This is like the Reader's Digest version of a John Green novel. The essence is the same but all of the finer points are filtered out, like the beautiful writing and the attempts to be philosophical. Frank Li isn't a bad hero but he feels way younger than he actually is and he's so quirky he could be a Batman villain named Quirky Man who had a tragic accident involving a vat of melted Judd Apatow tapes.
That's not to say that there isn't anything to like about this book. Most of the secondary characters are great and I think it brings up some really important and valid discussions about identity (especially dual identity involving a hyphen), the racism of some immigrant parents, and the social pressures on what it means to be a kid managing to parental and scholastic expectations. I just didn't particularly like Frank and since it's narrated in first person, that's kind of a deal-breaker. Too bad, since fake-dating is one of my favorite tropes.
2 out of 5 stars
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