When Emiko Jean isn't writing, she is reading. Before she became a writer, she was an entomologist, a candle maker, a florist, and, most recently, a teacher. She lives in Washington with her husband and children. She is the New York Times bestselling author of Tokyo Ever After, Empress of All Seasons, and We'll Never Be Apart.
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?
Mika in Real Life covers a lot of ground, but what stood out most to me was the exploration of motherhood. Mika has a complicated relationship with her mother, and in turn has a difficult journey being a mother figure for her daughter, Penny, after Penny's adoptive mother dies. There are a lot of layers to Mika's relationship with her mother, and in order to develop an honest relationship with Penny, Mika has to dive into the past and how her expectation of motherhood was formed. This is such an honest depiction of motherhood, and the expectations placed on all types of mothers, and it's what makes Mika in Real Life shine.
Mika also has a lot of soul searching to do, and she constantly asks herself who she wants to be, and how to get there. I love how her art is part of the story as well. Mika holds herself back from what she wants to keep herself safe. Once she unlocks what she needs to related to her understanding of motherhood, things start to come into better focus for Mika, and she's able to return to a part of herself that had been locked away for so long. I love how Jean depicts this sense of identity as being hidden from ourselves—sometimes, it's not that we don't know who we are, it's just that it's difficult to return to that sense of self, or difficult to allow ourselves to be what and who we want to be. I thought all of this was absolutely brilliant.
Of course, I love a good romance, and I like how there a subplot of romance between Mika and Penny's adoptive father, Thomas. Jean explores the complexity of that relationship, too, and how it’s not easy for the two of them to explore their budding feelings because of the situation that brought them together. There are a lot of sweet parts to their romance, and it's especially wonderful to see how Mika's relationship with Thomas starts to give her courage to go after what she wants. I like that this depiction of romance is one that doesn't take centerstage, and how in fact all kinds of relationships (friendships, romantic relationships, familial relationships) can help us become who we are meant to be, and can help us define our sense of selves as individuals.
I truly believe everyone should check out Mika in Real Life—it's the perfect spring-turning-into-summer read, and I read it very quickly. If you're looking for a quick but incredibly meaningful read, look no further.
*This review can also be found on my Goodreads page*
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