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A review by tacoboutmari
Mika in Real Life by Emiko Jean
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
slow-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? It's complicated
5.0
I have read Emiko Jean's YA books before, but I truly believe this is Emiko Jean at her best. I see this is sort of classified as a romance, and I highly disagree with that classification. If this is to be considered a romance at all, I would say this is a tale of a woman allowing herself to fall in love... with her true self. And not in a self absorbed sort of way.
Emiko Jean wrote that this she immersed her whole self to writing this book, and this is clear in the pages. Raw, messy, and hilarious, Jean captures an imperfect main character who is just trying to "figure it out", and makes a whole bunch of mistakes while trying to do so.
I loved the nuances of the mother-daughter relationship with both Mika's own mother and her biological daughter. I loved how Jean did not have the model-minority trope, instead she made the main character as messy and realistic as they come. I loved how Jean wrote Mika in a way that struggled to conform to traditional Japanese societal beliefs for women and how she also didn't also fit within the American narrative either. I loved the exploration of how damning it is to be silent, and Jean diving into how heavy & loud silence is for women as a whole.
I give this five stars because Jean's "Mika In Real Life" could be anyone's story despite how improbable the plot circumstances are. Anyone could tell a white lie to appear better than they are, and then have that lie spiral out of control. Anyone could both have a strained relationship with their parents, and still love them. Everyone has at one point thought to themselves that their life is not where they wanted it to be. Mika could be all of us, and I think Jean perfectly demonstrates how important it is to love yourself through all the chaos of life.
Oh, and the character development is wonderfully paced without being too sappy but just the right amount of bittersweet.
Emiko Jean wrote that this she immersed her whole self to writing this book, and this is clear in the pages. Raw, messy, and hilarious, Jean captures an imperfect main character who is just trying to "figure it out", and makes a whole bunch of mistakes while trying to do so.
I loved the nuances of the mother-daughter relationship with both Mika's own mother and her biological daughter. I loved how Jean did not have the model-minority trope, instead she made the main character as messy and realistic as they come. I loved how Jean wrote Mika in a way that struggled to conform to traditional Japanese societal beliefs for women and how she also didn't also fit within the American narrative either. I loved the exploration of how damning it is to be silent, and Jean diving into how heavy & loud silence is for women as a whole.
I give this five stars because Jean's "Mika In Real Life" could be anyone's story despite how improbable the plot circumstances are. Anyone could tell a white lie to appear better than they are, and then have that lie spiral out of control. Anyone could both have a strained relationship with their parents, and still love them. Everyone has at one point thought to themselves that their life is not where they wanted it to be. Mika could be all of us, and I think Jean perfectly demonstrates how important it is to love yourself through all the chaos of life.
Oh, and the character development is wonderfully paced without being too sappy but just the right amount of bittersweet.