Rika doesn't think she's princess material. Unlike her cousin, Belle, she's only half-Japanese, and has had to deal with racism and unacceptance from both the Asian community in Little Tokyo and the outside world, even as she wins the top spot in her dojo for her judo skills. But when she agrees to drive Belle, who's won Queen of the Nikkei Week, a Japanese cultural festival, in the parade, Rika isn't expecting to meet a teen celebrity from Dance Off skulking around her aunt's car. She definitely doesn't expect to be attracted to him or to meet up with him again. But rising Hollywood star Henry Chen may hold answers to where Rika truly belongs.

This is a modern fairytale, and each chapter starts with a once-upon-a-time fairytale storytelling device. But it flips the trope around, with both Henry and Rika having to rescue each other at different points in the story.

These characters are fierce and loving, investing their whole hearts into the world. Rika and Henry fall for each other rapidly, and their chemistry is pretty electric for a young adult book. A large part of Rika's storyline involves her temper, which her aunt calls her kaiju (monster)-temper. She famously bit a boy when she was eight, nearly getting kicked out of her dojo. Rika uses the illustration of the nure-onna, one of her favorite monster from Japanese folklore, because she's cunning in how she exacts her revenge. Rika struggles to learn to think of her passion and differences from her community as a good thing.

This is a powerful story of what it means to belong and realizing that we all deserve a happy ending.

Thank you to Penguin Teen and NetGalley for the advance review copy of this book.

I finished this book in one night because it was such a quick and fun read! I was instantly sucked in by the narration style, though I was surprised because it WAS a bit on the younger side of YA so I didn't expect to enjoy it as much as I did! While I'm not a part of the Half Asian club like Rika and Henry, their struggles and rants about not completely fitting into any of their communities was highly relatable and powerful. It was also just really nice to see someone that is "angry" all the time and have that frame shifted to say passionate. That really hit close to home for me and I just really loved that!

Of course, I loved the relationships not only with Rika and her cousins and family, but alsso Henrika was just absolutely adorable and I truly couldn't stop grinning with how cute and cheesy it was. They fit together really well and they did have natural chemistry right from the start!

This was the perfect light rom-com I needed and I'd definitely recommend it!

LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE! Amazing story and characters. I fell in love with all of these characters! I can't speak on the Asian Rep, but the anxiety rep was amazing. READ THIS NOW

Rika has always considered herself more of a monster than a princess, and has never really cared for fairy tales or happy endings. So imagine her shock when she discovers the queen of the Hollywood romantic comedy scene might actually be her long lost mother. If that wasn't enough, an actual prince charming keeps offering to assist her on her quest and acting like he actually cares about her. Rika isn't used to being cared about, or having hope, but as she gets closer to finding her mother, she realizes that for the first time in her life, she might actually care about whether or not this story has a happy ending.

This was such an adorable and meaningful book! I enjoyed every page I got to spend in Little Tokyo with Rika and Henry, I love that the story explored so many different facets of Asian American culture and representation, as well as universal teen experiences. Rika is a passionate and tenacious character, and I thought it was great to see a teen girl character with the anger and temper that so many have, but are always told they shouldn't. The love interest was an angel, the family and community dynamics were rich, and Rika's journey to find her mother and where she belongs is heartwarming and emotional. Highly recommend!

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for allowing me early access to this title. This book was so fun!! As a Korean reader, I appreciate more and more asian/ownvoices stories that are coming out. Rika is half Japanese living with her aunt and cousins. This modern fairy tale is so funny and relatable. Being biracial in America is not easy, but this book helped me feel so seen. When Rika goes on the journey to search for clues about her long-lost mother, she explores Little Tokyo with a cute actor she meets. Even though she struggles with her cousins who are rude to her, this book is still rooted in family values and trying to find her own place in the world. I thought this book was sweet and heartwarming and it's definitely going on my re-read shelf for when I'm feeling down.

Biracial Rika has felt like an outsider in her Japanese American community her whole life. She sees no reason to believe in happily ever after fairy tales, unlike her Disney-princess-obsessed cousins. She identifies more with bittersweet, often melancholy Japanese folklore, especially the nure-onna, a terrifying Japanese yōkai that seems to rear up inside her with every flare of anger. But when the chance for her very own fairy tale literally runs into her during the Nikkei Week Festival, Rika feels a spark of hope break through her usual cynicism. With the help of her very own handsome prince, Rika sets off on an adventure through Los Angeles that has her questioning everything she thought she knew about home, family, and what it means to belong.

Rika might be one of my new favorite YA protagonists. She has a very low self image from the start, having internalized a lot of awful messages throughout the years about her biracial identity and her place in the community. Her family and friends don't understand, perhaps in part because her feelings often come out through bouts of intense rage. It's unusual to see a main character with anger issues, especially a girl, and I felt for her as she struggled with her temper and the complicated feelings that led to (and followed) each outburst. I loved watching her learn to accept parts of herself that she had kept at bay, all without losing her strength and passion. I was a big fan of Henry, too, who hit all the right notes for a romantic lead while still being allowed to have and address his own problems. They had great chemistry, and the romance was fun and swoon-y without taking away from the rest of the story.

Rika and Henry's biracial identities are central to this book. (Rika is Japanese and white, Henry is Chinese and Filipino.) Rika sticks out in her community, enduring racism and cruelty from both Japanese Americans and the white people who come in and obsess about all things Japan. Henry is at a tipping point in his acting career, but it's harder than ever navigate expectations from all sides about whether he is enough of anything to be taken seriously. This is the portion of the narrative that I'm not sure how to review as a white person who has not experienced these issues. People throughout the book have a lot to say about growing up biracial, being part of a minority community, etc. and these long speeches would sometimes take me out of the flow of the book. While at times the message felt a bit heavy handed, I do want to recognize the importance of making those strong statements that don't often get said out loud, let alone seen in a work of fiction.

I picked this up because I loved [book:I Love You So Mochi|41473865], and in the end this felt more mature in terms of both tone and content. In this story Kuhn has accomplished a strong balancing act of thoughtful commentary and swoon-worthy romance. This book has a lot to offer, and I can't wait for it to arrive on our library shelves.

Aw what a sweet book. I enjoyed it! This book was a love letter to Little Tokyo/LA with a twist on a fairy tale with two biracial characters at the center. I don’t think I’ve ever read anything where the main love interest is Filipino/Chinese which makes my lil heart flutter.

I did have some issues with pacing and cheesy dialogue. This book took me a while to read, simply because I wasn’t completely drawn into the characters/plot. It wasn’t until maybe about 45% where I just decided to binge it. BUT I did like how the author touched on a lot of themes such as racism, belonging, anger management and family.
There were some plot points that felt a little too convenient to move the story along. Overall, I probably would still recommend this to fans of YA contemporary romance.

Thank you to netgalley and penguin teen for the eARC!

I have mixed feelings about From Little Tokyo, With Love. On one hand, this book is the fairy tale retelling I've been waiting my whole life to read and on the other, some elements felt rushed and over the top. Also, based on Sarah Kuhn's previous YA novel, I was expecting another light, fluffy read and this one wasn't really along those lines.

Now don't get me wrong, I absolutely love the ridiculousness of this plot. It's so much fun, and I need more fun books in my life. But there were some aspects involving the romance that seemed to move a little too quickly in a direction I wasn't expecting and it kind of ruined the ending for me.

But I really love the themes and messages this book tackles. I haven't read a book where a female protagonist struggles with anger management issues, and I appreciate Sarah Kuhn using that as a focus for her book. I love the idea that a girl can be a princess and a monster when it comes to her fairy tale ending, and I appreciate that Rika's anger isn't "fixed" by the end of the book. Instead, she comes to terms with her issues and aims to do better. I also appreciate that Sarah Kuhn addresses the struggles of Asian actors in Hollywood. This isn't a topic that comes up often, but it's definitely important and needs to be discussed more.

My favorite aspect of the book, however, is the setting. Sarah Kuhn does such a great job describing L.A. and Little Tokyo and all the places Rika and Henry explore as they uncover clues about her mother. I can picture and smell and breathe and taste the L.A. atmosphere while reading this book.

Overall, this book wasn't quite what I was expecting, but I still enjoyed it. It was a fun, contemporary read with great diversity representation and a twist on what it means to have a fairy tale ending.

From Little Tokyo, with Love is a love letter to those who feel like they don't belong. Like you're on one wavelength, and everyone else is on another. Like you don't fit in with your family and - as someone who is a transracial adoptee - this hit HARD. It's a story about the importance of believing you're deserving of a happy ending. That a fairy tale, that we might see ourselves in, could belong to us. I'm not going to lie, these two character developments and themes that Rika struggles with, got me in the feels.


When Rika has a moment of emotional vulnerability where she hopes that, if she found her mom, they could belong to each other? That hurt me deeply in the ways it resonated with the cracks of my heart. While I am not biracial like Rika, I felt her feelings of isolation and not belonging so astutely. And From Little Tokyo, with Love is a love letter to the importance of being able to see ourselves in something.

I received an advance reader copy from NetGalley and I'm so glad I did! From Little Tokyo, With Love has so many traits I love to see in a young adult contemporary starting with Own Voices and Family centered stories. . Rika is a half Japanese orphan living with her aunt and cousins. Struggling with fitting in is not her only concern, she also has to navigate a bit of an anger issue. Aside from a wonderful story about family and fitting in the romance in this story is adorable! Overall the story is a sweet and heart filled read. I only wish it explored more of Rika preforming Judo, it's such a big part of her life. Unfortunately her skills are only shown in a chapter or two.

From Little Tokyo, With Love, centers Rika, the half Japanese, half white MC who's often at odds with herself trying to fit in Little Tokyo. Her white dad was just the deadbeat that got her mom pregnant, and her mother died as a teen, giving birth to Rika. Her mother's sister, along with her wife, have been raising Rika and her two cousins for the past 17 years of Rika's life and since they had a fairytale romance, of course, their kids are hopeless romantics too. But not Rika, who rejects every notion of love she's ever encountered.

During the Nikkei Week Festival parade, Rika finds herself in a chance encounter with celebrity Grace Kimura, who somehow knows Rika's name and immediately goes off the grid after their seconds-long contact. That, followed by a hidden childhood picture of her mother and her aunt, Rika is absolutely sure that Grace is her mother. With the help of Henry, one of Grace's costars, Rika goes on a wild hunt around LA to find her off the grid mom.

This book is so cute and well written and Henry and Rika are adorable and the ending scene in Little Tokyo was so heartwarming and I definitely cried a little.

If you ever want to know what it was like growing up for me, read this book. Though I am 100% Filipino, the theme and message can translate to any young adult growing up in a culture with immigrant adults. Rika is an outsider within the wall of her own home. She doesn’t fit in with her cousins coming straight out of a Disney fairytale while she is comfortable in a dojo. She’s temperamental and has a hard time dissecting her own identity. I love that this is a retelling of Cinderella, but what I enjoy most is that her and her cousins get along. There’s no bitterness or animosity and they truly encourage one another when it comes to pursuing their passion.

What this book does well is bring to light the constant struggles Asian Americans or biracial people struggle with cultural identity. At times it’s hard to relate to your nationality if you haven’t been immersed in it on a daily basis. The frank conversations about feeling lost in our own culture identity was a real poignant topic and so realistic. The struggles both Rika and Henry go though are the same feelings I have felt where one feels like a foreigner in their own culture. Even if you have, like Rika has, you will always feel a divide from those who originated from your native country.

Henry and Rika are characters you care for because their emotions are spread throughout the pages. They are pure and relatable. There is something special about learning about another culture from the eyes of the character and this author effortlessly intertwines specific references of Japanese culture to make it both accessible and educational. This book is wonderfully diverse and beautifully told and I highly recommend giving this book a read. Thank you to Netgally and Penguin Teen for this ARC.

I love almost-but-not-quite fourth-wall-breaking meta, and FROM LITTLE TOKYO, WITH LOVE is chock-full of commentary on romance and fairy tales and what it might mean when you can’t see yourself starring in either. Rika positions herself as the monster in grimmer fairy tales/folklore (the nure-onna in particular) throughout the book, in contrast to her more princess-like cousins. And while that could have been the setup for the Not Like Other Girls trope, author Sarah Kuhn does a fantastic job of instead making this Rika’s way of trying to sort out who she is and where she (thinks she) fits in the world.

Rika is a fantastic protagonist, and her fierce love for her family is one of the many great things about her. I found myself rooting for her at every turn (and especially when she was angry). I thoroughly enjoyed following Rika on her search for her long-lost mother and her whirlwind romance with Hank. And it is a whirlwind—the entire book takes place during the Nikkei Week Festival. Despite the compressed time frame, neither the search nor the romance feels rushed. Both move quickly, but every step forward makes sense and frequently provides opportunities to develop characters.

Rika and Hank are great partners in this book, and FROM LITTLE TOKYO, WITH LOVE gave them both space to rescue and to need rescuing (and pointed it out, much to my delight). It’s always lovely when a book digs deep into characters’ backstories and motivations and provides ample opportunity to convince you that they are attracted to one another. I also believed it when they fought or disagreed—and more importantly, when they opened up to each other and allowed themselves to be vulnerable. I particularly enjoyed the scenes at the library and the park, which really sold me on Rika and Hank’s relationship.

In addition to Hank, there are several other fantastic characters in Rika’s orbit, like Rika’s aunts and cousins, plus some smaller roles like the various players in Asian Hollywood and Little Tokyo. The world of FROM LITTLE TOKYO, WITH LOVE feels large and lived in, both at its high points and in its lows. This is a book that has a lot to say about identity and belonging, and much of that is examined through family/community secrets and prejudices. More importantly, this book also has a lot to say about what can happen when a family/community bands together against those negative influences. I appreciated not only where Rika and Hank’s relationship ended up by the conclusion of the book, but also where they took their family, friends, and communities.

Recommendation: Pre-order it now if contemporary romances are your thing. FROM LITTLE TOKYO, WITH LOVE is a fast-paced romance starring engaging characters and set in a well-developed world. Beyond the romance, the book also dives deep into what it means to belong and how to find (or make) a place in your family and community. I’m looking forward to Sarah Kuhn’s future projects.

I’ve really enjoyed Sarah Kuhn’s other books, particularly her adult series, so of course, I was so excited for her next YA release! The premise of this book also sounded so intriguing. From Little Tokyo, with Love is a story of love, in your community and your family, and perhaps most importantly, for yourself.

Rika has never truly felt like she’s belonged. She’s half-white in a majority Japanese-American community, and she was adopted by her aunts. On top of this feeling is her propensity to anger, earning her a reputation for being “difficult.” During the annual Nikkei Week Festival, she accidentally runs into Grace Kimura, a famous actress. When she realizes that Grace might be her long-lost mom, she enlists Grace’s co-star, Henry, to help her track her down.

I really liked the characters in this book! Rika has an anger problem, which is interesting to see in a YA book, but she realizes that shouldn’t necessarily equate to being difficult. I also found her journey to find where she belongs (and herself along the way) very heartfelt. I also liked Henry’s own character arc as he struggled with fame and being typecast in stereotypical roles. Rika’s cousins, Belle and Rory, are so supportive of Rika too, and I really liked seeing their relationship!

The romance was really cute! Henry is a great love interest, who’s going through his own things yet also provides a lot of support for Rika. They had some really sweet scenes, as well as some really funny ones.

Much of this book is centered on Rika feeling like she doesn’t belong, primarily because she’s biracial, both Japanese and white. She’s grown up in Little Tokyo, where she sticks out and people never fail to remind her of her roots. She and Henry bond over being biracial and how they feel themselves yet struggle with their identity simply because of what people tell them they are. I liked how this book approached identity, especially from an author who’s building this on her own experiences, and I think this is very important to see in fiction today.

The plot itself was fun to follow; Grace is completely off the grid, but Rika desperately wants to find her. She and Henry embark on a quest to find her, exploring landmarks in Los Angeles and Little Tokyo. In the end though, this book is about Rika’s character development, but I liked seeing the plot and her character growth occur in parallel.

From Little Tokyo, with Love was a heartwarming book abound finding yourself. I really liked the characters and the romance. If you’re looking for cute romances, stories set in L.A., or ones with biracial protagonists, I definitely recommend From Little Tokyo, with Love!

What a lovely love letter to Los Angeles's Little Tokyo Historic District, to rom coms, and to all the monster girls who learn how to find love while becoming their best selves. The "traditional" fairy tale interstitials are charming, and Rika's journey of self-appreciation and recognition of all the ways she can fit into the world, whether it's braving being caring and vulnerable, or allowing her metaphorical Nure-Onna rage to flow when justified, is one that will resonate with readers whether or not they are familiar with the setting.

ABSOLUTELY ADORABLE and i got through it so fast too. i adore this book and im excited for more people to read it!

This was a YA contemporary romance that focused on a lot more than just lovey-dovey content. It has a lot of underlying themes that follow well-known fairytales but I sometimes felt that the levity brought in by the fairytale-inspired components didn't fit with the more impactful moments describing the challenges facing Asian Americans. I think this book will definitely help readers face the struggles and discrimination faced by this population, but this was emphasized and repeated so frequently throughout the story that it became difficult to read at some points.
I unfortunately didn't care for the majority of the characters. Rika was fairly immature, which I feel is the case in a lot of books for this age demographic, but I never saw any growth or redemption in her. I did find the setting to be a redeeming quality. The descriptions of Little Tokyo were fantastic and I think the writing did an amazing job of placing the reader into the location itself.
I think this book was really trying to deliver an important message, but it became a bit over-bearing to the point where I was taken out of the book and had a difficult time trying to re-immerse myself into the character's story.
Thank you to NetGalley, the publisher and the author for providing me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

Review posted on GoodReads (January 28, 2021)
Review Linked.

4/5  stars!

A huge thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Teen for sending me an E-ARC of this book for an honest review!

I really loved Sarah Kuhn's last book, I LOVE YOU SO MOCHI, so I was super excited to read her new YA Contemporary Romance, FROM  LITTLE TOKYO, WITH LOVE!

Content Warnings for this book include: Homophobia, Racism, and Abandonment.

I think one of my favorite things about this book is how it's not JUST about the romance. Kuhn's books always have a fun, light romance and then deal with really emotional and serious topics usually centered around family outside of the romantic plot. For me, her books are a perfect blend of family and romance which I find is a really hard thing to balance in a romance.

Rika and Henry's characters were so enjoyable to read. I did think that their romance progressed a bit too quickly for my liking, but at the same time, their love story was also really enjoyable and cute. I think one of my favorite things about this book was the setting of the book in LA, California. As someone who grew up in LA, this book really captured the magic of the city and made me really homesick!  

This book does deal with some pretty serious topics, so please pay attention to the trigger warnings I included above. Overall, FROM  LITTLE TOKYO, WITH LOVE is a story about finding one's place in the world, a journey of self discovery and family ties, and coming to love one's self.

This is a cute, fun, and emotional YA Contemporary Romance that I really  recommend to people who either love ANNA AND THE FRENCH KISS, I'LL BE THE ONE, or NOW A MAJOR MOTION PICTURE!  

Thanks for reading!
Caden