Frankly in Love by David Yoon. 408 p.G.p. Putnam's Sons/ Penguin Young Readers Group, September 10, 2019. 9781984812209. (Review of arc courtesy of publisher.)
Teen Tuesday features another fantastic book whose audience is older teens. Frankly in Love is David Yoon's debut novel and due out on September 10. Frank Li was born and raised in Southern California and is about to begin his senior year of high school. He was given a Korean name, Sung-Min, which no one ever uses, not even his parents. His parents own "the store" in a mostly Black and Hispanic neighborhood. They work 365 days a year and have all Frank and his older sister, Hannah's lives. They do this so that their children will attend a prestigious college. Hannah went to Harvard and then went to law school, where she met the love of her life. The only problem was that Miles wasn't Korean and now Hannah is disowned. When nerdy Frank falls in love with Brit Means, a classmate from calculus class, he knows he can't bring her home. She's not Korean either. Joy, a family friend, is also hiding her relationship with a boy who is not Korean. The two concoct a plan - they will pretend date each other without either their parents or significant others knowing. Yeah.
I fell in love with the voice on page one. This first-person novel is wry, whip-smart, hilarious, and poignant. The diverse cast of characters brim with life. Issues of family, identity, culture, classism, racism, micro-aggressions, and duty are hashed out intelligently, offering no easy answers.
You will laugh, sometimes out loud and hysterically. You will cry as well. This brilliant book is about high school seniors doing what high school seniors do - stressing about SATs and college apps, dating, crushing, cursing, and drinking or choosing not to drink. Frankly in Love is more suitable for former TMS students who have begun their own high school-to-college journey.
The book has been heavily hyped and the hype is real. I can pick up my arc and open it anywhere and just fall back into Frank's world with ease and stay awhile. This is also one for the "reread with my ears" list. Frankly in Love leads my "Favorites of 2019" list and I expect it to receive tons of awards come awards season - Morris Award, Printz Award, National Book Award... Additionally, I believe it has already been optioned for film. And, that cover! Doesn't that cover just pop?
Sigh. There was a time when I reviewed everything I read. Then, I reviewed only what I really liked. Lately, I realized that I am not even doing that! I never reviewed two audiobooks that totally blew me away this summer. So here's a double review of two historical fictions not to be missed.
Both of these feature totally fictional characters set during a notable historical event, neither of which, I am embarrassed to admit, I had ever heard. But then, I always learn the most interesting things by reading literature for young people.
Out of Darkness by Ashley Hope Perez. Unabridged audiobook on 10 compact discs, 12 hrs., 50 mins. Read by Benita Robledo and Lincoln Hoppe. Listening Library, 2016. 9780735289475. (Purchased)
Set in New London, Texas in 1937, where a deadly explosion at a school killed scores of children, Out of Darkness tells the story of Naomi and Wash. Fifteen-year-old Naomi is Mexican and her five-year-old half-siblings are bi-racial. They've recently been summoned by Naomi's white stepfather to live as a family in New London. Her half-siblings mix easily but Naomi is immediately confronted with racial hatred aimed at Mexicans. All the boys in her high school make assumptions and all the girls hate her because of those assumptions compounded by her beauty and apparent disinterest. She does, reluctantly at first, become interested in Wash, an ambitious African American boy with college prospects. She and Henry, her step-father, share a terrible secret. Henry has supposedly repented and become a Christian, but with each passing day, his resolve waivers and Naomi finds herself the object of his advances.
This just shredded my heart to bits. Nothing like listening to a book and knowing from disc one that lots of terrible things are going to happen. Evocative and layered, this elicited so many emotions-like falling in love with the characters and wanting to keep them safe; like the fury of unrelenting wrongs and injustice. This was one tough but powerful read. The audio performance was first-rate. The narration by new-to-me narrator, Benita Robledo was commanding. I will definitely be interested in listening to more of her performances. Lincoln Hoppe served as the voice of the "Greek Chorus." Highly recommended!
Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys. Unabridged audiobook on 7 compact discs (8 hrs., 48 min.) Read by Jorjeana Marie, Cassandra Morris, Will Damron and Michael Crouch. Listening Library, 2016. 9780147525451. (Purchased)
Salt to the Sea is told from the points of view of four young people as the losing German army retreats from Russian forces across East Prussia. Joana is a Lithuanian nurse shepherding a group of refugees to Gotenhofan to attempt to gain passage on the ship, Wilhelm Gustloff. She encounters Emelia, a young Polish girl and Florian, a deserting German soldier. There's also the POV of Alfred, a delusional German Navy seaman who finds multiple ways of shirking his responsibility. Each hides secrets both tragic and dangerous. The chapters are short as the point of view shifts quickly from person to person. Be patient with the set-up for as the pieces of this puzzle begin to fit together, the suspense will prevent you from putting the book down (or, in my case, stop listening). So will the love you may be surprised to have for some of the characters. Even the secondary characters are so vividly drawn that I wept over some.
I was unaware that the sinking of the Wilhelm Gustlaff was the worst maritime disaster in history. As she did in Between Shades of Gray, Ms. Sepetys brings a little known segment of World War II to vivid life. While all the characters are completely fictional, what happened to them in the book, really happened to refugees.
The four performers did a wonderful job. Three of the four were new-to-me narrators. Cassandra Morris' performance as Emelia was particularly affecting. I'm not sure who voiced Alfred, but his portrayal was creepily smarmy as fitting Alfred. Great job.
Both books will require a sophisticated reader for both structure and content with Out of Darkness being more appropriate to a high school reader. Out of Darkness won a Printz Honor in January and Salt to the Sea is getting some award buzz for the 2017 season.
