Humor, heart, and flirting with language

Frankly, it was great. Pardon my pun, but word play is one of many delightful layers in this debut from David Yoon. The secret languages of family, the not so secret languages of racism, and the many languages of love, delivered in the voice of Frank Li. It's a voice I found fresh, charming, and perfectly Frank's own, made up words and all. Frank's first forays into romance are honest and sweet but the heart and the ache of this novel is his relationship with his dad, handled with great tenderness and ever present humor. The writing simply made me smile- Frank's life is "simplicated" simple and complicated- and completely relatable. My mother shocked our Italian American family 50+ years ago by marrying an Irishman! It's still a family scandal. Looking forward to Mr. Yoon's next work.