Reviews with content warning for Sexual assault - Mika in Real Life

Reviews tagging 'Sexual assault'

Mika in Real Life by Emiko Jean

12 reviews

yesdnil's review

emotional hopeful reflective sad slow-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

2.5

I thought the budding romance between Mika and [character] took away from the more interesting plotline of Mika and Penny reconnecting. I found myself skimming some chapters towards the middle/end. Hiromi was just a consistently awful/negative character, and reading about her was unbearable.

Pet Peeve: The novel's typeface (in the hardcover at least) made all of the chapters read like a never-ending text message.

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alysereadsbooks's review

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emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced

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

4.5

I really enjoyed this book, especially from the perspective as an adoptee. Though categorized as romance, make sure you check the trigger warnings before reading. I thought Mika was a relatable likeable character and I liked the overall exploration of mother/daughter relationships (both between Mika and her mother and Penny and Mika).

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bibliophilecats's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful 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? Yes

4.0

Was ich mir erhofft habe: Ich kenne bereits ein Jugendbuch der Autorin, welches mir gefallen hat. Der Plot dieses Buches klang auch gut.

Was mir gefallen hat: Mir hat sehr gut gefallen, dass es Mika nicht besser geht, weil sie eine Beziehung findet sondern dass sie alleine sich entschließt, etwas zu ändern und den Weg alleine geht. Keine „Wunderheilung durch die Liebe“. Das finde ich viel realistischer.

Was mir nicht gefallen hat: Die Schlafzimmersequenz hätte für mich weniger detailliert sein können.

Sprecherin: Die Sprecherin war in Ordnung. Insgesamt eher langsam.

Übersetzung: An ein paar wenigen Stellen hat mich der deutsche Text irritiert und ich habe mich gefragt, ob es an der Übersetzung liegt. Zum Beispiel sagt Mikas Freundin zu ihr, es wäre auch schwer gewesen „Penny aufzugeben“. Ich vermute, das ist die Übersetzung von „to give up a baby for adoption“, was ich im Deutschen aber besser als abgeben statt aufgeben bezeichnen würde. Auch habe ich Zweifel, dass die 16-jährige Penny wirklich Apfelwein trinkt und denke, dass es eher ein ungenaue Übersetzung des amerikanischen „apple cider“ (ohne Alkohol), im Gegensatz zum „hard cider“.

Fazit: Das Buch hat mir sehr gut gefallen. Es hat sich mit schwierigen Themen beschäftigt und diese mit dem nötigen Gewicht betrachtet ohne dabei mich als Leser total zu deprimieren. Es endet auf einer hoffnungsvollen, positiven Note. Und auch die Nebencharaktere waren liebenswert.

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piratenami's review

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emotional hopeful reflective 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? Yes

4.0

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chatty_cath's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful medium-paced

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

5.0

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abbiechron's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring reflective relaxing medium-paced

Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

What started off as a surface-level read bloomed into a beautiful story of finding one's way. At times it was painfully predictable, for example,

Spoiler

Mika and Thomas

, but the beautiful youth and growth shown through and allowed for room for my predictions to be flawed in the best ways. Don't skip this read.

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beckyyreadss's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional hopeful sad medium-paced

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

4.0

Thank you to Michael Joseph Penguin Publishing for sending this book in exchange for an honest review.

This book follows Mika Suzuki, she is 35 and she is struggling. She’s been fired (again). Her last relationship went up in flames. Her fervently traditional mother is perpetually disappointed in her. And now, she’s had a phone call from sixteen-year-old Penny Calvin. Her baby she reluctantly gave up for adoption when she was a teenager herself. Mika is desperate to meet her baby. But she barely feels like she can take care of herself. Is she ready to show Penny who her mother really is. This book is a contemporary fiction book set in America.

I wanted to give my heart to Mika and wanted to give her the biggest hug I could possibly give someone. Her story is so powerful, so heart breaking and how she managed I would have no clue. I would have loved to see Peter finding out he has a daughter and what the cause of his actions were. Penny was so smart and bright, and you can tell how much she wanted to learn but also respecting Mika’s boundaries. I loved to see the relationship grow between Mika and Penny and Thomas and how they became a blended family. I’m have a best friend like Hana in my life, so I was totally in love with Hana, I thought she was amazing and brilliant, and I wanted to see more of her and her girlfriend.

I wouldn’t say it was a weakness but considering this book is about Mika’s self-worth and that she doesn’t feel worthy another person or her worth, so I would have loved to see her friends point of views and showing what she looks like to other people and they can see that she’s holding back and the change in her that happens.

All and all, I enjoyed reading this book and I would read another one of Emiko Jean’s books.

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melloui's review

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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cinderellasbookshelf's review

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emotional funny hopeful reflective sad 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? Yes

5.0

I laughed, I cried - Mika in Real Life by Emiko Jean completely stole my heart, broke it, and put it back together again.

I really took my time reading this book mostly because I was not ready for it to end and to leave these characters behind. You really become attached to them, especially Mika and her relationship with Penny, the now sixteen year old daughter she gave up for adoption years prior. Both characters are in search of something; the person they used to be, who they are now, and a part of themselves they are trying to recapture or understand that they needed to find by meeting each other.

I thought Emiko Jean did such a great job in handling the serious subject matters mentioned while also balancing it with the light and humor. There is so much packed in about parents and children, identity, trauma, grief, and how we heal and grow. Yet, everything is presented so seamlessly.

My only criticism is the ending. It may just be me as a reader, but I really wanted a little bit more in those last few pages, particularly an epilogue. I want to know what happened to these characters after everything they had been through. It’s hinted that they will be alright, but I also have to know. That last letter though really hit me. I felt that it encapsulated so many themes this book explored, while still giving a hopefulness that perfectly ended this whole journey we read. I guess that’s the thing about the ending that I wished there was more of - it’s the end of one story, but the beginning of another. Nonetheless though, everyone will be alright.

I recommend checking the content warnings before reading, but otherwise, I cannot recommend this book enough. It is a subtle gem that will really tug at your heartstrings and leave you tethered to these characters even when it’s over.

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cakt1991's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful reflective 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? Yes

4.0

I love that, sequel aside, Emiko Jean never writes the same type of book twice. And Mika in Real Life is also additionally different in that it’s her first book for adults. And even amid other deadlines, as alluded to in her acknowledgments, she delivers a compelling, heartwarming read that is guaranteed to pull at one’s heartstrings.

Mika is immediately relatable. She’s kind-of, just-barely getting by at thirty-five, which is very reassuring to read…there really is no age limit to being a mess. And while she has a strained relationship with her traditional Japanese parents, I appreciate that the narrative used it to color her perspective on life and the relationship with parent and child, without the relationship being a dominating force, as many dysfunctional relationship narratives within multicultural contexts can often be.

Instead, I love how it colors her choice to be (and not be) a mother. She gave up her child to more capable adoptive parents, but once Penny has come back into her life, she can’t help but want to appear as the best image of herself she can be, so Penny won’t be disappointed in her, even if it means telling some white lies. The plan does not go as she hoped (who expected it to?), but I love how the story focuses on her constant growth, while not putting her into a box by the end.

I really liked how the history between Mika and Penny’s adoptive family is delivered through the interstitial documents. While Penny doesn’t find out her mother’s identity until her teens, it’s sweet for Mika to receive correspondence from Caroline and, later, Thomas. It really gave depth to the relationship between Mika and the entire family, even before she met them.

I really liked a lot of the relationships in this book. Her best friend/roommate, Hana, is equally messy (and a hoarder!), but she’s incredibly endearing in her own right. I wasn’t sure what to think about Leif, who Mika is sort-of dating throughout the book, but he’s a decent mguy who helps Mika in a tough spot, even if he’s not “the One” for her.

And I love the development of Mika’s bonds with both Penny and Thomas. While she isn’t an image of perfection with it all together, Mika really does love Penny, and Penny comes to love her back. And a romance also develops between Mika and Thomas, and while it’s very much a subplot, it’s really sweet.

While the narrative hits some predictable story beats, it’s bighearted nature and the sensitive handling of topics like the impact of adoption on all parties involved, makes it an engaging read. If you enjoy contemporaries that are humorous, yet subtly hard-hitting, you might like this one.

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