Mika in Real Life - by Emiko Jean

Book Synopsis

In this brilliant new novel by 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.

Review Quotes

Tender and profound, Emiko Jean's writing had me laughing, crying, and cheering for Mika in Real Life.--Lauren Kate, #1 New York Times bestselling author By Any Other Name

"Definitely 'best books of 2022' material."--Glamour

Mika In Real Life is a poignant and compelling exploration of identity, love, and what it means to be a mother. Mika and Penny swept me along on their emotional and unforgettable journey... By turns hilarious and heartbreaking, this is a total joy of a read.--Holly Miller, author of The Sight of You

"Mika's story is a beautiful exploration of the bond between mother and child... As Mika rescues herself from a downward spiral of heartbreak and loss, she weaves for us a primer on healing our broken relationships. A must read for anyone who's ever had a mother or been one."--Annabel Monaghan, author of Nora Goes Off Script

"A gorgeously detailed rom-com that made me want to move to Japan and never come back."--Nicola Yoon, New York Times bestselling author of The Sun is Also a Star on Tokyo Ever After

"A refreshing and spot-on depiction of Japanese Americans exploring their heritage, with appeal far beyond female Asian readers."--Booklist (starred review) on Tokyo Ever After

"Emiko's flair for sumptuous detail―Food! Castles! Swoony confessions! Court drama! Cherry blossoms by the million!―locked me helplessly into a world of splendor I never wanted to leave."--David Yoon, author of Frankly in Love on Tokyo Ever After

"If The Princess Diaries met Crazy Rich Asians, you would get close to the wonderfully chaotic splendor of Tokyo Ever After."--Entertainment Weekly on Tokyo Ever After

"This YA novel with broad appeal follows a Japanese American girl on the ride of her life as she discovers her father is the Crown Prince of Japan. Amidst the backdrop of cherry blossoms, castles, and royal life, she has real-world struggles trying to fit in to two cultures."--Newsweek on Tokyo Ever After