A New York Times bestseller
Reese Witherspoon YA Book Club Pick
A Must-Read Book of the Year (SLJ, Marie Claire, Cosmopolitan, Entertainment Weekly, Good Morning America, Goodreads.com, Boston Public Library, EpicReads.com, San Francisco Chronicle, Bustle, Publishers Weekly, BuzzFeed.com, Parade and more)!
#1 Indie Next Pick
Junior Library Guild selection
“If The Princess Diaries met Crazy Rich Asians, you would get close to the wonderfully chaotic splendor of Tokyo Ever After.” —Entertainment Weekly (Best Book of Summer)
“Izumi’s determined spirit and character arc will endear readers to her. A fun experience that readers will want to read again and again.” —School Library Journal, starred review (Best Book of the Year)
“A refreshing and spot-on depiction of Japanese Americans exploring their heritage, with appeal far beyond female Asian readers.” —Booklist, starred review
“A fresh, funny, emotive, inspiring, and empowering #ownvoices triumph.” —Shelf Awareness
“This YA novel with broad appeal follows a Japanese American girl on the ride of her life as she discovers her father is the Crown Prince of Japan. Amidst the backdrop of cherry blossoms, castles, and royal life, she has real-world struggles trying to fit in to two cultures.” —Newsweek
“Move over, Mia Thermopolis! Princess Izumi will completely capture your heart while making you laugh nonstop. With an unforgettable voice and a heart-fluttering romance, Tokyo Ever After is an instant favorite.” —Gloria Chao, author of American Panda
“Despite the swoon-worthy love interest and glittering palaces, Tokyo Ever After is not your typical princess story. Izumi is a spunky, irreverent, lovable narrator who struggles to reconcile her American upbringing with her Japanese heritage. A fresh and distinctly modern fairy tale.” —Katharine McGee, author of the American Royals series
“Emiko’s flair for sumptuous detail—Food! Castles! Swoony confessions! Court drama! Cherry blossoms by the million!—locked me helplessly into a world of splendor I never wanted to leave.” —David Yoon, author of Frankly in Love
“A gorgeously detailed rom-com that made me want to move to Japan and never come back.” —Nicola Yoon, author of The Sun Is Also a Star
★ 03/01/2021
Gr 8 Up—Izumi, a Japanese American high school student, has a pretty average life: a band of awesome misfit friends, a delicious diner where she's a regular, and a loving mother—everything a high school senior needs. Or is it? Her father's identity has always been a mystery her mother has refused to discuss beyond that he was simply a one-night stand in college. One day Izumi accidentally learns his name, her first real clue to his whereabouts. Her friend researches the name and everything starts spiraling…until Izumi is in Japan with the knowledge that her father is the Crown Prince. Not only that, here she is, in Japan with the entire country's eyes staring straight at her. The whiplash from such a fast time line hits Izumi hard. Is this her chance to find where she really feels at home or will finding out her mother's secret ruin everything? Told from Izumi's point of view, the story explores the deep feelings of loneliness BIPOC children sometimes feel when they are the minority within their American town and have little connection to their ancestors' birth country. Izumi's determined spirit and character arc will endear readers to her. Vibrant descriptions of Japan and Izumi's reactions feel cheesy but truly realistic, capturing all of the fear, excitement, and admiration one could have when visiting a country with a different culture than their own. Izumi is a fully realized protagonist whom teens will find relatable. VERDICT A fun experience that readers will want to read again and again.—DeHanza Kwong, Butte P.L., MT
2021-03-13
A Japanese American teen searches for her father—who turns out to be the crown prince of Japan.
Kind and “remarkably unremarkable,” Izumi Tanaka enjoys the support of her single mother and high school friends in her hometown of Mount Shasta, California. Her grades are “subpar at best,” and she’s been accepted into decent, but not exclusive, colleges. She acknowledges that her love of Real Housewives and dabbling in baking, while relatable, are not exceptional. After searching for her father and discovering the shocking news of his identity, Izumi is invited to Japan to stay with the royal family for two weeks. Dubbed the Lost Butterfly princess, she is swept up in royal life, complete with all its intrigue. The romance of being a princess—complete with a hot, young bodyguard, Akio—quickly dissipates as tabloids, cultural differences, and a serious blunder at the Japanese prime minister’s wedding take their toll. While the action-packed plot keeps pages turning, inconsistencies in Izumi’s voice are distracting, and her character development lacks cohesion. More slow-building tension would have given her romantic encounters with Akio a bigger payoff. However, the novel hits its stride in the second half as Izumi returns to the States and focuses on her personal growth and evolving relationships with each of her parents, developments that are thoughtfully fleshed out.
This royal romp comes together for a strong finish. (Fiction. 14-18)
Narrator Ali Ahn gives this young adult rom-com fun doses of personality and sass. Raised in California by her mother, Izumi Tanaka doesn’t know the name of her father until she accidentally discovers it just months before high school graduation. In PRINCESS DIARIES fashion, Izzy is shocked to learn that her dad is Japanese royalty and that she’s been invited to Tokyo to meet him and learn how to be a princess. Ahn’s delivery reflects Izzy’s conflicted reactions to Japan, the people, the places, the customs and expectations—and her cute bodyguard. Strong-willed Izzy worries she’ll never truly be accepted by her father’s traditional family. Ahn’s accents and Japanese pronunciations ring true as she clearly differentiates characters of different ages and nationalities. C.B.L. © AudioFile 2021, Portland, Maine