Tokyo Ever After (Tokyo Ever After, 1)
Emiko Jean's New York Times bestseller and Reese Book Club Pick Tokyo Ever After is the "refreshing, spot-on" (Booklist, starred review) story of an ordinary Japanese American girl who discovers that her father is the Crown Prince of Japan!
Izumi Tanaka has never really felt like she fit in--it isn't easy being Japanese American in her small, mostly white, northern California town. Raised by a single mother, it's always been Izumi--or Izzy, because "It's easier this way"--and her mom against the world. But then Izumi discovers a clue to her previously unknown father's identity...and he's none other than the Crown Prince of Japan. Which means outspoken, irreverent Izzy is literally a princess. In a whirlwind, Izumi travels to Japan to meet the father she never knew and discover the country she always dreamed of. But being a princess isn't all ball gowns and tiaras. There are conniving cousins, a hungry press, a scowling but handsome bodyguard who just might be her soulmate, and thousands of years of tradition and customs to learn practically overnight. Izumi soon finds herself caught between worlds, and between versions of herself--back home, she was never "American" enough, and in Japan, she must prove she's "Japanese" enough. Will Izumi crumble under the weight of the crown, or will she live out her fairy tale, happily ever after? Look for the bestselling sequel, Tokyo Dreaming, out now.BUY THE BOOK
Community Reviews
For this review, I'm going to list the things I loved and decidedly did not love.
Loved: The setting and atmosphere! The author did a great job establishing the environment in Japan. I could picture the royal palace with its luxury and gardens. I could feel the propriety in the air around the crown prince and the princesses when they were on the page. I absolutely love a royalty story. I also appreciated the style of writing in general and the motif of nature and flowers that followed throughout the novel both in the prose and in the setting. And learning about Japan and its culture is always an interesting read, and this story is a great representation of the feeling of being torn between identities and great representation for Asian Americans.
I also adored the family dynamics in this story. It was so sweet watching Izumi and her father grow closer together, they really warmed my heart. And Izumi and her girl group are my favorite! Their interactions felt authentic and on par with most teenage girls. Izumi as a main character was fun to read from the perspective of and I felt like she was a tangible, real relatable person and I do feel like she grew as a person as the novel went on. In the beginning she seemed a little too immature because she would flip-flop between emotions and what she wanted/didn't want and generally just did whatever she wanted without thinking/regards for others, but she very quickly realized the big stakes in her situation and seemed to sober up and even when she was acting out I still rooted for her the whole time.
Did not love: The romance! Let me explain. I thought Akio, the main love romance, was a sweetheart and I did want him and Izumi to be together. But it was too insta-lovey for me. In the beginning, Izumi seems to hate Akio for essentially doing his job of being her bodyguard. However, it seems like the author tried to follow an adversaries-to-lovers trope but it just got rushed and their romance didn't feel authentic. I felt like out of nowhere they were suddenly into each other and they barely had any real in-depth interactions beforehand, and their relationship did not have many on-page moments even at the end.
Additionally, I felt like Izumi was the only developed character in the novel and the rest were left unfinished or were altogether unnecessary. We barely get to know anything about the princess twins but we are somehow expected to feel bad for their parental situation, it's like they are there just for the author to say "Look! This is who Izumi is not!". And Yoshi's character tries to come across as multifaceted but his motivations don't make sense/aren't clear. His actions in the beginning are completely different from the ones at the end and his reasonings don't completely explain all that he did. It also didn't make sense the the whole novel Izumi worried about dating Akio because he was below her status, yet at the end it is revealed that the Emporer married the Empress even though she was also below his status at the time they met. So it's like, what was the point of this whole thing, all the worrying and sneaking, if this story has already been played out through her grandparents? Why was that never brought up? Also, I don't understand what Jone's character was supposed to be besides maybe comic relief, but he didn't add anything to the story for me.
I also felt like many things said/written in the novel where the author trying to add in her idea of teenage humor but it was just unnecessary/awkward. Like, there is a line about giving a gorilla an enema and I was just like, why? Why?
In short, if you want a very formulaic royalty romance book that is still fun, short, and sweet, this is perfect for you! If you are looking for something with a deeper/drawn-out romance or something more mature feeling, this is not that.
(P.S. - this book did not need to be a series and I will not be reading the second novel)
Loved: The setting and atmosphere! The author did a great job establishing the environment in Japan. I could picture the royal palace with its luxury and gardens. I could feel the propriety in the air around the crown prince and the princesses when they were on the page. I absolutely love a royalty story. I also appreciated the style of writing in general and the motif of nature and flowers that followed throughout the novel both in the prose and in the setting. And learning about Japan and its culture is always an interesting read, and this story is a great representation of the feeling of being torn between identities and great representation for Asian Americans.
I also adored the family dynamics in this story. It was so sweet watching Izumi and her father grow closer together, they really warmed my heart. And Izumi and her girl group are my favorite! Their interactions felt authentic and on par with most teenage girls. Izumi as a main character was fun to read from the perspective of and I felt like she was a tangible, real relatable person and I do feel like she grew as a person as the novel went on. In the beginning she seemed a little too immature because she would flip-flop between emotions and what she wanted/didn't want and generally just did whatever she wanted without thinking/regards for others, but she very quickly realized the big stakes in her situation and seemed to sober up and even when she was acting out I still rooted for her the whole time.
Did not love: The romance! Let me explain. I thought Akio, the main love romance, was a sweetheart and I did want him and Izumi to be together. But it was too insta-lovey for me. In the beginning, Izumi seems to hate Akio for essentially doing his job of being her bodyguard. However, it seems like the author tried to follow an adversaries-to-lovers trope but it just got rushed and their romance didn't feel authentic. I felt like out of nowhere they were suddenly into each other and they barely had any real in-depth interactions beforehand, and their relationship did not have many on-page moments even at the end.
Additionally, I felt like Izumi was the only developed character in the novel and the rest were left unfinished or were altogether unnecessary. We barely get to know anything about the princess twins but we are somehow expected to feel bad for their parental situation, it's like they are there just for the author to say "Look! This is who Izumi is not!". And Yoshi's character tries to come across as multifaceted but his motivations don't make sense/aren't clear. His actions in the beginning are completely different from the ones at the end and his reasonings don't completely explain all that he did. It also didn't make sense the the whole novel Izumi worried about dating Akio because he was below her status, yet at the end it is revealed that the Emporer married the Empress even though she was also below his status at the time they met. So it's like, what was the point of this whole thing, all the worrying and sneaking, if this story has already been played out through her grandparents? Why was that never brought up? Also, I don't understand what Jone's character was supposed to be besides maybe comic relief, but he didn't add anything to the story for me.
I also felt like many things said/written in the novel where the author trying to add in her idea of teenage humor but it was just unnecessary/awkward. Like, there is a line about giving a gorilla an enema and I was just like, why? Why?
In short, if you want a very formulaic royalty romance book that is still fun, short, and sweet, this is perfect for you! If you are looking for something with a deeper/drawn-out romance or something more mature feeling, this is not that.
(P.S. - this book did not need to be a series and I will not be reading the second novel)
I loved this sweet rom-com book of how a Japanese girl can feel at home and lost at the same time. Izumi âIzzyâ or âZoom Zoomâ as her mom lovingly calls her, is a 17 year old, Japanese American girl who grew up in a small but mostly white northern California. She was raised by her single mother, Hanako Tanaka. One day, Noora (BFF) and Izzy were trying on her mother's extensive pricy makeup when Noora knocked over a book about rare orchids of North America. They discovered a letter written to her mother reading âMy dearest Hanako-â blah blah blah⦠Signed âYours, Makoto âMakâ â Year 2003 which is exactly 17 years ago... When Izzy was conceived. âMin said she got pregnant with me in her final year of college.â Could this foreign exchange student be her biological father?
Being raised in her neighborhood, in elementary school, she bonded with her crew: Hansani, (Sri Lankan), Glory (half-Filipino), And later Noora, a Muslim. âThey connected when they learned the biggest âflawâ was their appearance. For Izzy, it was Emily Billings. She cornered Izzy on the school bus with her eyes taped up in an exaggerated slant. Kids even asked Izzy if her family celebrated the bombing of Pearl Harbor like Christmas. Or when students requested her help on their math homework. Each time, something inside shriveled up, ashamed and silent.â p13 They're also able to completely read each other's thoughts just by looking at each other, that's how right they are. Although Noora and Glory have a love/hate relationship.
Noora uses the internet and tracked down Izzy's father. Not only do they look alike, he's also The Crown Prince of Japan. His full name is Makotonomiya Toshihito. The crew looks at Mak Toshihito and both Noora and Glory exclaim âhe's a hot dad,â and that heâs an "Asian George Clooney."
There's only one way for Izzy to feel more whole and complete: go to Japan and get to know her father. If you think that's a smooth transition and journey, you're in for a fun and bumpy ride. Being thrown into a new and completely foreign role as HIH Princess, Izzy has a hard time knowing all the rules and what to do and what not to do. But the one thing she will always do is lead with her heart.
As I was entering my review, I noticed it's book 1. I eagerly look forward to book 2.
Being raised in her neighborhood, in elementary school, she bonded with her crew: Hansani, (Sri Lankan), Glory (half-Filipino), And later Noora, a Muslim. âThey connected when they learned the biggest âflawâ was their appearance. For Izzy, it was Emily Billings. She cornered Izzy on the school bus with her eyes taped up in an exaggerated slant. Kids even asked Izzy if her family celebrated the bombing of Pearl Harbor like Christmas. Or when students requested her help on their math homework. Each time, something inside shriveled up, ashamed and silent.â p13 They're also able to completely read each other's thoughts just by looking at each other, that's how right they are. Although Noora and Glory have a love/hate relationship.
Noora uses the internet and tracked down Izzy's father. Not only do they look alike, he's also The Crown Prince of Japan. His full name is Makotonomiya Toshihito. The crew looks at Mak Toshihito and both Noora and Glory exclaim âhe's a hot dad,â and that heâs an "Asian George Clooney."
There's only one way for Izzy to feel more whole and complete: go to Japan and get to know her father. If you think that's a smooth transition and journey, you're in for a fun and bumpy ride. Being thrown into a new and completely foreign role as HIH Princess, Izzy has a hard time knowing all the rules and what to do and what not to do. But the one thing she will always do is lead with her heart.
As I was entering my review, I noticed it's book 1. I eagerly look forward to book 2.
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