Mika in Real Life: A Novel by Emiko Jean

(Thank you to the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book!)

 

about book:

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, Gayle 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.

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.

my thoughts:

Love, love, love! Mika in Real Life by Emiko Jean is a beautiful story. It's sweet, heartfelt, and just such a delight to read. I loved it to bits!

Mika's life is a hot mess. She's just been fired. She has no love life to speak of. Her BFF is a hoarder. She's a HUGE disappointment to her parents. And, now the baby she gave up for adoption has just reached out to her. Say what? Yep, Penny, the adopted baby, wants a relationship with her birth mom aka Mika. Talk about an unexpected blast from the past. Not wanting to disappoint Penny, Mika invents a fake life chock full of success and happiness. Unfortunately, the truth has a way of shouting over Mika's lies and soon she is forced to tell the truth.  Then again, what is the truth? 

Wow! What a fabulous story! Emiko Jean has created a wonderful cast of characters that you can't help but fall in love with. And their stories are unputdownable. I loved getting to know Mika and her family and friends. Reading about her dreams and the life she would like for herself was such fun and also relatable. We all want more for ourselves and sometimes we're just too scared to even try. Mika in Real Life is a must-read for fans of Emiko Jean and for anyone looking for their next great read - check it out ASAP!

Thank you to the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book!