Tokyo Ever After (Tokyo Ever After, 1)

"The Princess Diaries meets Crazy Rich Asians in Emiko Jean's Tokyo Ever After, a "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 is literally a 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?"--