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colleensreadingadventures's review
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-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? Yes
3.0
Unfortunately From Little Tokyo With Love did not resonate with me liked I had hoped. While I enjoyed some of it, a lot of it felt like so many other YA books out there lately. Same story different scenery.
Rika is a half Japanese half American teen growing up in Little Tokyo, a Japanese division in LA. Her mom passed away in child birth and her 2 Aunties, one by blood one by marriage are raising her with her 2 cousins. Rika’s always felt like she’s an outsider not enough Japanese but can’t pass for Caucasian either. She definitely never feels like she’s enough for her aunties or her community. Because of this Rika has an anger (kaiju-temper) inside of her that she can’t keep down and to protect herself from all the people that look down on her she channels the nure-onna inside of herself. A fierce mythological monster who can defeat all of her enemies.
Rika is assigned at the last minute to drive her cousin Belle, this years Nikkei Week Queen, in the big parade to celebrate. Grace Nakamura, a famous Japanese RomCom star is the main attraction. And when Rika and Grace literally run into each other, she notices something familiar about her and knows there is something weird about her. Especially noticing the fear on Grace’s face when coming in to contact with Rika. It seemed to be the cause of her to taking off and running away from the parade. And then vanishing, completely off the grid.
Rika has to find out what the heck is going on and why she looks so much like the girl in the pictures with Auntie Suzy from long ago.
𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐬:
-I loved learning more about Japanese culture, including the food, the language, and the community within LA itself
-It was nice to see a diverse teen dealing with anger issues
-The LGBTQ representation with Rika’s Aunties was a especially interesting within a “traditional” Japanese family.
-The Last 1/4 or so picked up for me
𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐬:
-It was lacking in romance. I really didn’t see a whole lot of chemistry between Rika and Henry
-So darn slow. This should have had like 1/3 or more chopped off.
-It was anticlimactic. I can’t really go into detail without spoilers.
-The book was supposed to be about Rika finding out if Grace was her mom but somewhere along the way detoured to the difficulties of the acting world for Bi-Racial Asian actors.
-I just didn’t feel much of a connection to any of the characters.
For me this was a bit too wholesome of a YA read. I think that was a lot of my problem while reading From Little Tokyo With Love. So I encourage those of you who like a syrupy sweet story to give this a try. Don’t let my jaded thoughts stop you!
𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐤 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐏𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐮𝐢𝐧 𝐓𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐠𝐢𝐟𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐞𝐀𝐑𝐂 𝐢𝐧 𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐦𝐲 𝐡𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰.
Rika is a half Japanese half American teen growing up in Little Tokyo, a Japanese division in LA. Her mom passed away in child birth and her 2 Aunties, one by blood one by marriage are raising her with her 2 cousins. Rika’s always felt like she’s an outsider not enough Japanese but can’t pass for Caucasian either. She definitely never feels like she’s enough for her aunties or her community. Because of this Rika has an anger (kaiju-temper) inside of her that she can’t keep down and to protect herself from all the people that look down on her she channels the nure-onna inside of herself. A fierce mythological monster who can defeat all of her enemies.
Rika is assigned at the last minute to drive her cousin Belle, this years Nikkei Week Queen, in the big parade to celebrate. Grace Nakamura, a famous Japanese RomCom star is the main attraction. And when Rika and Grace literally run into each other, she notices something familiar about her and knows there is something weird about her. Especially noticing the fear on Grace’s face when coming in to contact with Rika. It seemed to be the cause of her to taking off and running away from the parade. And then vanishing, completely off the grid.
Rika has to find out what the heck is going on and why she looks so much like the girl in the pictures with Auntie Suzy from long ago.
𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐬:
-I loved learning more about Japanese culture, including the food, the language, and the community within LA itself
-It was nice to see a diverse teen dealing with anger issues
-The LGBTQ representation with Rika’s Aunties was a especially interesting within a “traditional” Japanese family.
-The Last 1/4 or so picked up for me
𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐬:
-It was lacking in romance. I really didn’t see a whole lot of chemistry between Rika and Henry
-So darn slow. This should have had like 1/3 or more chopped off.
-It was anticlimactic. I can’t really go into detail without spoilers.
-The book was supposed to be about Rika finding out if Grace was her mom but somewhere along the way detoured to the difficulties of the acting world for Bi-Racial Asian actors.
-I just didn’t feel much of a connection to any of the characters.
For me this was a bit too wholesome of a YA read. I think that was a lot of my problem while reading From Little Tokyo With Love. So I encourage those of you who like a syrupy sweet story to give this a try. Don’t let my jaded thoughts stop you!
𝐓𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐤 𝐘𝐨𝐮 𝐏𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐮𝐢𝐧 𝐓𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐠𝐢𝐟𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐦𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐞𝐀𝐑𝐂 𝐢𝐧 𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐦𝐲 𝐡𝐨𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐫𝐞𝐯𝐢𝐞𝐰.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Bullying, Misogyny, and Racism
Moderate: Grief, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, and Abandonment
katiemack's review
emotional
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
fast-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
I'm always glad to read a book that will resonate with my (potential) future multiracial children. Through protagonist Rika, Kuhn explores themes of identity, loss, and emotional control in this cute (but not sugary-sweet) YA novel. It was refreshing to read Rika's struggle with letting go and feeling her own emotions; I haven't seen that explored so fully in a YA novel, and I really identified with that plot point. Though there were some awful side characters in Little Tokyo, it was heartwarming to read about the communal feel of the area and the way the community rallied toward the end.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Abandonment, Panic attacks/disorders, Misogyny, Grief, and Emotional abuse
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