Frankly in Love

• Genre: Fiction; young adult realistic
• Originally Published: 2019
• Reading Level/Interest: Lexile HL660L; grades 9-12
• Structure/Length: 37 chapters; approximately 432 pages; approximately 10 hours, 11 minutes on audio
• Protagonist and Central Conflict: Frank Li, a Korean American high school senior, falls in love with a classmate who is not Korean despite his parents’ disapproval.
• Potential Sensitivity Issues: Racism; xenophobia; gun violence; mental health; anxiety; profanity; racial slurs, including the use of a word that means the “n-word”; sexual content; use of alcohol; assault; parent’s cancer diagnosis and discussion of parent death

David Yoon, Author

• Bio: Grew up in Orange County, California; currently lives in LA with his wife, author Nicola Yoon; co-founder of Yooniverse Media; co-publisher of Joy Revolution, which publishes love stories featuring diverse characters
• Other Works: Super Fake Love Song (2020)
• Awards: William C. Morris YA Debut Award Finalist; Asian/Pacific American Librarians Association Honor Book; One of Time Magazine’s 100 Best YA Books of All Time

CENTRAL THEMES connected and noted throughout this Teaching Unit:

• Cultural Identity and Belonging
• Parents as Flawed Humans
• Authenticity and Self-Discovery

STUDY OBJECTIVES: In accomplishing the components of this Teaching Unit, students will:

• Explore background information on bildungsroman and discuss cultural gaps between children of immigrants and their parents to increase their engagement with and understanding of Frankly in Love.