From Little Tokyo, with Love by Sarah Kuhn

This was a lighter book that I picked up during my last visit to the library. It was a quick read and an enjoyable one.

Rika sticks out in her family; she does not know her father and questions her place in the Japanese community. She works part-time at her aunts’ business and finds her way into the Nikkei Week Festival’s inaugural ceremonies even after her aunt tried to make her stay away. She feels the need to dig deeper into things that start to make sense to her, and she has unlikely help in that adventure.

Rika is plagued with the need to prove herself all the time. This translates to trying to earn her place in every social circle that she is a part of, whether the others in them ask her of it or not. It is a well-written story, with the coming of age arc of the lead protagonist taking a little too long for me. She went back and forth a couple of times, and I was a little restless. Nevertheless, it is a one-sitting read which I would recommend to readers of this genre. The Japanese Community of LA is explored as are a few other aspects of the city, making it a little more interesting for the people who have an interest in learning something new about places and people in those places.