Mika in Real Life: A Novel

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Will do.” Mika hung up and dropped her phone in her purse. A minute passed. Mika wandered. Her phone rang. Might be Hana again. Or her mother—Hiromi had already left a message that morning. I just stopped by the church and met the new congregant. His name is Hayato, and he works for Nike. I gave him your number. This is a deep and heartwarming story. Woven throughout, we learn of Japanese culture, language, and traditions. It also covers transracial adoption, mother-daughter issues and sexual assault, which are written about sensitively. The characters are likeable and well fleshed out. I liked reading how Mika and Penny were trying to get to know each other. This is a beautifully written story. We meet Mika at 35 when she’s just been fired from her latest job. She’s doing a little retail therapy when she gets a call out of the blue. A call from the daughter she gave up for adoption 16 years ago. They start to build a relationship over the phone and then Penny decides she wants to visit Mika in Portland. 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, and successful in love and her career.

EJ: I think it’s really universal. When you have a kid, there’s all this stuff where it’s supposed to be innate. Like you’re supposed to know how to care for your baby. Like it’s just supposed to be all natural and wonderful. And I didn’t know s--t [about] taking care of babies. So, I think a lot of women have felt like that before.

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Author Emiko Jean, who penned the best-selling YA novels Tokyo Ever After and Tokyo Dreaming , examines the sometimes fraught reality of mother-daughter relationships and how a delightful, lovable character learns to stop running away from the truth about herself. 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. I loved the Japanese culture in this book. And the POV of Mika was an interesting one that we don’t see a lot of in books. I was hoping for some emotional damage from this book, and that did not happen, but it was a great work of fiction about life, love, loss and motherhood. Uh oh. Mika realizes she doesn’t want Penny to see her real life and circumstances. One little lie leads to a whole fake life that Mika builds. Her friends rally behind her, and Penny’s arrival day finally happens. I hoped things would work out, but I had doubts that this was the best way to build an authentic relationship. At thirty-five, Mika Suzuko'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 mother, and in turn, Mika longs for 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.

Mika is a Japanese-American woman in her mid-30s who's life looks nothing like the one she had once imagined. Mike is a a low point when her daughter she had given up for adoption 16 years earlier, reaches out to her, hoping to connect. Not only is Mika endearing but she's also beautifully flawed. Author Emiko Jean delves into how our own pasts have made us who we are, and how our families expectations have shaped us but also don't make us. The Japanese American immigrant experience was woven in throughout this story so seamlessly and added so much to the storyline. In addition, the side characters are multifaceted and add so much to this brilliant novel. I also really like the idea, and I’m stealing this from Mr. Rogers, from a show where he said you don’t have to be special to be loved. And I would love for readers to take away the idea that everybody deserves love. Will do." Mika hung up and dropped her phone in her purse. A minute passed. Mika wandered. Her phone rang. Might be Hana again. Or her mother -- Hiromi had already left a message that morning. I just stopped by the church and met the new congregant. His name is Hayato, and he works for Nike. I gave him your number. Shopping in Target one day, after losing her job and feeling like an utter failure, main character Mika gets a call out of the blue from Penny, the daughter she gave up when she was eighteen. Thus begins a relationship Mika wasn't sure would ever be possible. Unfortunately, Mika wants this to work so badly, she begins lying about parts of her life she wishes were better: her job, her living arrangements, her boyfriend and well...everything basically. In her mind, the Mika that she is portraying to Penny is her version of what Penny would want her to be.

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And as a new mom, I scrolled through a lot of social media, partly because I was really lonely at the time, and I was also seeking advice. I came across all of these mothers and daughters posed in matching outfits. Like kind of creating these mini mes. And that image stayed with me. I think it’s in the same camp as when people are like, “Oh, he’s just like his father,” or “She’s just like her mother.” I’ve kind of discovered that children are their own human beings, and they’re super-intent on going their own way. I loved Mika's friend group. Hana, her best friend, is exactly the kind of person you want on your side. Someone who has seen all of your warts, has stood by you during your difficult times and always has a listening ear. Penny's relationship with her parents was also lovely. The story explored some of the issues that can come when parents and adopted children are from different cultures. The effects it has on the child - not feeling that they know their history, and on the parents - the disappointment they feel knowing that they are unable to fully provide that. 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.

Emotions: Emotions are beautiful. Especially when they are written with honest commitment. That is definitely the case of the emotions in this book. I will gladly admit to having ugly cried while reading this.

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After the call leaves her stunned, Mika decides this is her ONE chance to build a relationship with Penny, and she's not going to miss the opportunity. After all, her daughter is still dealing with the passing of her adopted mother, and Mika feels an even stronger desire to forge a bond and shower her with love. Through a series of phone chats and some video calls, Mika begins to describe a beautiful and fanciful life to Penny, full of accomplishments and excitement. Her phone rang again. Sometimes Hiromi called two, three times in a row, inducing panic. Last time Mika answered breathless, reaching for her keys, ready to head to the hospital. What's the matter? Tender and profound, Emiko Jean's writing had me laughing, crying, and cheering for Mika Lauren Kate, author of By Any Other Name EMIKO JEAN: I remember actually really well. It happened while Tokyo Ever After was coming out. It was about a month before Tokyo Ever After was published, and I needed to take some promotional photos for social media. And it was the height of the pandemic. So, that had just started. Mika is at her lowest point when she receives a phone call from Penny --- the daughter she placed for adoption 16 years ago. Penny is determined to forge a relationship with her birth mother; 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.