I thought this one was really cute! It made me very nostalgic for my trip to Japan a few years back--I thought the local details added some lovely flavor. The plot was a little implausible, but not in a bad way... why is it that fictional high schoolers are so much cooler than I'll ever be?? That said, it was a fun, fluffy little book that was a breeze to read. I particularly appreciated the ending, once I got over how unfair life is when you're a teenager.

I received a copy of this book from Netgalley to read in exchange for an honest review. ( )

Sophia has one week left in Tokyo, one week before her family moves back to New Jersey and she has to say goodbye to all of her friends and the city she loves. And Jamie is going to ruin her week. She's sure of it. When he went to boarding school three years ago, they had a terrible fight, and they haven't spoken since. Now he's coming back to Tokyo, and he's sure to make the easy, carefree balance of her friendship with Mika and David awkward and uncomfortable. What she couldn't have ever predicted is how Jamie really feels about her, and how it will completely change everything in ways she never expected.

This is a nice, light YA romance. It has some similarities to The Sun is Also a Star, but it's not quite as deep. Sophia occasionally did things that drove me crazy, but in spite of that I enjoyed reading (actually, listening to) this book. The audiobook narrator did a fair job, though her clipped delivery made the ends of chapters seem abrupt. I'd recommend this book to readers who enjoy Jennifer E. Smith and Jenny Han. ( )

I liked this story. I found it to be a really quick read and while it wasn't the perfect story, it did have a lot of things going for it. I thought that the range of emotions that Sophia goes through in this story really rang true. The book was a little different than I had expected from the description and while there was a romance featured in the story this book was about so much more than that.

Sophia is moving to the United States with her mom and sister in just one week. She has spent the past few years of her life living in Tokyo and that is where all of her friends and her life is. Moving is never easy but moving so far away where the possibility of seeing your friends is incredibly tough. Jamie is moving back to Tokyo after spending a couple of years at a boarding school in the United States. Jamie and Sophia didn't part on good terms when they last saw each other. Sophia really wishes that he had waited until she left to come back.

Sophia soon feels a connection to Jamie like she hadn't felt before. He seems to be there when she needs him and he somehow finds the right words for the situation. It was fun to watch this pair open up to each other and make a connection. It is really too bad that the time that they have together is so limited due to Sophia's upcoming move.

This book takes place in Tokyo and I was really looking forward to experiencing a bit of this area. Unfortunately, I didn't really get a feel for Tokyo from this story. Sophia attends an English speaking school and her friends are largely like her. There were some food items mentioned but other than that this story felt like it could have taken place anywhere.

In addition to moving and sorting out her feelings toward Jamie, Sophia is also saying goodbye to her friends in this story. I felt like some of the drama between Sophia and her friends was unnecessary. Another thing that Sophia has to figure out is her relationship with her father. This was really one of the strong points of the book. I felt really bad for Sophia and thought that the emotions portrayed were realistic.

I would recommend this book to others. I think that the author was able to create an interesting story around a very realistic teen. I am impressed by Cecilia Vinesse's debut novel and look forward to reading more from this author in the future.

I received an advance reader edition of this book from Little Brown Books for Young Readers via NetGalley and TheNovl.com. ( )

*I received a free copy of this book from the publisher from BEA 2016. All opinions are my own.*

Overall Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

First, I have to say, that I was a little wary going into this, as I’m not a huge fan of young adult romances that are only romances — I think they either become vapid or too melodramatic, and I was hoping that wouldn’t be the case with this one. Luckily, it very much wasn’t, and I give Vinesse all the credit in the world for writing an incredibly grounded, realistic portrayal of a relationship that might happen at that stage of someone’s life.

The balance between Sophia dealing with her departure from Tokyo and also exploring her new relationship is beautiful. It’s nice to see that both of these situations are fully dealt with within the book — Sophia’s anger at leaving, confusion, and fear for what is to come next, and then her happiness for finding this new connection with Jamie, and the fear of what’s to come if she falls too far in. I think, in a way, most relationships start out with that fear, even without the imminent threat of what would very much be a long-distance relationship, so I think that feeling is incredibly relatable. Where is this going? Can we be feeling this so quickly? What if I really love this person, but it doesn’t work out? Even within the span of seven days, Jamie and Sophia don’t seem to fall for each other too quickly, although it helps that they knew each other before that week.

Mostly, though, this book is about self-discovery and self-awareness. In departing from the country she’s lived in most of her life, Sophia is able to take a closer look at her relationships and how she’s being treated by her friends and family. It’s a lovely coming-of-age sort of thing where she realizes that some people she’s been fighting hard to have relationships with are really not being good people to her, so she has to re-evaluate what’s really important spending effort on. Again, while Sophia’s situation is at an extreme, I think we can all relate to being put in a situation where we need to re-think what’s going on in our lives, so reading about Sophia’s journey of self-discovery is satisfying and rewarding in that we can self-reflect and compare her decisions to ones that we are currently making, or once made.

I very much appreciated this book for what it was — a second chance for two people to reconnect and forgive each other for past miscommunications and to explore their feelings for each other. The tension is kept strong through the short timeline of the seven days that Sophia has left in Tokyo, and it makes it a fast read, because everything is so condensed and there’s no time for anything to be drawn out. At the same time, nothing is rushed because of that, and I give Vinesse a lot of credit for not feeling the need to rush Sophia and Jamie’s relationships. It’s taken at a reasonable, moderate pace, and ends on a hopeful note, which I very much enjoyed. I can’t recommend this book enough for being everything you want in a young adult romance and containing none of the common cringe-worthy or exasperating tropes. Pick it up when you get a chance.

Originally posted on Going on to the Next. ( )