I Love You So Mochi

June 10, 2019
Culver City High School senior Kimi Nakamura has her life mapped out. Next year, she will attend Liu Fine Arts Academy, her next step to becoming a “Great Asian American Artist,” as her artist mother has always intended. But after feeling blocked from painting, Kimi secretly drops out of Advanced Fine Art and focuses her energy, instead, on designing and creating clothes. After her mom learns about the dropped class, a well-timed invitation to visit her estranged maternal grandparents in Kyoto over spring break is the reprieve Kimi needs to recalibrate her relationship with her mom and explore her true artistic passions. And sparks fly when “Kimi from America” meets “Akira. From Japan,” who is dressed as an anthropomorphized mochi to sell his uncle’s handcrafted treats. This novel offers a unique perspective of Japanese culture from the experiences of a fifth-generation Japanese-American protagonist. Kuhn (the Heroine Complex series), herself of Japanese ancestry, peppers the novel with Japanese phrases, foods, and cultural specifics. Readers of all backgrounds will connect with the universal themes and insights into teenage first love in this charming rom-com. Ages 12–up. Agent: Diana Fox, Fox Literary Agency.

Narrator Natalie Naudus brings sparkle and authenticity to this story of a teenager trying to find her own voice. Though Kimi Nakamura has been anticipating art school as long as she can remember, she hasn't painted in months. She accepts her estranged grandparents' unexpected invitation to Kyoto for spring break and begins a quest for self-discovery. Naudus elegantly captures Kimi's range of moods-- from her enthusiasm at being in Japan and joy at the thrill of meeting a cute boy in a mochi costume to her distress and confusion while confronting her own lack of direction. Naudus is equally deft at slipping in the correct pronunciations and inflections for the many Japanese words and spoken mannerisms throughout the text. N.M. � AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine