Reviews with content warning for Xenophobia - Tokyo Ever After

Reviews tagging 'Xenophobia'

Tokyo Ever After by Emiko Jean

18 reviews

beckyyreadss's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I wanted to read this book because I enjoyed Mika in Real Life and wanted to read more of Emiko Jean’s work and decided to read this series. I really enjoyed this book and I love Emiko’s style of writing.

This book is based on Izumi Tanaka, and she has lived an uneventful life for the last seventeen years in her small town, keenly aware of all the ways in which her family is different from most of her classmates. But then Izumi discovers a clue to her previously unknown father’s identity and he is the Crown Prince of Japan. Soon she’s traveling overseas to meet the father she never knew and discover the country she’s only 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 get her fairytale?

I loved the aspect of this, and the Princess Diaries vibes and Izzy was such a fun character, and she was so chaotic, but I wanted to hug her so much during this story. She had such a great character development and I loved how she went from trying to please everyone to standing up for herself and just deciding to be herself. I love her friendship and how brutal and loving they were at the same. I loved that they were like get out of your rut and get the hell back to Japan to fix things. I loved the romance between Izzy’s mum and dad and hoping they get back together in the next book and have a great love story! The love story and the tension between Izzy and Akio was so adorable and I wanted more from them. You could tell instantly that Akio had feelings and connection to Izzy. The poems were also so sweet.

I would have loved for this to be multiple POV with Akio and the side characters especially her mum and dad. The third-act breakup wasn’t needed at all either and especially that it was miscommunication. If the guard said, “he’s gone because he’s quit” rather than “he’s gone” and implying that he had been sacked just drove me nuts a bit. I managed to guess who was involved with the press because I knew the twins were the obvious suspect, but even though it was a bit predictable, I still enjoyed it.

This book was so sweet, and I cannot wait to read the next book in this series.

Content Warnings

moendchen's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted relaxing medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

Content Warnings

kaigar96's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No

4.75

I absolutely adored this book! Tokyo Ever After is a retelling of The Princess Diaries, where the main character finds out she's a Japanese princess. While the novel focuses on a lighthearted plot, the author delves into deep character growth that is relatable and necessary in YA lit. The main character struggles with her identity of being Japanese-American and tries to understand her place in the world. However, her pain is paired with the right amount of humor. There's also a cute romance plot between her and her bodyguard.

I've noticed that a lot of books recently are marketed as YA, yet provide romantic details that should appear in NA or older audiences. In Tokyo Ever After, the romance is cute and age-appropriate, yet never overshadows the main character, her family, and her overall identity. Overall, I think this is a perfect YA book!

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jenricano's review

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hopeful inspiring lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

An absolutely gorgeous read with the right amount of focus on romance and personal growth, "Tokyo Ever After" is a delightful tale that follows Japanese-American Izumi as she discovers she is the daughter of the Crown Prince of Japan. This book was a modern-day fairytale perfect for fans of "Red, White, & Royal Blue" and "To All the Boys I've Loved Before."

Content Warnings

beautifulpaxielreads's review against another edition

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emotional lighthearted reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

A nice, light-hearted read with some unexpected depth - however I did want just that bit more from it.

If you enjoyed the film version of The Princess Diaries, then you'll probably enjoy this because the premise is very similar.

The MC, Izumi, felt narratively younger than she actually was - it was only when she was talking about more complex concepts that I realised she was supposed to be about 18 or so.

I felt like the

romance

could have been left out because the main couple lacked chemistry, although their

ending worked

. Weird thing to say, I know.

I enjoyed the visit to Kyoto, and there were interesting discussions around the idea of belonging and identlty - Izumi, though she is of Japanese heritage, was raised in a very white area of the US and has very little knowledge of her own culture. Her eventual realisation that

she could be both American and Japanese was satisfying and felt earned, if predicatable.

. There were also some lines that really jumped out at me and were relatable (unfortunately it's been nearly a week since I finished reading so I can't recall exactly what they were). I also really appreciated how - in this version of the country at least, I don't know how true to life it is - we saw how in Japan the royal family were viewed as celebrities, and how every detail of their lives was scrutinised by the media, leaving no room for error.

I also felt like Emiko Jean could have gone deeper into the role that class and privilege played in Japanese society in terms of the Japanese people's attitude to the royal family's higher status and wealth, though I admit that I'm coming at this from a Western perspective and may sound ignorant as a result.

In short, this was fun and light-hearted - but it could have been more.

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cadybooks's review

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inspiring lighthearted

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.0

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mcz's review against another edition

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Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

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peachani's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

Content Warnings

goldendreams's review against another edition

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emotional funny inspiring reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Content Warnings

karina_dreamsinwords's review against another edition

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adventurous hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

Okay this was The Princess Diaries meets What a Girl Wants in Japan, & I loved it! The way I immediately wanted to buy my ticket to Japan so I can see the literal beauty in person! Ugh. Hopefully one day I can visit this gorgeous country.

Tokyo Ever After is such a great young adult novel about Izumi discovering herself within her Japanese heritage and learning to adapt to the fact that she is a literal princess. The romance was super cute and seemed quite natural between Izumi and Akio. Not to mention the snippets of the Japanese tabloid- The Tokyo Tattler, giving us the tea in real time, uncovering Izumi's many frolics around town. There were some pretty funny bits & tons of sass revealed through these little articles between chapters, which made the reading experience all the more fun!

"I'm not a novelty here. I am not a sore thumb. What a privilege it is to blend in.”

It was lovely to see Izumi feel a sense of belonging in Japan, to feel at home after spending time amidst her homeland. I also loved seeing Izumi connect with her father and returning to Japan in the end. This was overall a really sweet story about our protagonist finding her roots and blooming into who she was meant to be all along.

I already have the sequel preordered and I cannot wait to read it!

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