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.
• Read/study paired texts and other brief resources to deepen their understanding of themes related to Cultural Identity and Belonging, Parents as Flawed Humans, and Authenticity and Self-Discovery.
• Demonstrate their understanding of Frank’s characterization by creating a visual representation of the forces that pull him in opposite directions.
• Analyze the significance of various elements of the text, such as symbolism, characterization, plot detail, rhetorical purpose, and motifs, and construct essay responses on deception, friendship, Frank’s authentic self, and other topics.