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mehsi's review
5.0
Re-read 2022: What do you do when your mental health sucks and you had a terrible day (just learned my grandmother died... through a card, thanks mom...), you read something fun and something comfy. And that is this book! I had so much fun following Aimee on her adventures along with her friends. See cute art. It definitely took my mind off for a bit. Just what I needed.
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Re-read 2020: Another one of my rereads and I am glad I have a chance to read this one again, it was very fun to read (though I have to say some parts were just a tad boring). I loved seeing Aimee's and her friends journey through Japan. Read about Japan. I love Aimee's art it is so cute and adorable.
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I just love books about Japan, especially those written from foreigner's point of view, it is so interesting to see how people view Japan.
I am so glad I was able to find this one through Amazon's marketplace (which is double lucky, as I found it for a normal price, and not the bloated price it has now). The poor book was quite mangled (it was apparently an ex-library book), but I fixed it up and gave it a loving home. As it deserves.
And my oh my, what a fantastic book this was, it is all about Aimee's journey to Japan and what she does there. Some stuff include Volks, temples, theatre, onsen and so much more! The best thing is that, unlike a lot of books about Japan, this is about a girl and her friends and they don't really read/speak Japanese, and this made it closer to home than other books about living/travelling to Japan. You can see them struggle at times with stuff, you see Aimee try her best at saying sentences in Japanese (+ her commentary that it isn't the best). It also motivates and delights me, that Japan is apparently quite accessible even if you only know a bit of Japanese. I was a bit worried about that.
The book isn't only about touristy things, or about important sights to spot, it is also about Japanese culture, about anime, about clothes (and all the various kinds of cultures that were various types of clothes), it shows us manga cafés, tells us about tattoos (and what that entails in Japan), it tells us about onsen and how those works. It is a book with a lot of information, but all told in a very fun tone.
I also loved the various parts which showcase just how big Aimee is for Japan. She doesn't fit in chairs, toilets are small, clothes are tiny and so much more. It just had me laughing, as I could just imagine how it would go for me and my boyfriend, especially my boyfriend, I would probably be able to just be hidden, but my boyfriend is quite tall. So at times I showed him parts of the book and he could also imagine those things happening to him. :D
The illustrations are fantastic and really fit the style of the book. Some stuff is really detailed (loved that!), while others just were less detailed (but still good and fun).
All in all, if you are looking for a fun book about Japan, about a tall girl going to Japan, then this is the book to check out! I hope others will have more luck with finding it.
Review first posted at http://twirlingbookprincess.com/
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Re-read 2020: Another one of my rereads and I am glad I have a chance to read this one again, it was very fun to read (though I have to say some parts were just a tad boring). I loved seeing Aimee's and her friends journey through Japan. Read about Japan. I love Aimee's art it is so cute and adorable.
------------------------------------------
I just love books about Japan, especially those written from foreigner's point of view, it is so interesting to see how people view Japan.
I am so glad I was able to find this one through Amazon's marketplace (which is double lucky, as I found it for a normal price, and not the bloated price it has now). The poor book was quite mangled (it was apparently an ex-library book), but I fixed it up and gave it a loving home. As it deserves.
And my oh my, what a fantastic book this was, it is all about Aimee's journey to Japan and what she does there. Some stuff include Volks, temples, theatre, onsen and so much more! The best thing is that, unlike a lot of books about Japan, this is about a girl and her friends and they don't really read/speak Japanese, and this made it closer to home than other books about living/travelling to Japan. You can see them struggle at times with stuff, you see Aimee try her best at saying sentences in Japanese (+ her commentary that it isn't the best). It also motivates and delights me, that Japan is apparently quite accessible even if you only know a bit of Japanese. I was a bit worried about that.
The book isn't only about touristy things, or about important sights to spot, it is also about Japanese culture, about anime, about clothes (and all the various kinds of cultures that were various types of clothes), it shows us manga cafés, tells us about tattoos (and what that entails in Japan), it tells us about onsen and how those works. It is a book with a lot of information, but all told in a very fun tone.
I also loved the various parts which showcase just how big Aimee is for Japan. She doesn't fit in chairs, toilets are small, clothes are tiny and so much more. It just had me laughing, as I could just imagine how it would go for me and my boyfriend, especially my boyfriend, I would probably be able to just be hidden, but my boyfriend is quite tall. So at times I showed him parts of the book and he could also imagine those things happening to him. :D
The illustrations are fantastic and really fit the style of the book. Some stuff is really detailed (loved that!), while others just were less detailed (but still good and fun).
All in all, if you are looking for a fun book about Japan, about a tall girl going to Japan, then this is the book to check out! I hope others will have more luck with finding it.
Review first posted at http://twirlingbookprincess.com/
audryt's review
I'll always have a place in my heart for this book. It was conceived of during karaoke and written entirely in journals in Japan. Aimee's strengths as an artist are on full display in this book, and I sincerely hope she makes more books like this in the future. Our design team did a fantastic job putting the book together, right down to the idea to include foil on the cover to make the sunshine sparkle. The entire book was hand-written (not a single word typed) and you can imagine what it was like putting together all the bits and pieces in Photoshop to create the perfect design. Thanks to my entire team for putting their best efforts into this physical masterpiece! And thanks to Aimee for being both an amazing talent and one of the most professional, easy to work with artists I've ever known.
hexijosh's review
3.0
A cute book with some nifty stories of an adventure in Japan. And while the author includes some hand drawn maps of interesting places in the Tokyo area, the book really isn't worth the $16. Just borrow it from your library like I did.
saidtheraina's review
2.0
This was fine. Good for my ongoing internal study of graphic novel travelogues. The author has an engaging illustration style, and it was a nice straight-forward "we went here, then there, then there" story. I'm sure for Japan-fans it's really fun. But honestly, I wanted more. I wanted analysis, for example, a discussion of the ethics of tourism (she's really into doing the most kitschy touristy (and expensive!) things that would totally horrify me) would have been nice. I missed the incisive depth of a Delisle GN travelougue. But perhaps for her audience (manga-crazed teenagers?) this was enough.
It was fun to look at her renderings of cosplayers - definitely the best part.
It was fun to look at her renderings of cosplayers - definitely the best part.
cherithe's review
3.0
I expected a bit more from this. The drawings are adorable, and much of Aimee's adventures are funny, but the whole thing is a little empty. Feels far more like a sketchbook than anything else.
rachelhelps's review
3.0
This was a cute little book--basically an otaku's notes and illustrations about her Japan trip--but not amazing. She did a few things well, but didn't do them often enough. For instance, she mentioned the in-flight meal was Japanese. Why not draw the whole bento out for us? She was probably limited by only deciding to do the book after her trip (at least that's what her narrative suggests).
kricketa's review
3.0
this is a cute illustrated travel journal about the author's trip to japan with two of her friends. it's a bit unstructured and confusing in terms of chronology, but it was fun to read and steinberger's artwork is really adorable. it's a similar format to lucy knisley's 'french milk' but the comparison ends there.
beanmom's review
5.0
I could have read this book in one sitting, but I saved it, reading a little at a time, because I wanted to make it last. It's cute and funny and lovely and sweet, and I handed it to my 11-year-old daughter as soon as I'd finished it. After reading, I was DESPERATE to visit Japan, yet I also felt as if I'd been there already.