beautifulpaxielreads's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
3.0
If you enjoyed the film version of The Princess Diaries, then you'll probably enjoy this because the premise is very similar.
The MC, Izumi, felt narratively younger than she actually was - it was only when she was talking about more complex concepts that I realised she was supposed to be about 18 or so.
I felt like the
I enjoyed the visit to Kyoto, and there were interesting discussions around the idea of belonging and identlty - Izumi, though she is of Japanese heritage, was raised in a very white area of the US and has very little knowledge of her own culture. Her eventual realisation that
I also felt like Emiko Jean could have gone deeper into the role that class and privilege played in Japanese society in terms of the Japanese people's attitude to the royal family's higher status and wealth, though I admit that I'm coming at this from a Western perspective and may sound ignorant as a result.
In short, this was fun and light-hearted - but it could have been more.
Graphic: Bullying and Xenophobia
Moderate: Alcohol and Dementia
Minor: War and Mental illness
cadybooks's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
Moderate: Xenophobia and Sexism
Minor: Body shaming, Bullying, Racism, Vomit, Sexual harassment, and Sexual assault
mcz's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Graphic: Xenophobia and Cursing
Moderate: Bullying
Minor: Vomit
peachani's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Moderate: Sexism, Bullying, and Xenophobia
Minor: Racism, Sexual harassment, Vomit, Chronic illness, and Classism
goldendreams's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Bullying, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Alcohol
Minor: Sexual assault
karina_dreamsinwords's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
Tokyo Ever After is such a great young adult novel about Izumi discovering herself within her Japanese heritage and learning to adapt to the fact that she is a literal princess. The romance was super cute and seemed quite natural between Izumi and Akio. Not to mention the snippets of the Japanese tabloid- The Tokyo Tattler, giving us the tea in real time, uncovering Izumi's many frolics around town. There were some pretty funny bits & tons of sass revealed through these little articles between chapters, which made the reading experience all the more fun!
"I'm not a novelty here. I am not a sore thumb. What a privilege it is to blend in.”
It was lovely to see Izumi feel a sense of belonging in Japan, to feel at home after spending time amidst her homeland. I also loved seeing Izumi connect with her father and returning to Japan in the end. This was overall a really sweet story about our protagonist finding her roots and blooming into who she was meant to be all along.
I already have the sequel preordered and I cannot wait to read it!
Moderate: Xenophobia
aus10england's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Moderate: Xenophobia and Toxic friendship
Minor: Dementia
katiemcgregor's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Honestly, Tokyo Ever After would make a really fun movie. Izumi is quite consistent in her tonal narration, her first encounter with Japan was fun to read about, and the romance was super cute (I wasn't sure about it at first, but it really pulled through).
I think my main issue with the book are the fact that I wish it delves a little deeper into Izumi's issues with identity and assimilation. But at the same time, I think that the level of exploration that is provided actually fits for the YA genre (again, I've just gotten so used to brutal and deep adult character arcs lately). My one other gripe has to do with the dialogue. I'm actually okay with the cheesiness of it since it's so consistent, but every once in a while it feels like Izumi uses vocabulary that is totally out of character. Maybe this is because she's learning to be a royal and this book simply isn't long enough to fully explore how this might change her mannerisms and vernacular, but it still feels a little jolting. I also wasn't super into the dialogue breaks that happen so an inside joke or small piece of information could be explained. I found that these make it a little hard to distinguish dialogue from narration, but this is really a style preference.
All that being said, my favorite thing about the book is how well Emiko Jean inserts Japanese culture into the Tokyo Ever After without spoon feeding information and phrases to the reader. I've read far too many books where an American girl goes to Japan and then every other sentence is explaining a cultural difference or what a Japanese word means. It's so tedious. Jean still includes some of this information, and actually taught me some things about Japanese culture that I wasn't previously aware of, but she does it so smoothly. I really appreciate that.
Tokyo Ever After is a ridiculously fun and fluffy book. It's exactly what I needed to reset from all of the heavy content I've been reading. I'll be looking forward to the sequel.
Moderate: Bullying, Racism, Vomit, and Xenophobia
linesiunderline's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
Izumi was funny, complicated, relatable, and real. I loved the Lorelai / Rory feel of her relationship with her mom, and her friendships were full of love and inside jokes and support.
I didn’t read The Princess Diaries as a kid, but I watched the movies in my younger adult years, so I can see that the comparison is fitting.
I appreciated the exploration of identity and culture and personal history, and how these things merge in a complicated way for many teenagers, trying to find their place and a sense of self.
I hadn’t expected the sense of place to be so beautifully written. I love that in a book. Reading this made me bump Japan up on my someday travel list.
Some events relied too much on coincidence, and some of the secondary characters weren’t especially developed (the shining twins for instance), but the whole experience was just a delight, and I will be preordering the sequel that comes out in 2022. Spoiler alert: it’s also gorgeous.
Graphic: Alcohol, Bullying, Dementia, and Racism
Moderate: Gaslighting, Misogyny, Toxic relationship, and Xenophobia
Minor: Sexual content
sqacedvst's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Minor: Racism and Xenophobia