adorable friendships, honest family dynamics, love that was so genuinely high school. Fun twist of a rom com but also pretty contemplative about identity and family and culture. Also sooo much f word
readingwithrae's review against another edition
2.0
2.5 stars.
listen, do i get what this book was trying to do? yes. do i think it did it well? yes. does that mean i liked it? unfortunately, no.
let me explain; a part of this is 'it's not you, it's me' in that, i went into this book expecting a cute romcom, fake dating story. that's not what this book is, which is not the fault of the book, but rather my fault for having wrong expectations. however, even with the pivoted expectations once i realized what this book was actually about, i still didn't enjoy it.
literally everyone in this book was so pretentious, and for what? it's a typical case of teens acting like 20-something hipsters with superiority complexes, and it just wasn't something i was vibing with. q was the best character in this book, hands down, and i wish he would've been explored a bit more instead of just being the 'best friend' to frank. also, frank was SUCH AN ASSHOLE FOR NO REASON. like yeah, teens are jerks, i was not a ball of sunshine when i was 18, but still... the level of pretentious combined with his holier-than-thou attitude was... not it (also
what this book did do right though is the conversation surrounding race, especially in regards to second-gen immigrant kids. the way yoon talks about the disconnect between korean-american kids versus their fully-korean parents was super insightful, especially towards the end where frank realizes his parents have their own history and reasons for the way they are. frank coming to understand where his parents are coming from, and then putting that in context with his own sense of self was really well done, and tied up the end of the story beautifully.
overall, i think it's a case of 'i'm too old for this' combined with actual critique, but i would still recommend this to teens who are trying to figure out their place in the world.
listen, do i get what this book was trying to do? yes. do i think it did it well? yes. does that mean i liked it? unfortunately, no.
let me explain; a part of this is 'it's not you, it's me' in that, i went into this book expecting a cute romcom, fake dating story. that's not what this book is, which is not the fault of the book, but rather my fault for having wrong expectations. however, even with the pivoted expectations once i realized what this book was actually about, i still didn't enjoy it.
literally everyone in this book was so pretentious, and for what? it's a typical case of teens acting like 20-something hipsters with superiority complexes, and it just wasn't something i was vibing with. q was the best character in this book, hands down, and i wish he would've been explored a bit more instead of just being the 'best friend' to frank. also, frank was SUCH AN ASSHOLE FOR NO REASON. like yeah, teens are jerks, i was not a ball of sunshine when i was 18, but still... the level of pretentious combined with his holier-than-thou attitude was... not it (also
Spoiler
we're just gonna brush over the fact he CHEATED ON HIS GIRLFRIEND and it was not seen as a huge deal? OKAY THEN THAT'S FINE I GUESS .)what this book did do right though is the conversation surrounding race, especially in regards to second-gen immigrant kids. the way yoon talks about the disconnect between korean-american kids versus their fully-korean parents was super insightful, especially towards the end where frank realizes his parents have their own history and reasons for the way they are. frank coming to understand where his parents are coming from, and then putting that in context with his own sense of self was really well done, and tied up the end of the story beautifully.
overall, i think it's a case of 'i'm too old for this' combined with actual critique, but i would still recommend this to teens who are trying to figure out their place in the world.
clarissawrites's review against another edition
at some point I need to come back to this book;
while reading update: humor is top tier
while reading update: humor is top tier
spacetoread's review against another edition
4.0
Initially, I was a bit confused because the story I got wasn’t the story that the trailer and the promo packages pitched (shocker). BUT I did love this book for what it was, instead of focusing on what it wasn’t. It was a nice YA romance story, but also a story of one boy’s experience of living in the US, being Korean-American, and all of the joys and sorrows that entails. I enjoyed how the author didn’t hold back from showing prejudices that Frank’s parents held. I also initially faulted the book for its set up, but realized that was part of the genius of Yoon’s story telling.
If you know me, you know YA is not typically my “thing.” But man, I liked this one.
If you know me, you know YA is not typically my “thing.” But man, I liked this one.
ellei's review against another edition
emotional
informative
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
louise_reads's review against another edition
4.0
4.25 ⭐️ - also the first book to make me cry in a long time
addicted2booksstefania's review against another edition
3.0
This book has a good amount of Korean representation, but I can’t stand Joy or Brit. Frank’s outlook is a bit frustrating as well, it’s so weird. It was pretty good but a filler book for me.