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Tokyo Ever After
A California teen finds her fairy tale in this sparkly YA novel. Izumi “Izzy” Tanaka’s life has always felt pretty normal. Raised by her single, plant-obsessed mother and blessed with a tight-knit group of friends she calls her AGG (Asian Girl Gang), she’s never lacked for anything—even if she has been curious about her father’s identity. But her life changes in an instant when an old love letter falls out of her mother’s book, and Izzy discovers her biological father is her mother’s one true love, the Crown Prince of Japan. One thing leads to another, and Izzy is shortly swapping quiet California for a Japanese palace filled with ball gowns, paparazzi, and a cute bodyguard. This was a delight; I especially enjoyed Jean’s storytelling through clips from the Tokyo gossip rag “The Tokyo Tattler.”
About the Book
The acclaimed New York Times bestseller and Reese Witherspoon x Hello Sunshine YA Book Club Pick! Emiko Jean’s 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 sequel to Tokyo Ever After in spring 2022!
Other books in the "Literary Tourism: Japan"
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