Frankly in Love: A Review

Frank Li, as personified by Korean-American author David Yoon, is someone whose identity often includes a hyphen which many foreign-born or children of immigrants could relate with. I, for one, grew up with that hyphen-identification and I enjoyed this representation (finally!) of those of us who continually question who we really are and if this hyphenation truly captures all aspects of the cultures we imbibe.

Frank sees himself as a typical American teen who still has to deal with the old-world mentality of his first-generation parents while trying to lead a “normal” teen life of studies, friendships, and romance. He starts questioning where he belongs as he no longer speaks Korean, yet his life is inundated with everything Korean–from the food to the customs, and to dealing with the the older generations’ “racist” attitudes towards anyone non-Korean. Ironically, life delivers a cynical twist as he realizes that even within his Korean circle, there is discrimination of a different sort which revolves around wealth and background–something that can be found in any culture.

The storyline is one that has its ups and downs–almost like watching one of those Korean tele-drama series. Just when you think the story is over, Yoon spins another web of controversy which entangles Frank into yet another situation which may propel you to thank the high heavens that your teenage years are over. Notwithstanding the fact that regular teens have to deal with their own drama as it is, Frank also had to deal with the fractured culture of immigrant children. The Jekyll-and-Hyde nature of biculturalism often plays tug of war with our inner self depending on the external situation one finds oneself in. I do think that in the end, Frank was able to find some sort of calm and peace in addressing the duality of his identity.

Needless to say, Frank is the star of this book. With all his “awakenings” and realizations, one need not be Korean in order to identify with Frank. His story is a story anyone, whether they are immigrants or native-born, can relate to–a young person trying to decipher his identity, deal with closing the generation gap, and trying to figure out what love is.  

Though the book was slightly heavy-handed on the topic of systemic racism, there were enough universal themes that many readers may relate to with Frank’s predicament without it being heavily slanted against any particular race. The search for identity is something universal and one that probably has no expiration date.

Overall, the book was enjoyable as I was able to identify with Frank’s predicament, and more diverse voices like these give you a different perspective of mainstream society through another pair of lenses, and this helps expand one’s thinking–just as any good story should.