Frankly in Love

Give me a fake-dating romance book and I’ll be happy. Give me a fake-dating book that’s also witty, philosophical, and big-hearted, and I’ll be thrilled. Give me a fake-dating book that’s witty, philosophical, big-hearted, and about big things—identity, and culture, and learning to accept your incredibly flawed family—and I will be over-the-moon ecstatic. Frankly in Love is that book, and it’s one of the best books I’ve ever read.

Frank Li falls in love with the girl of his dreams. The only problem is that she’s white and his parents want him to date someone Korean. Frank’s friend, Joy, is dating the boy of her dreams. The only problem is that he’s Chinese-American and her parents want her to date someone Korean. Dear reader, you can see where this is going. Frank and Joy solve their problems by fake-dating each other. Hilarity and hijinks ensue! Only this book is about so much more than fake-dating. It’s about making your own way against the expectations of the world, even the people that love you the most. It’s about finding your heart and then learning to follow it. It’s about being.

Reading this book is truly a joyous experience. In a lifetime, only a handful of books will worm their way into your heart and change you for the better. For me, Frankly in Love is one of those books.

High school senior Frank Li is a Limbo—his term for Korean-American kids who find themselves caught between their parents’ traditional expectations and their own Southern California upbringing. His parents have one rule when it comes to romance—“Date Korean”—which proves complicated when Frank falls for Brit Means, who is smart, beautiful—and white. Fellow Limbo Joy Song is in a similar predicament, and so they make a pact: they’ll pretend to date each other in order to gain their freedom. Frank thinks it’s the perfect plan, but in the end, Frank and Joy’s fake-dating maneuver leaves him wondering if he ever really understood love—or himself—at all.