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A review by xavia
From Little Tokyo, with Love by Sarah Kuhn
3.0
From Little Tokyo, With Love is a beautiful book about accepting yourself. All of your self.
It focused a LOT on Rika's feelings of not belonging. She's too Asian to be just American, but not Asian enough for her community to truly accept her. She's constantly told she is "half" and "to angry" and "a disruption" and "a mistake" and while she tries to just let these things roll off of her it's very clear that she has internalized those things and made them a part of her.
It's a beautiful story of self acceptance and a look at these "tight knit communities" and how they operate.
My problem is with the way the book was executed. I think this story should have been about Rika reconnecting with Grace and with her sisters. No romance (which, is saying a lot because the romance is often my favorite part of a story). But with the message this book was trying to impart, I think the focus should have strictly been on Rika's search for Grace. While that is the main over all goal, so much of it is overshadowed by this boy Rika's only known for four days. I just think it would have been more powerful is she went on this quest with Belle and Rory.
Additionally, I think I would have liked to get some of Grace's perspective. Instead of info dumping the backstories at the end of the book, I think I would have liked to live some of those moments with Grace. A duel perspective between Rika and Grace. So we can understand both of them, instead of just... dangling Grace like a carrot.
Truthfully, because this book actually focuses so little on Grace, I didn't actually feel the catharsis I expected when Rika finally met her. She felt flat. And frankly like a child. I didn't care.
So while I loved this book for it's deep dive into what it's like to "not belong" in a culture or group, the execution left a lot to be desired. Because of the way the plot DOES go, I wish the book was a good 100 pages shorter.
It focused a LOT on Rika's feelings of not belonging. She's too Asian to be just American, but not Asian enough for her community to truly accept her. She's constantly told she is "half" and "to angry" and "a disruption" and "a mistake" and while she tries to just let these things roll off of her it's very clear that she has internalized those things and made them a part of her.
It's a beautiful story of self acceptance and a look at these "tight knit communities" and how they operate.
My problem is with the way the book was executed. I think this story should have been about Rika reconnecting with Grace and with her sisters. No romance (which, is saying a lot because the romance is often my favorite part of a story). But with the message this book was trying to impart, I think the focus should have strictly been on Rika's search for Grace. While that is the main over all goal, so much of it is overshadowed by this boy Rika's only known for four days. I just think it would have been more powerful is she went on this quest with Belle and Rory.
Additionally, I think I would have liked to get some of Grace's perspective. Instead of info dumping the backstories at the end of the book, I think I would have liked to live some of those moments with Grace. A duel perspective between Rika and Grace. So we can understand both of them, instead of just... dangling Grace like a carrot.
Truthfully, because this book actually focuses so little on Grace, I didn't actually feel the catharsis I expected when Rika finally met her. She felt flat. And frankly like a child. I didn't care.
So while I loved this book for it's deep dive into what it's like to "not belong" in a culture or group, the execution left a lot to be desired. Because of the way the plot DOES go, I wish the book was a good 100 pages shorter.