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.”