Since the story is character-driven, it develops slowly and, at times, feels like nothing is happening other than following along with the daily life of an exchange student. And that is the primary goal of the story, to witness Lily’s growth because of the year abroad. She had some actions that made me change my opinion of her slightly. After putting aside the rebel teen hormones, she is a good girl with her heart in the right place. With time, Lily does change, and we get to see deep down, she has a good heart. Instead of taking advantage of the opportunity and seeing what it’s like to live in rural Japan, all she focuses on is the fact she is not in Tokyo. I probably wouldn’t like that last-minute change as well. But then that plan goes downhill, and she ends up in the middle of nowhere.

You side with her because the experience she was promised was in Tokyo. Although I was more interested in “experiencing” Japan through her eyes and was able to gloss over some of her attitudes. She is a piece! Having to read through Lily’s perspective is a challenge. Too bad for the people of this small town-nothing’s going to hold Lily back when she wants something! My review:īefore going in, be advised to have lots of patience set aside to deal with the main character, Lily. She’s shipped off to the small town of Ajimu (sorry, where!?), a billion miles from anywhere cool and exciting, with a neurotic host sister, straight-up-vile classmates and a microscopic community watching over her every move. What Lily isn’t expecting, however, is for her urban host family to cancel at the last moment and leave her hanging with nowhere to live. Fashion and fun are foremost on her mind as she arrives ready to meet her new host family and embark on a grand adventure, livestreaming all the way. Sixteen and on top of the world, Lily’s BEYOND excited to be setting off for an entire year as an exchange student in Tokyo. So grab your passport, and let’s go to Japan!Īuthor: Loren Greene Pages: 332 Genre: Contemporary YA Publication: 2021

The story is a stand-alone, so don’t worry if you haven’t read anything else. This is the second full-length novel in the Sakura+Maple series that brings Japan and Canada together. Now that I’ve taken all the jokes out of my system – probably not! – time to focus on the book I bring to you today: Edokko by Loren Greene. Happy April Fools’ Day!! Despite today being a day you can’t trust anything people say, trust me, I’ll not be pulling any pranks on you.