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alysereadsbooks's review
emotional
hopeful
reflective
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
4.5
I really enjoyed this book, especially from the perspective as an adoptee. Though categorized as romance, make sure you check the trigger warnings before reading. I thought Mika was a relatable likeable character and I liked the overall exploration of mother/daughter relationships (both between Mika and her mother and Penny and Mika).
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death of parent, Cancer, and Sexual assault
khymihr's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Alcohol, Emotional abuse, Pregnancy, and Grief
Minor: Racism, Cancer, Death of parent, and Sexual content
piratenami's review
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Death of parent, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Cancer, Pregnancy, and Sexual content
kindreams's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape
Moderate: Death of parent and Cancer
annreadsabook's review
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
3.75
35-year-old Mika is stumbling through life, just barely making ends meet, and abashedly asking for money from her disappointed parents when she receives an unexpected call—from the daughter, Penny, she gave up for adoption 16 years ago. Eager to impress Penny, Mika makes up a little white lie…then another…then another…until she finds herself scrambling to fabricate the life she wishes she had when Penny reveals she plans to visit Mika.
While MIKA IN REAL LIFE addresses very real issues about parenthood, adoption, and life/career in your mid-thirties, Emiko Jean injects moments of levity throughout. Jean’s book considers the sacrifices we make to achieve certain versions of ourselves—Mika has gone so long sacrificing everything she loved to pursue a version of herself that was palatable to her parents, but is the cost more than she can bear? Lots of interesting discussions of parent-child dynamics: on the one hand, Mika tries to build up a “fake” life to impress her daughter, and on the other, Mika tries to deal with the fact that her parents are almost always disappointed in her. I liked the ways that Jean grappled with the feeling of being a thirty-something who is still grasping for a sense of meaning in life when everything around you says you should’ve figured it out by now—in other words, it feels like life is passing you by.
I did have questions about the representation of transracial adoption in this book. I am not an adoptee, so I defer to transracial adoptees who have read this book. But there were moments in which I felt troubled by the fairly forgiving portrayal of Penny’s white adoptive parents, even in one instance where Penny’s adoptive mother threw essentially an adult temper tantrum when confronted with the idea of connecting Penny with her Japanese heritage.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Rape
Minor: Cancer
abbiechron's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
What started off as a surface-level read bloomed into a beautiful story of finding one's way. At times it was painfully predictable, for example, Mika and Thomas , but the beautiful youth and growth shown through and allowed for room for my predictions to be flawed in the best ways. Don't skip this read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Pregnancy, Grief, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Sexual violence
Moderate: Cursing, Alcohol, Body shaming, Panic attacks/disorders, Death, Cancer, Bullying, and Death of parent
Minor: Medical content, Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, Infertility, Animal death, Terminal illness, Blood, and Toxic relationship
Job loss, immigrationtenderbench's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape
Moderate: Death of parent
Minor: Cancer
beckyyreadss's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
sad
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? No
4.0
Thank you to Michael Joseph Penguin Publishing for sending this book in exchange for an honest review.
This book follows Mika Suzuki, she is 35 and she is struggling. She’s been fired (again). Her last relationship went up in flames. Her fervently traditional mother is perpetually disappointed in her. And now, she’s had a phone call from sixteen-year-old Penny Calvin. Her baby she reluctantly gave up for adoption when she was a teenager herself. Mika is desperate to meet her baby. But she barely feels like she can take care of herself. Is she ready to show Penny who her mother really is. This book is a contemporary fiction book set in America.
I wanted to give my heart to Mika and wanted to give her the biggest hug I could possibly give someone. Her story is so powerful, so heart breaking and how she managed I would have no clue. I would have loved to see Peter finding out he has a daughter and what the cause of his actions were. Penny was so smart and bright, and you can tell how much she wanted to learn but also respecting Mika’s boundaries. I loved to see the relationship grow between Mika and Penny and Thomas and how they became a blended family. I’m have a best friend like Hana in my life, so I was totally in love with Hana, I thought she was amazing and brilliant, and I wanted to see more of her and her girlfriend.
I wouldn’t say it was a weakness but considering this book is about Mika’s self-worth and that she doesn’t feel worthy another person or her worth, so I would have loved to see her friends point of views and showing what she looks like to other people and they can see that she’s holding back and the change in her that happens.
All and all, I enjoyed reading this book and I would read another one of Emiko Jean’s books.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Sexual assault, and Rape
Moderate: Pregnancy, Toxic relationship, and Cancer
Minor: Infertility
kim_momreadsbooksinbtwn's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
“Mika in Real Life” was Good Morning America’s Book Club pick for the month of August. The concept sounded really interesting, a middle-aged Japanese woman struggling to make a life for herself, I imagined Bridget Jones. Mika loses her job, lives with a roommate, and does not have the best relationship with her family. When out of the blue, her 16-year-old daughter whom she gave up for adoption calls her and tries to reconnect. Throughout the story, you discover what happened to Mika and why she had to put Penelope up for adoption. There are many awkward moments portraying the strained relationship between Mika and her mother. The storyline moved at a medium pace, but it seemed somewhat predictable. I listened to the audio version of this book and the narration was good, I appreciated hearing the conversation amongst Mika’s family in Japanese. It was a cute story and I did feel some sympathy for Mika; however, there were times when I wanted to scream at her to get her life together. This is my first book by Emiko Jean, and curious to try another one of her books.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Sexual assault, and Rape
Minor: Cancer
nailartklaudia's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cancer, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Rape
Minor: Terminal illness and Infertility