Why Did I Listen To From Little Tokyo, with Love by Sarah Kuhn?
From Little Tokyo, with Love by Sarah Kuhn is pitched as a modern day fairy tale. So, of course I was DOWN to read this book. Coming across it in the reviewer section of the Volumes app felt like serendipity. While I am take it or leave it with Emily Woo Zeller’s narration style – I knew I had to give this one a shot via audio. I found myself in the mood for a solid contemporary young adult book and that is exactly what I got, thankfully.
What’s The Story Here?
Sarah Kuhn’s From Little Tokyo, with Love stars Rika, a teenage girl who is an orphan who lives with her two cousins and her aunts. Rika works at her aunts’ restaurant. Thankfully her cousins who are named after Disney princesses are awesome and her aunts are genuinely good people. Rika is biracial, however, and never really felt a sense of belonging in Little Tokyo. She has an encounter with film star Grace Kimora at the local Nikkei Week festival and comes across an old photograph of her aunt and Grace. It is then that Rika has the idea that Grace may be her mother. With the help of another celebrity that she just so happens to encounter — Hank Chen — Rika goes on an adventure to find out if Grace actually is her mother and to find some answers.
How Did I Like From Little Tokyo, with Love?
I cannot stress enough how much I adored From Little Tokyo, with Love. Kuhn turns the whole fairytale on its head. I loved that no one really was evil or anything. Rika’s lesbian aunts were actually pretty awesome. Her cousins also had this wonderful enthusiasm and were so supportive of Rika. Plus there are the segments with Rika’s judo skills which was a blast to read about. I also loved the development of the romance between Rika and Hank (aka Henry) Chan. It is SO well written and sweet. Straight up, Henry is absolutely a kind and wonderful romantic lead and not one bit toxic.
How’s The Narration?
Honestly, given that I am typically on the fence with Emily Woo Zeller’s narration, I actually loved her narration of From Little Tokyo, with Love. The audiobook was 10 hours and 21 minutes long and I jumped back and forth between listening at 1.5x speed and 2x speed. Zeller was easy to understand. Her narration was not overwrought or TOO MUCH, in fact it was just perfect. I am so glad I listened to this book and wouldn’t hesitate to recommend if you’re looking for a sweet contemporary fairy tale.
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