But being a Princess isn’t all glitz and glamour…Princesses must follow strict schedules, rules, and dress codes as well as be knowledgeable about the Japanese customs, traditions, and language. On top of that, Izzy must deal with the invasive paparazzi, manipulative cousins, and a serious yet handsome bodyguard named Akio who might just be Izumi’s soulmate. Princesses are totally allowed to date their bodyguards…right? Tokyo Ever After is a teenage coming of age story full of romance, royalty, and dramedy. It deals with themes such as love and heartbreak, identity, family, race and culture, tradition, fame and royalty, female roles, growing up, and social hierarchy. The moral of the story is that, in Akio’s words, sometimes, “you’re not meant to fit in. Maybe you’re meant to stand out”. This book would be absolutely perfect for fans of movies like “Chasing Liberty”, “What a Girl Wants”, “The Prince & Me”, and “Crazy Rich Asians”. I would also recommend Tokyo Ever After to teens and adults who still love all things Disney Princess. First off, the cover is gorgeous and definitely captured my interest right from the get-go. I love the unique and modern twist that Emiko Jean took on the classic rags to royalty trope. I enjoyed how Tokyo Ever After focused more on Izumi’s relationships and identity as opposed to her Princess lessons and royal events. I particularly enjoyed reading about Izumi and Akio the bodyguard’s budding romance and I loved that Izumi’s story had a happily ever after! I also enjoyed reading about the awesome adventures Izumi has while exploring Japan with her cousin Yoshi, such as extravagant restaurants and karaoke. One thing that I found challenging about this book was the inclusion of Japanese dialogue, which wasn’t always translated into English; I found that this interrupted my reading experience and left me guessing as to what the characters said based on the context. I also found that some aspects of the plot were unrealistic; for example, in the age of social media, how did the royal family never find out that the Crown Prince fathered a child? How come Izumi’s Mother let her travel to Japan from America all by herself? Why did the royal family wait to do the paternity test until after Izumi had already travelled to Japan and met her Father? And why wasn’t anyone concerned that a high schooler was romantically involved with a 20-year-old? My nitpicking questions about the book aside, overall Tokyo Ever After was quite enjoyable and definitely worth reading; it totally fulfilled all my childhood Princess fantasies! I gave this book a rating of 8 out of 10. This article was written for "The Nerd Daily". Click here to view this article on "The Nerd Daily's" website or copy & paste the following URL into your web browser: https://thenerddaily.com/review-tokyo-ever-after-by-emiko-jean/
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