Today, we are so excited to be a part of the book tour for Tokyo Dreaming by Emiko Jean and are grateful to Macmillan Books for giving us the opportunity to do our Book Spotlight on this fantastic story!
Return to Tokyo for a royal wedding in Emiko Jean’s Tokyo Dreaming, the sequel to the Reese Witherspoon Book Club Pick and New York Times bestseller Tokyo Ever After
When The Princess Diaries film came out, I was 7 years old. Like any other little girl that watched the movie, I wanted to know when it would be my turn to find out that I was princess of a faraway land that no one had heard of. Most of all, I remember being incredibly struck by the relationship between Mia and her mom. After a particularly painful heartbreak, Mia is crying, and her mom says to her, “My mother always told me not to cry and to be a big girl. But you’ve been hurt so you just cry. Okay?” I was in awe that there were moms out there who encouraged crying – mine is a product of her culture and generation and definitely was not impressed by my ability to cry about any inconvenience, but Helen Thermopolis was the coolest of the cool for being so warm to her daughter in a vulnerable moment.
Then, back in 2021, I heard about Tokyo Ever After, billed as perfect for fans of The Princess Diaries. Not only that, but the princess in question was a Japanese-American high schooler from Northern California! Even better, the cover is beyond beautiful (so gorgeous that we picked it as one of our favorite covers of 2021). I read it cover to cover in one sitting.The relationship between Izumi and her single mother bears some heavy similarities to the relationship between Mia and Helen Thermopolis, and it was far and away my favorite relationship in the whole book. Imagine my excitement when I found out that the sequel to the book was set for mid-2022!
Enter Tokyo Dreaming. Released on May 31 of this year, Emiko Jean’s follow-up to Tokyo Ever After follows our favorite imperfect protagonist, Izumi Tanaka, as she continues her journey to forge a path as the newest member of Japan’s Imperial family, while upholding her own identity as a down-to-earth young woman from Mount Shasta, CA (only 200 miles from where I sit now!).
In the sequel, Izumi makes the difficult choice to end the relationship she began in the first book. It is a sacrifice she makes for her parents, who need an official stamp of approval to get married. With her relationship not meeting the approval of the eyes of her country, she decides it will give her parents a better chance if she finds someone more suitable for her pedigree. Thus ensues a fake dating scheme and a love triangle that never feel too high stakes, but still delves into the emotions that run incredibly deep in young relationships.
Tokyo Dreaming explores Izumi’s journey to figure out how much of her identity she should compromise to fit the mold that has been set out for her by the Imperial family of Japan. Although light-hearted, there are several valuable lessons learned along the way, and it is nonetheless heartwarming.
As before, Japanese culture is front and center, and we view the world from Izumi’s lens. The relationships that Izumi begins with her various family members are continued in Tokyo Dreaming and more depth is given to The Shining Twins. It is a wonderful sequel to Tokyo Ever After and I highly recommend the series, especially for all the girls who grew up with Meg Cabot’s books.
