When we launched the FFL book club in April 2020, we picked a book that ended up being a fan favorite: American Royals by Katharine McGee. This June, we’re so happy to announce that we are reading a book perfect for fans of American Royals, the Princess Diaries, and Crazy Rich Asians. 

Tokyo Ever After by Emiko Jean is a heart-stopping YA novel full of travels, romance, coming-of-age, and Japanese history. We hope you’ll love it as much as we did!

Izumi is a pretty normal girl–well as normal as you can be being Japanese American in the states and struggling to fit in as well as accept yourself and your culture. She’s got a good group of girl friends, a single mom who loves her, and a smelly little dog she adores, but she’s always wondered who her father was. When her friend discovers an inscription inside one of her mother’s flower books, they end up finding her father. He’s not just another Harvard grad her mother had an affair with during her senior year….he’s the Crown Prince of Japan. 

Before Izumi can even process this, the Imperial Guard is at her house, she’s being offered a chance to go to Japan, and of course she jumps at the chance to learn more about where she comes from, but going from Mount Shasta to the Imperial Palace is a big jump. 

If you shipped Connor and Beatrice in American Royals, if you loved Crazy Rich Asians, and if you’ve always dreamed of being a secret princess, you’re going to devour this book. I truly do not believe in the idea of guilty pleasure books–any book that makes you not want to put it down is a great book, and this one fits that bill to a tee. It’s the perfect summer read, especially if you haven’t been able to read much this year due to school or work. It’s not only a great story, it’s also culturally expansive. I learned so much about Japan and it inspired me to learn more about seek out more books set in modern Japan. 

We hope you’ll join us in reading Tokyo Ever After this month! We’ll be discussing it in our private Facebook group and on our Instagram page. 

There are lots of ways to connect with us–including on the Zoom call we do exclusively with our members each month. You don’t want to miss it!

Get your copy now wherever books are sold! 

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Aryssa D
FFL Cabinet Member

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