Synopsis
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 Izzy 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, Izzy 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.
Izzy 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 fairytale, happily ever after?
The Bad
*Was the not enough (not Japanese, not American enough) dilemma handled enough? It would come up here and there (at times it felt out of nowhere) but was not fully articulated enough in the story for it to feel like a big or even medium dilemma.
*I do not know if the conversations it wanted to have were overall articulated enough for the story.
*The story was very light which is not necessarily a bad thing but the lightness took away from some of the tougher issues – an issue would come up then be resolved quickly so much so it made the story seem like there was no stakes.
*Plotless- partially due to fact that there seemed to be few stakes so things that were supposed to be big were not. It was a bunch of stuff happening.
*The romance/relationship – I just did not connect with the relationships between the characters overall owing to fact that the connections between the characters was not developed enough.
*Not connecting to overall story- I think I never really connected with Tokyo Ever After in general.
The Meh
It was a light contemporary story which probably would be good for summer and make good netflix adaptation.
The Thoughts I Had
How do people feel about the age gap between love interest and main character? It is not that steep but Izumi reads young.
Is it realistic for there not to be a DNA test before labeling her part of royal family?
It is different immigrating as a child than a teen right?
I won this book in a giveaway from Flatiron Books on goodreads
(synopsis and cover image are from goodreads)
themollyweather 