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Katy Jean Vance's Reviews > Tokyo Ever After
Tokyo Ever After
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I think there will be a lot of teenagers, probably American ones, who will really enjoy this novel. It’s the dream of finding out you’re somehow special and then when you don’t measure up, finding out that you’re actually fine just the way you are. Being celebrated for mediocrity in fact! Who doesn’t like that?
As a person living in Japan, there were some parts that just didn’t ring true. Izumi was in Japan for such a short time, so it’s really impossible that her language learning practice started with painting kanji. Hiragana first, katakana second, kanji a distant third. Dorayaki are made with anko, bean paste. They are delicious, but they aren’t made with Nutella. There was just something about the FEEL of it that felt like it’s written by someone who’s never been here.
As a reader, I had a hard time believing the start of the story. I know I need to suspend disbelief in a “turns out I’m a Princess� story, but the mom just turned around and let her go to Japan to see her ex-lover without even a conversation? Izumi flew all the way to Japan without even cracking the prep book sent to her? I don’t believe it for a second. Yes, she’s painted as a bit of a lazy, go with the flow teenager, but I think the complete lack of preparation for her visit is in contrast to her supposed extreme interest in meeting her father. I also think it’s a little insulting to teenagers. They’re not this... apathetic. I know. I teach them. These two things happen so early on in the story, by the way, that I don't think this qualifies as a spoiler. Finally, the secondary characters were all charming but felt like foils for Izumi rather than fully realized individuals.
But you know what? We have a ton of fluffy romance novels lacking in substances with white girls who discover their European royalty as the main character. Nothing wrong with a fluffy romance lacking in substance with an Asian girl discovering she’s Japanese royalty.
If I were in America, I would buy this book for my students because my quibbles with cultural accuracy are just that: quibbles. For my students in Japan though? Probably not.
Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
As a person living in Japan, there were some parts that just didn’t ring true. Izumi was in Japan for such a short time, so it’s really impossible that her language learning practice started with painting kanji. Hiragana first, katakana second, kanji a distant third. Dorayaki are made with anko, bean paste. They are delicious, but they aren’t made with Nutella. There was just something about the FEEL of it that felt like it’s written by someone who’s never been here.
As a reader, I had a hard time believing the start of the story. I know I need to suspend disbelief in a “turns out I’m a Princess� story, but the mom just turned around and let her go to Japan to see her ex-lover without even a conversation? Izumi flew all the way to Japan without even cracking the prep book sent to her? I don’t believe it for a second. Yes, she’s painted as a bit of a lazy, go with the flow teenager, but I think the complete lack of preparation for her visit is in contrast to her supposed extreme interest in meeting her father. I also think it’s a little insulting to teenagers. They’re not this... apathetic. I know. I teach them. These two things happen so early on in the story, by the way, that I don't think this qualifies as a spoiler. Finally, the secondary characters were all charming but felt like foils for Izumi rather than fully realized individuals.
But you know what? We have a ton of fluffy romance novels lacking in substances with white girls who discover their European royalty as the main character. Nothing wrong with a fluffy romance lacking in substance with an Asian girl discovering she’s Japanese royalty.
If I were in America, I would buy this book for my students because my quibbles with cultural accuracy are just that: quibbles. For my students in Japan though? Probably not.
Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with this ARC in exchange for an honest review.
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Reading Progress
November 23, 2020
– Shelved
November 23, 2020
– Shelved as:
to-read
Started Reading
November 26, 2020
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DARIA
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rated it 3 stars
May 23, 2021 06:17AM
Yesss I totally agree with your review!! I’m an American that probably watches more K-dramas than I do American tv. Before reading this book I saw a review that said it’s like the Asian Dramas we all love. Now that I’ve finished the book I just don’t agree. It wasn’t a total disappointment. I just didn’t get all the feels I was expecting. Your review sums it up perfectly!
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We have a ton of fluffy romance novels lacking in substances with white girls who discover their European royalty as the main character. Nothing wrong with a fluffy romance lacking in substance with an Asian girl discovering she’s Japanese royalty. YES. Thiiiiiis. I agree.
I just started reading this and had the same issues. The Tokyo Tattler thing also felt a tad off to me.It's still great this book exists.
Thanks for sharing. I've lived here a while too, so I was looking for a review from someone familiar with Japan. Inaccuracies don't always really matter, but they tend to really distract me personally, so I like to know what to expect before going in. Thanks again!
This summarizes my feelings perfectly.
Loved this well reasoned review - I'm not into Royalty themed novels. Loved as well how you "nut-shelled" the age-old teenage (and adult!) mentality: " It’s the dream of finding out you’re somehow special and then when you don’t measure up, finding out that you’re actually fine just the way you are. Being celebrated for mediocrity in fact! Who doesn’t like that? In a world obsessed with SuperHero blockbusters, it seems that most of us still haven't outgrown that type of thinking. I prefer less fairy tale, more real life situations and how people work through them. Great job, Katy Jean!
Cydney wrote: "Thanks for sharing. I've lived here a while too, so I was looking for a review from someone familiar with Japan. Inaccuracies don't always really matter, but they tend to really distract me persona..."I hope you enjoy it all the same! :)
Susan's Reviews wrote: "Loved this well reasoned review - I'm not into Royalty themed novels. Loved as well how you "nut-shelled" the age-old teenage (and adult!) mentality: " It’s the dream of finding out you’re somehow ..."And you know what? Without getting into spoilers, the main character does show growth and approaches the challenges of her new life with grace near the end of the book. So you may well enjoy that part :)
Katy! It was so fun to see you reviewing this book (I was looking at it because of the sequel coming out) but I don’t think I will spend my yen on this one.
I was thinking the same thing! I find it super hard to believe she walked in knowing nothing and not even glancing at the book she was given to prepare. A lot of the teenage humor and jokes were also lost on me. Granted I’m not longer a teenager but there were moments that it felt more like a 12 year old than someone who is 28.
Interesting seeing as the author is Japanese�
