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3.14 AVERAGE
3.14 AVERAGE
This is really a book about a bunch of things happening and no character growth for the protagonist whatsoever. But don’t worry, she doesn’t need to grow because she’s earned a lot of grit by taking care of her mother who struggles with addiction and is now in prison, and by navigating the foster care system for two years, and by never knowing who her father was. All of which happens before the first page of the book.
On the second page (it feels like), she learns that her dad is actually a super rich guy in Japan and he wants her to come live with him! Literally a Wattpad fantasy. From there we get what seems to be Rachel Cohn’s Tokyo dream life, complete with an international school with very cool people, a penthouse in the fanciest building in the city, all the glamorous Japanese technology a kid could want, unlimited ice cream and ramen, etc etc.
It’s pretty obvious that Cohn has never experienced any of her main character’s circumstances, like the context of the foster care system or having parents with substance use issues, or if she has she’s choosing to use them as a plot device rather than genuine representation.
A few other things I didn’t like…
- The voice of the protagonist. All YA is a bit inauthentic by nature because adults are not the age they’re writing as, but this writing sounded particularly unconvincing.
- The way Japanese culture and traditions (“rules”) were presented. First of all, Elle is 16, not 11, so I don’t believe she would have had such a hard time accepting or going along with these practices (again the inauthentic voice). Beyond that, it was written almost didactically, to the point where I felt like I was reading Elle’s cultural guidebook through the dialogue of the characters. I feel like there was a better way to weave that through the narrative.
- The neat and tidy ending. The conflict came to a climax and was completely resolved within 15 pages and every single piece fell into place at the same time. YA can be corny at times but it doesn’t have to be this simple. Teenagers can be complex and their conflicts can be ongoing, actually!
Things I did like…
- Uncle Masa. Where was he for the majority of the book though? He always showed up at just the right time and he was the adult the story needed.
- The two sentences about Kim and Chloe. Give me more of them without Elle’s applause
- Akemi and Elle teaching each other idioms in Japanese and English. I thought this was cute and I liked how they were sometimes woven into the story
This was a fine vacation book but I don’t even know if I would shelve it in my classroom. I’d rather just have books by actual Japanese/Japanese American authors instead of this white lady’s Tokyo dream story.
On the second page (it feels like), she learns that her dad is actually a super rich guy in Japan and he wants her to come live with him! Literally a Wattpad fantasy. From there we get what seems to be Rachel Cohn’s Tokyo dream life, complete with an international school with very cool people, a penthouse in the fanciest building in the city, all the glamorous Japanese technology a kid could want, unlimited ice cream and ramen, etc etc.
It’s pretty obvious that Cohn has never experienced any of her main character’s circumstances, like the context of the foster care system or having parents with substance use issues, or if she has she’s choosing to use them as a plot device rather than genuine representation.
A few other things I didn’t like…
- The voice of the protagonist. All YA is a bit inauthentic by nature because adults are not the age they’re writing as, but this writing sounded particularly unconvincing.
- The way Japanese culture and traditions (“rules”) were presented. First of all, Elle is 16, not 11, so I don’t believe she would have had such a hard time accepting or going along with these practices (again the inauthentic voice). Beyond that, it was written almost didactically, to the point where I felt like I was reading Elle’s cultural guidebook through the dialogue of the characters. I feel like there was a better way to weave that through the narrative.
- The neat and tidy ending. The conflict came to a climax and was completely resolved within 15 pages and every single piece fell into place at the same time. YA can be corny at times but it doesn’t have to be this simple. Teenagers can be complex and their conflicts can be ongoing, actually!
Things I did like…
- Uncle Masa. Where was he for the majority of the book though? He always showed up at just the right time and he was the adult the story needed.
- The two sentences about Kim and Chloe. Give me more of them without Elle’s applause
- Akemi and Elle teaching each other idioms in Japanese and English. I thought this was cute and I liked how they were sometimes woven into the story
This was a fine vacation book but I don’t even know if I would shelve it in my classroom. I’d rather just have books by actual Japanese/Japanese American authors instead of this white lady’s Tokyo dream story.
Sometimes I just wonder what revision processes a book went through.
I was stoked about this one. I love Japanese culture and I’ve never read a YA book set there. The cover is gorgeous. The premise is neat.
But this book was just a huge miss for me all around.
-the writing felt really juvenile, like middle school at best, and yet the book had some more adult themes that just sort of made the book feel like it didn’t know who it was for — lots of swearing, mentions of date rape and alcoholism, but then reacting like OMG IS THIS REALLY HAPPENING and referring to her new boyfriend as the “the most awesomest guy!”
-The romance was juvenile and paper thin. The characters were lacking in depth. I didn’t care about anyone?
-nothing happens until literally the last 12 pages
-Elle gets very self righteous about how rude and mean the ex-brats and her new family are, but she herself is so judgmental and horrible about Japanese customs and culture — it was legitimately tough to read. She was so irritating. Her culture shock was not interesting or cute. It was borderline offensive and came across as so privileged, despite her less than ideal upbringing.
-in general I was disappointed with the lack of actual Japan research and knowledge. Sure there were fun tourist activities and cultural anecdotes, but literally everywhere Elle goes in this book were places I went on a recent ten day trip to Japan. It just felt surface level. And some of the actual Japanese language stuff is inaccurate, which felt lazy.
Anyway. I hope to find more YA books set in Japan’s because I was pretty disappointed by this one.
I was stoked about this one. I love Japanese culture and I’ve never read a YA book set there. The cover is gorgeous. The premise is neat.
But this book was just a huge miss for me all around.
-the writing felt really juvenile, like middle school at best, and yet the book had some more adult themes that just sort of made the book feel like it didn’t know who it was for — lots of swearing, mentions of date rape and alcoholism, but then reacting like OMG IS THIS REALLY HAPPENING and referring to her new boyfriend as the “the most awesomest guy!”
-The romance was juvenile and paper thin. The characters were lacking in depth. I didn’t care about anyone?
-nothing happens until literally the last 12 pages
-Elle gets very self righteous about how rude and mean the ex-brats and her new family are, but she herself is so judgmental and horrible about Japanese customs and culture — it was legitimately tough to read. She was so irritating. Her culture shock was not interesting or cute. It was borderline offensive and came across as so privileged, despite her less than ideal upbringing.
-in general I was disappointed with the lack of actual Japan research and knowledge. Sure there were fun tourist activities and cultural anecdotes, but literally everywhere Elle goes in this book were places I went on a recent ten day trip to Japan. It just felt surface level. And some of the actual Japanese language stuff is inaccurate, which felt lazy.
Anyway. I hope to find more YA books set in Japan’s because I was pretty disappointed by this one.
I loved this book!! I’m really surprised by the mixed reviews it seems to have. This is the first book in a while where I truly liked the character. You are rooting for Elle and the relationship she so wants to build with her unexpected family. Rachel Cohen did a wonderful job depicting the complex family relationship and Tokyo. There is a ton of culture, family drama, likable characters , not so likable characters, and did I mention drama? How could you not love this book...
adventurous
challenging
slow-paced
funny
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
oof, lockdown read... this seemed like the kind of thing my little sister wouldve liked (i sometimes would read stuff i thought she might enjoy so i knew whatever i was giving her was Quality™️) so i picked it up and while it was a light and enjoyable read it kinda sucked to read it during such a depressing time . it was a fast read and honestly a pleasant break from my at-the-time game of thrones binge to read something that didnt deal with all the horrors of the adult world . this book also was wayyyy out of the demographic zone of books teen boys would like but what can i say . i love my sister
i dont think my sister ever ended up reading this though 💀
i dont think my sister ever ended up reading this though 💀
adventurous
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
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:
No
hopeful
medium-paced
medium-paced
Did not enjoy this one. At the beginning of the book, Elle kind of seems douchey and disrespectful of Japanese culture at the beginning which couldn't help but make me scrunch my nose a bit.
The Japanese culture in the book also feels very... surface level. Not that I expect the author to write 100% accurate depictions of Japanese people, but it feels like the author just really enjoyed Japanese pop culture and anime, knew certain Japanese words, and then wrote a book about it. It's hard to enjoy the characters as they come off as pretty flat. And this may be more of a personal gripe but it's annoying how every time a character says a word in another language they're instantly like 'omg well this means that'. The meaning of the word can just be put in a note or they could just avoid writing that all together. If it was a few times, it'd be whatever. But this happens ANY time a character mentions another word in another language.
There's also a moment where it touches upon Japanese people's need to wear face masks to keep themselves healthy and the main character literally says "that's so OCD"??? Which is extremely insensitive. It also perpetuates the belief that OCD is just the 'neat-freak obsessed with organizing things' disease when it's not just that.
I looked up the author up, assuming that maybe, just maybe, I was overthinking that this was written by a person who wasn't Japanese or at least lived/traveled there a lot/etc. But looking it up, it seems like I wasn't overthinking at all. It makes sense why a lot of things seem out-of-touch or insensitive.
However, there are some serious topics that happen in Japan mentioned in the story, such as 'death by overwork' and rape culture in the country. But for the most part it feels like the book is just an attempt to shove as much Japanese pop culture and insensitivity as one can in a book.
In general, the writing also comes off as corny sometimes, but that's pretty typical for books for young readers. I expected this to be a corny book in the first place with the title and all, but this book just feels worse than just 'corny'.
Just please read a book by a Japanese author instead. Or at least, someone who actually experiences the culture and knows how to respect it.
The Japanese culture in the book also feels very... surface level. Not that I expect the author to write 100% accurate depictions of Japanese people, but it feels like the author just really enjoyed Japanese pop culture and anime, knew certain Japanese words, and then wrote a book about it. It's hard to enjoy the characters as they come off as pretty flat. And this may be more of a personal gripe but it's annoying how every time a character says a word in another language they're instantly like 'omg well this means that'. The meaning of the word can just be put in a note or they could just avoid writing that all together. If it was a few times, it'd be whatever. But this happens ANY time a character mentions another word in another language.
There's also a moment where it touches upon Japanese people's need to wear face masks to keep themselves healthy and the main character literally says "that's so OCD"??? Which is extremely insensitive. It also perpetuates the belief that OCD is just the 'neat-freak obsessed with organizing things' disease when it's not just that.
I looked up the author up, assuming that maybe, just maybe, I was overthinking that this was written by a person who wasn't Japanese or at least lived/traveled there a lot/etc. But looking it up, it seems like I wasn't overthinking at all. It makes sense why a lot of things seem out-of-touch or insensitive.
However, there are some serious topics that happen in Japan mentioned in the story, such as 'death by overwork' and rape culture in the country. But for the most part it feels like the book is just an attempt to shove as much Japanese pop culture and insensitivity as one can in a book.
In general, the writing also comes off as corny sometimes, but that's pretty typical for books for young readers. I expected this to be a corny book in the first place with the title and all, but this book just feels worse than just 'corny'.
Just please read a book by a Japanese author instead. Or at least, someone who actually experiences the culture and knows how to respect it.
This was a good new adult book -- that shows some good and bad aspects of Japan social system with families and schools -- well written and enjoyable that I read it in one day !
I rarely rate a book that I haven't finished but this one is the exception. It was a painful read to the end of chapter 13. I can go no further. The conversations are mostly one liners, the descriptions could be better. The author had a good plot but it definitely could have been more flushed out. This book is more like a quick type of what was in her mind. I wouldn't recommend this book at all.
The cover is pretty though.
The cover is pretty though.