Frankly In Love, by David Yoon

How unusual to stumble upon a romance novel...written by a GUY! I mean, these books are out there, but they're kind of not typical. Even now. Which makes this book stand apart from the rest of its kind.

All I know is author David Yoon must have watched A LOT of 80s and 90s Teen Rom-Com movies. Because the plot of Frankly in Love is pretty much straight from that era/genre!

Here we have Frank Li, whose traditional Korean parents don't want him to date anyone but a Korean girl. A super racist move on their part, yeah, but these folks are really Old-School. Remember that. They come from a different place/era. And tradition is a very, very big thing for them. Frank, however, is in love with Brit. And although this young lady is everything a typical parent would probably want for their son (smart, pretty, going places, etc), she is not Korean. So dating her is forbidden. Enter Joy, another Korean teen whose parents have similar views about dating as do Frank's. So what's the harm in Frank and Joy pretending to date each other as they pursue their non-Korean crushes?

Well, if you're even remotely familiar with teen movies from the later decades of the 20th Century, you know A LOT can go awry with this sort of setup...even with the best-laid plans. Just ask Molly Ringwold (Google her, people). Predictably, readers will encounter numerous cringe-worthy moments and A LOT of drama before these lovebirds get their happy ending. 

Yoon should have left it at that, though.

He tried to make the story much more than it actually was by padding it with 'serious' plot twists that came out of left field (and then went nowhere) and getting downright preachy about Frank's parents' almost too extreme racism. Among other things. further what was, ultimately, your run-of-the-mill Rom Com plot. 

Being that this is the author's first book, I'll cut him some slack. Not everyone can hit their writing stride right out of the gate. We can't all be JK Rowling, after all... However, I don't think I'll be picking up the sequel (because, according to official sources, Frankly In Love is supposed to be the first of a series...or at least a duology). I'm just not that impressed with this one.

--AJB