Mika in Real Life: A Good Morning America Book Club Pick

Amazon.com Review\nAn Amazon Best Book of August 2022: Emiko Jean is the best-selling author of witty young adult rom-coms Tokyo Ever After and Tokyo Dreaming, and while her first adult novel, Mika in Real Life, has rom-com vibes, this is a book with real heft. When Mika was a freshman in college she got pregnant and gave her daughter up for adoption. Sixteen years later, Mika’s daughter finds her, and what follows is a story of motherhood, forgiveness, and fresh starts. Mika’s catharsis became my own, as she realizes that her expectation of how a “good” mother should be is the stuff of fairytales. The relationship between mother and child is complicated pretty much from birth, and whether you are a mother, the child, or both, it’s two sides of the same coin where perfection is a fantasy. Jean gives us authentic characters, a lot of laughs, and a chance to see our own relationships—with our mothers, our children, and ourselves—in a new and refreshing light.—Seira Wilson, Amazon Editor\nA GOOD MORNING AMERICA BOOK CLUB PICK 
In this brilliant new novel from Emiko Jean, the author of the New York Times bestselling young adult novel Tokyo Ever After, comes a whip-smart, laugh-out-loud funny, and utterly heartwarming novel about motherhood, daughterhood, and love—how we find it, keep it, and how it always returns. 
One phone call changes everything. 
At thirty-five, Mika Suzuki’s life is a mess. Her last relationship ended in flames. Her roommate-slash-best friend might be a hoarder. She’s a perpetual disappointment to her traditional Japanese parents. And, most recently, she’s been fired from her latest dead-end job. 
Mika is at her lowest point when she receives a phone call from Penny—the daughter she placed for adoption sixteen years ago. Penny is determined to forge a relationship with her birth mother, and in turn, Mika longs to be someone Penny is proud of. Faced with her own inadequacies, Mika embellishes a fact about her life. What starts as a tiny white lie slowly snowballs into a fully-fledged fake life, one where Mika is mature, put-together, successful in love and her career. 
The details of Mika’s life might be an illusion, but everything she shares with curious, headstrong Penny is real: her hopes, dreams, flaws, and Japanese heritage. The harder-won heart belongs to Thomas Calvin, Penny’s adoptive widower father. What starts as a rocky, contentious relationship slowly blossoms into a friendship and, over time, something more. But can Mika really have it all—love, her daughter, the life she’s always wanted? Or will Mika’s deceptions ultimately catch up to her? In the end, Mika must face the truth—about herself, her family, and her past—and answer the question, just who is Mika in real life? 
Perfect for fans of Kiley Reid’s Such a Fun Age, Gail Honeyman’s Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine, and Rebecca Serle’s In Five Years, Mika in Real Life is at once a heart-wrenching and uplifting novel that explores the weight of silence, the secrets we keep, and what it means to be a mother.

Mika in Real Life: A Novel

Literature & Fiction

Jean, Emiko

Dramas & Plays

William Morrow

A GOOD MORNING AMERICA BOOK CLUB PICK 
A #READ WITH MC BOOK CLUB PICK 
"A wonderful, life-affirming story about second chances, parenthood, and love..."--Lauren Ho, author of Lucie Yi is Not a Romantic and Last Tang Standing 
From Emiko Jean, the author of the New York Times bestselling young adult novels Tokyo Ever After and Tokyo Dreaming, comes a whip-smart, laugh-out-loud funny, and utterly heartwarming novel about motherhood, daughterhood, and love—how we find it, keep it, and how it always returns. 
Mika Suzuki’s life is a mess. Fired from a dead-end job, she shares a home with her best friend, who just might be a hoarder if all the unopened deliveries are a sign. Her last relationship—to a burnout named Leif—ended in flames. And she’s a perpetual disappointment to her traditional Japanese parents, especially to her mother, who keeps presenting her with dating prospects found in church. 
Then she receives the surprise of her life—a phone call from Penny, the baby she placed for adoption sixteen years ago. Now a headstrong teenager, Penny is eager to learn all about Mika, who she is and what her dreams are. The harder-won heart belongs to Thomas Calvin, Penny’s adoptive widower father. What starts as a rocky relationship with him slowly blossoms into friendship and, just maybe, something more. 
Faced with her own insecurities, Mika at first embellishes the facts about her life. But Penny’s love revives so many of the dreams she once had, especially those about being an artist and making a difference in the world… ultimately forcing her to answer the question, Just who is Mika in real life?

William Morrow Paperbacks

A&nbsp;GOOD MORNING AMERICA&nbsp;BOOK CLUB PICK In this brilliant new novel from Emiko Jean, the author of the New York Times bestselling young adult novel Tokyo Ever After, comes a whip-smart, laugh-out-loud funny, and utterly heartwarming novel&nbsp;&nbsp;about motherhood, daughterhood, and love--how we find it, keep it, and how it always returns. One phone call changes everything.&nbsp; At thirty-five, Mika Suzuki's life is a mess. Her last relationship ended in flames. Her roommate-slash-best friend might be a hoarder. She's a perpetual disappointment to her traditional Japanese parents. And, most recently, she's been fired from her latest dead-end job.&nbsp;&nbsp; Mika is at her lowest point when she receives a phone call from Penny--the daughter she placed for adoption sixteen years ago. Penny is determined to forge a relationship with her birth mother, and in turn, Mika longs to be someone Penny is proud of. Faced with her own inadequacies, Mika embellishes a fact about her life. What starts as a tiny white lie slowly snowballs into a fully-fledged fake life, one where Mika is mature, put-together, successful in love and her career.&nbsp; The details of Mika's life might be an illusion, but everything she shares with curious, headstrong Penny is real: her hopes, dreams, flaws, and Japanese heritage. The harder-won heart belongs to Thomas Calvin, Penny's adoptive widower father. What starts as a rocky, contentious relationship slowly blossoms into a friendship and, over time, something more. But can Mika really have it all--love, her daughter, the life she's always wanted? Or will Mika's deceptions ultimately catch up to her? In the end, Mika must face the truth--about herself, her family, and her past--and answer the question, just who is Mika in real life?&nbsp; Perfect for fans of Kiley Reid's Such a Fun Age, Gail Honeyman's Eleanor Oliphant is Completely Fine, and Rebecca Serle's In Five Years, Mika in Real Life is at once a heart-wrenching and uplifting novel that explores the weight of silence, the secrets we keep, and what it means to be a mother.

William Morrow Large Print

Winter 2018-2019 Kids’ Indie Next List\nIn a palace of illusions, nothing is what it seems.\nEach generation, a competition is held to find the next empress of Honoku. The rules are simple. Survive the palace’s enchanted seasonal rooms. Conquer Winter, Spring, Summer, and Fall. Marry the prince. All are eligible to compete—all except yokai, supernatural monsters and spirits whom the human emperor is determined to enslave and destroy. Mari has spent a lifetime training to become empress. Winning should be easy. And it would be, if she weren't hiding a dangerous secret. Mari is a yokai with the ability to transform into a terrifying monster. If discovered, her life will be forfeit. As she struggles to keep her true identity hidden, Mari’s fate collides with that of Taro, the prince who has no desire to inherit the imperial throne, and Akira, a half-human, half-yokai outcast. Torn between duty and love, loyalty and betrayal, vengeance and forgiveness, the choices of Mari, Taro, and Akira will decide the fate of Honoku in this beautifully written, edge-of-your-seat YA fantasy.

Empress of All Seasons

Teen & Young Adult

Clarion Books

Empress of all Seasons

Winter 2018-2019 Kids’ Indie Next List In a palace of illusions, nothing is what it seems. Each generation, a competition is held to find the next empress of Honoku. The rules are simple. Survive the palace’s enchanted seasonal rooms. Conquer Winter, Spring, Summer, and Fall. Marry the prince. All are eligible to compete—all except yōkai, supernatural monsters and spirits whom the human emperor is determined to enslave and destroy. Mari has spent a lifetime training to become empress. Winning should be easy. And it would be, if she weren't hiding a dangerous secret. Mari is a yōkai with the ability to transform into a terrifying monster. If discovered, her life will be forfeit. As she struggles to keep her true identity hidden, Mari’s fate collides with that of Taro, the prince who has no desire to inherit the imperial throne, and Akira, a half-human, half-yōkai outcast. Torn between duty and love, loyalty and betrayal, vengeance and forgiveness, the choices of Mari, Taro, and Akira will decide the fate of Honoku in this beautifully written, edge-of-your-seat YA fantasy.

Children's Books

Murder. Fire. Revenge. That’s all seventeen-year-old Alice Monroe thinks about. Committed to a mental ward at Savage Isle, Alice is haunted by memories of the fire that killed her boyfriend, Jason. A blaze her twin sister Cellie set. But when Chase, a mysterious, charismatic patient, agrees to help her seek vengeance, Alice begins to rethink everything. Writing out the story of her troubled past in a journal, she must confront hidden truths. Is the one person she trusts only telling her half the story? Nothing is as it seems in this edge-of-your-seat psychological thriller from the debut author Emiko Jean.

We'll Never Be Apart

TheNew York Timesbestseller and Reese Witherspoon x Hello Sunshine YA Book Club Pick!Emiko Jean'sTokyo Ever Afteris the "refreshing, spot-on" (Booklist, starred review) story of an ordinary Japanese-American girl who discovers that her father is the Crown Prince of Japan. Izumi Tanaka has never really felt like she fit in--it isn't easy being Japanese American in her small, mostly white, northern California town. Raised by a single mother, it's always been Izumi--or Izzy, because "It's easier this way"--and her mom against the world. But then Izumi discovers a clue to her previously unknown father's identity...and he's none other than the Crown Prince of Japan. Which means outspoken, irreverent Izzy isliterallya princess. In a whirlwind, Izumi travels to Japan to meet the father she never knew and discover the country she always dreamed of. But being a princess isn't all ball gowns and tiaras. There are conniving cousins, a hungry press, a scowling but handsome bodyguard who just might be her soulmate, and thousands of years of tradition and customs to learn practically overnight. Izumi soon finds herself caught between worlds, and between versions of herself--back home, she was never "American" enough, and in Japan, she must prove she's "Japanese" enough. Will Izumi crumble under the weight of the crown, or will she live out her fairy tale, happily ever after? Look for the sequel,Tokyo Dreaming, in 2022!

Tokyo Ever After: A Novel (Tokyo Ever After, 1)

Flatiron Books

About the Author\nWhen Emiko Jean isn’t writing, she is reading. Before she became a writer, she was an entomologist, a candlemaker, a florist, and most recently, a teacher. She lives in Washington with her husband and children (unruly twins). She is also the author of Empress of all Seasons and We'll Never Be Apart.\nEmiko Jean’s New York Times bestseller and Reese Book Club Pick Tokyo Ever After is the “refreshing, spot-on” (Booklist, starred review) story of an ordinary Japanese American girl who discovers that her father is the Crown Prince of Japan!\nIzumi Tanaka has never really felt like she fit in―it isn’t easy being Japanese American in her small, mostly white, northern California town. Raised by a single mother, it’s always been Izumi―or Izzy, because “It’s easier this way”―and her mom against the world. But then Izumi discovers a clue to her previously unknown father’s identity…and he’s none other than the Crown Prince of Japan. Which means outspoken, irreverent Izzy is literally a princess.\nIn a whirlwind, Izumi travels to Japan to meet the father she never knew and discover the country she always dreamed of. But being a princess isn’t all ball gowns and tiaras. There are conniving cousins, a hungry press, a scowling but handsome bodyguard who just might be her soulmate, and thousands of years of tradition and customs to learn practically overnight.\nIzumi soon finds herself caught between worlds, and between versions of herself―back home, she was never “American” enough, and in Japan, she must prove she’s “Japanese” enough. Will Izumi crumble under the weight of the crown, or will she live out her fairy tale, happily ever after?\nLook for the bestselling sequel, Tokyo Dreaming, out now.

Tokyo Ever After (Tokyo Ever After, 1)

About the Author\nWhen Emiko Jean isn’t writing, she is reading. Before she became a writer, she was an entomologist, a candlemaker, a florist, and most recently, a teacher. She lives in Washington with her husband and children (unruly twins). She is also the author of Empress of all Seasons and We'll Never Be Apart.\nReturn to Tokyo for a royal wedding in Emiko Jean's New York Times bestseller Tokyo Dreaming, the sequel to beloved rom-com Tokyo Ever After!\nWhen Japanese-American Izumi Tanaka learned her father was the Crown Prince of Japan, she became a princess overnight. Now, she’s overcome conniving cousins, salacious press, and an imperial scandal to finally find a place she belongs. She has a perfect bodyguard turned boyfriend. Her stinky dog, Tamagotchi, is living with her in Tokyo. Her parents have even rekindled their college romance and are engaged. A royal wedding is on the horizon! Izumi’s life is a Tokyo dream come true. Only. . .\nHer parents’ engagement hits a brick wall. The Imperial Household Council refuses to approve the marriage citing concerns about Izumi and her mother’s lack of pedigree. And on top of it all, her bodyguard turned boyfriend makes a shocking decision about their relationship. At the threat of everything falling apart, Izumi vows to do whatever it takes to help win over the council. Which means upping her newly acquired princess game.\nBut at what cost? Izumi will do anything to help her parents achieve their happily ever after, but what if playing the perfect princess means sacrificing her own? Will she find a way to forge her own path and follow her heart?\nFrom School Library Journal\nGr 8 Up-In the second installment of Jean's lovable coming-of-age romp, Izumi Tanaka has a lot on her mind. Will she take a gap year? Go directly to college? How will she and her friends stay in touch? Is the boy she fell head over heels for still the one? However, there is an enormous, more foreboding element to things. Izumi is not just a girl trying to navigate the mundane changes of getting older-she is the daughter of the crown prince of Japan and forever under the watchful eye of the press. People inside and outside the court are ready to record her even slightest mistake. Quickly she realizes it is not just her reputation on the line; after finally reuniting, her father and her mother want to marry. A princess does not simply get to choose her life and the adventure throughout it. Or does she? This book excels in the best of both the cheesy and the substance of a YA novel's plot. The setting, however, sets it apart. The Japanese imagery and historical context explained in the book never feel forced. Jean accurately captures the difficulty for truly empathic individuals to focus on what is best for themselves while caring for others. Readers will find themselves laughing and screaming out loud at the characters' choices. Warning for one tastefully vague sexually explicit scene in the book that readers can easily skip without derailing the overall awesome writing of the book as a whole. VERDICT Buy this fun book for any collection, especially where the previous book is popular.-DeHanza Kwongα(c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Tokyo Dreaming: A Novel (Tokyo Ever After, 2)

After learning that her father is the Crown Prince of Japan, Izumi travels to Tokyo, where she discovers that Japanese imperial life--complete with designer clothes, court intrigue, paparazzi scandals, and a forbidden romance with her handsome but stoic bodyguard--is a tough fit for the outspoken and irreverant eighteen-year-old from northern California.

Tokyo Ever After

Generic

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Jean, Emiko. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Jean, Emiko

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Jean, Emiko. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Mika in Real Life: A Novel

Mika in Real Life: A Good Morning America Book Club Pick

Mika in Real Life: A Novel

Empress of All Seasons

Empress of All Seasons

We'll Never Be Apart

Tokyo Ever After: A Novel (Tokyo Ever After, 1)

Tokyo Ever After (Tokyo Ever After, 1)

Tokyo Dreaming: A Novel (Tokyo Ever After, 2)

Tokyo Ever After