This was the closest battle most of us have seen in our smack brackets. A battle to the last vote.

There were many things to love about Frankly in Love. We don't hear many Korean voices. And Yoon is a #ownvoices author. We also don't often read love stories from a boy's point of view. It was nice to see that romance isn't only for girls. Yoon really brought light to the experience of children of immigrants. The book celebrated being smart, being nerdy, expressing emotions. 

Kym wrote that she fell hard for Frank and his family. She added that reading the book created a bubble of joy and humour. Jessica agreed and thought she could happily read this book again and laugh like it was the first time. But Krystal hated Frank. Lynette wasn't on Team Frank either.

The book hits many checklist points, but for some of us we could see all that was good about the book without being captured by it. Others who were caught up in the beginning found that their enthusiasm fizzled over a too long book. Parts were very predictable.

Jessica reminds us, however, that we are wrong!

1) The way I read Frank (actually audio book I should say) it did not come across as a love story just about 2 people- the plot line was not the purpose of the book. One of the main purposes of the book was to try and put the readers into the shoes of a kid/person who is in limbo between the culture his family comes from- his only means of identifying with his family- and the culture of his the place he grew up in. In a way it is a love story between a high school kid and himself because he is trying to reconcile with the fact that he is not the quintessential example of an American, yet he is also not Korean enough. There is a massive internal battle in this story that is actually a very real thing for many many children in North America, including many of our own students. 

2) This book also offers a very unique perspective of racism- a minority speaking about his own parents who are racist; this is very rare perspective to come across in literature...what other book can you think of that has this perspective??

3) also, this book is filled with characters who are marginalized within our society, race/ sexuality/ academic achievement, but they were not presented stereotypically- I would argue in fact that they have rarely been at the centre of a novel- it just happened to be fact and the characters carry on with life. It is one of those books that you bump into once in  while, that you see yourself in because there are so many different ways to connect with it via the different characters that we rarely see so close up. 

The final votes seem to have tipped things in favour of Clap When You Land, but honestly, we discussed it less. It's beautiful and devastating. It's a glimpse into a different world. The detractors on Team Frank found it distant and cold. They argued that the characters didn't stay with them after they closed the covers. The poetry can make it hard for some to connect. 

You should probably read them both for yourself.

From the divided,

Renee, Kym, Jessica, Krystal, and Lynette