Mika in Real Life

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She also examines how the reality never quite measures up to the fantasy and expectations we have and how parenthood is the epitome of learning the art of letting go, something that really hit home with me as the mother of two eighteen-year-olds going through that stage of spreading their wings. They start to build a relationship over the phone and then Penny decides she wants to visit Mika in Portland.

The second one did stabbed me right in my heart, I was bawling my eyes when I hear the hurtful words that directed toward Mika and I understand that so much how she felt, I cried with her. Don't let this cute book cover deceive you, because while this book is totally heartwarming, it's also real and covers some heavy topics that made this book really stick.However, I did appreciate that the deception plot only lasted half the book; that was unexpected and I was fully prepared to have it last the entire book and not be revealed/fall apart until the end. Every OTHER supporting character, however, from work colleagues to ex-boyfriend alike, not helped to support Mika, but to add depth and breadth to the narrative. Of course, the illusion can only last so long; it is when Mika’s lies come crashing down that her real life can actually begin. Exploring motherhood, interracial adoption, identity and past wounds, it had more depth to it than I originally anticipated.

I'm left thinking deeply about race, ethnicity, and adoption; about the ways women "wield or keep silence" and how dangerous that can be; and about bodily autonomy and how women can feel betrayed by the "hostile landscapes" of their own bodies that don't comply when women say yes or no to motherhood. Wonderfully written and compelling, Emiko Jean perfectly captures the essence of the parent and child bond; the intensity, fear, sacrifice, constant change, grief and inadequacy you feel as a part of your heart walks around outside your body. In her quest to be a person her daughter Penny is proud of, Mika creates a few white lies which, of course, end up snowballing into something way bigger than she ever imagined. Like for me, I felt like it was her mom giving a passive dismissal of what happened to Mika and her assault.Penny announces that she has spent her birthday money on a flight to Portland to meet Mika, visit her home and attend her big gallery opening. I recommend going in knowing that this is a book about people and their imperfect lives and letting Mika, Penny, Tom and the supporting characters immerse you in their journey. Mike is a a low point when her daughter she had given up for adoption 16 years earlier, reaches out to her, hoping to connect. But even he seems to warm to Mika as her fake life takes center stage and all the impressive, ambitious goals she had for herself before she got pregnant finally start to seem real.

Penny is determined to forge a relationship with her birth mother, and in turn, Mika longs to be someone Penny is proud of. Touching and heartfelt, Jean captures the essence of mothers and daughters, the nuances that make a family, and where we've come from and where we're going. When the ruse inevitably fails, in part because of the interference of Mika’s difficult Japanese mother, Mika is left to try to forge new, more realistic bonds with Penny—and with Penny’s attractive adoptive attorney father Thomas.Even the relationship that Mika and her biological daughter, Penny, were trying to build was written in a way that creates empathy in readers without needing to have gone through that same experience themselves. There is so much to reflect on in this book, although the topics are explored in authentic and unpretentious ways. Perfect for fans of Rebecca Serle and Jojo Moyes, Mika in Real Life is at once a heart-wrenching and uplifting novel that explores the weight of silence, the secrets we keep, and what it means to be a mother. It was about a month before Tokyo Ever After was published, and I needed to take some promotional photos for social media.