On the surface, I thought Edokko was going to be a “kawaii” story about a girl in Japan, and all the cutsey things and cosplay overload, and anime and manga references for days. I was wrong, and pleasantly surprised. I picked this book up because I was both an exchange student in Japan, although at University not High School, and I was an English teacher as well, but not a JET like Grace was in the story. So, I thought I would either be incredibly angry or the story would bring back lots of memories, and boy, did the author come through on the second one. In the notes I read that the author interviewed both exchange students and teachers to get their experiences and stories, so I’d like to say thank you to the author for that. Although University was way less strict than HS, cultural nuances and faux pas are always hard learned lessons. I have my own “this wont be soooo bad” mistakes that turned into nightmares, lol. And the culture shock of moving to another country, and then into a family is just a lot to take, even for the most socially adept.

Five stars because the writing was so good, and I could see myself in a lot of Lily and Grace’s adventures. If you’ve been an exchange student, hosted an exchange student, spent a considerable amount of time in a foreign country or immersed in another culture, or just wish you could, I recommend this book. Lily proves that we all make mistakes and deserve second chances. Learning is part of growing, and when you stop learning, you stop growing.

Thank you to NetGalley, the publishers, and the author for an ARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.

The book is intended for a younger audience but it was a fun read. I’ve always loved the Japanese culture and could quite imagine what the main character expected of her exchange year and that what she got was quite different. Her struggles and day to day life was a really nice read!

Through a series of chapters headed by blog posts from our main character sixteen-year-old Canadian student Lily, Edokko follows her journey when she heads to Japan on an exchange year. She dreams of ending up in Tokyo and ends up nowhere close in a small town in the middle of nowhere. The is the main crux of the story.

There was so much potential in this book, I’ve taken part in cultural exchanges and plan on doing so again in the future and this book just failed to resonate with me. There was so much that could be explored and real depth to the characters that could have been revealed and it just fell short.

Partially this felt like an issue with the suggested age range, this simplistic story and spoilt girl redemption arc is better suited to young middle-grade students encouraging a future student exchange when they're older rather than providing a decent plot and set of characters for consumption. This was one of two main factors for launching the book above one star.

Critically, you may have noticed my dislike for Lily. Her blog posts, though process and overall personage was cringey, spoilt and rude. She had no respect for the people hosting her, also arriving with little Japanese language skills (not because she struggled but it seriously felt like she did not even try) was only one of many issues with her arrival. It was also constantly highlighted that her dad was paying shed loads of money for the exchange, yet she still failed to comprehend the privilege it was to travel. She was self-important and this all was never really challenged. Lastly, don’t even get me started on the ‘romance’, her vague weird preconceptions on dating and her annoying focus on it was a headache that wasn’t needed or executed well.

However, the other characters were much more likeable, and I’m actually interested in Grace’s story which sounded much more exciting and interesting. Again, that was the problem though, Loren could have gone further into who they are and their stories and seen real character development, but it was all just skipped over shallowly.

There was so much potential and it's clear that Loren knew her stuff about Japan and the Japanese language and culture, the only other reason that this was two stars rather than one, but it felt like info-dumping often when there was no intrigue and atmosphere to propel us forward. I wish I had liked this book better, but it didn’t reach my expectations.

Edokko by Loren Greene follows Lily Jennings, a Canadian school girl, as she embarks on a study abroad year in Japan. Lily doesn't get the experience she had dreamed of so we watch as he comes to terms with that and adapts to a new and scary situation. The book focuses on themes of family and friendship as the characters grow and become better people thanks to those close to them.

This is the first book I have read by Loren Greene and I went into it knowing very little other than the cover was cute and it was about an exchange student in Japan. I have never been someone particularly obsessed with Japanese culture so I don't know much about it, however I do find it all very intriguing and would love to visit some day.

I will start this off by saying that although I ejoyed it now, aged 20, I think I would have enjoyed it much much more had I been maybe 15, closer to the age of the main character. I initially found Lily quite irritating and oblivious to life outside English speaking countries, however in hindsight I think her charater reminds me a lot of myself at that age. I was yet to experience life away from home and my parents, and I had no idea how to react when things didn't go to plan. So although she may have been a little irriatating to me now, I actually think it is a very good reflection of your average teenager. She thinks she knows everything about the world until suddenly things go wrong.

Throughout the story as Lily developed as a character she became a lot more enjoyable to read about. I could understand her motives more, especially ones she had started to try and settle in to her host school. I would encouarge anyone that is having doubts early on in the book to carry on, it gets better.

For the last quarter of the book I found myself not wanting to put it down so I was disappointed that the plot wrapped up so quickly. I would have loved to read more about her last few months in Japan, how things changed for her as she resolved the problems she had made. It felt a little rushed towards the ed and it would have benefitted a lot from the author expanding just a bit more on what she went through the last few months of her stay.

I really liked the side characters, particularly her host-siblings and some of the characters in her class at school. It was particularly a shame that her brother didn't play more of a part in the story as I found him amusing to read about. I also think that her relationship with the host family was probably one of the main catalysts for her character development so it would have been nice to appreciate them more.

Overall I enjoyed Edokko but I don't think I am really the target demographic. However, I would definitely reccommend this to anyone younger than me that has a particular interest in Japan or spending time studying abroad whilst still in school. I think it would be very enlightening to anyone like that and serve as a reminder that life isn't always what it's like in the brochure.

Loved the fact that the setting of the book was in rural Japan instead of the glamorous, energetic, and lively city of Tokyo. It gives us a different perspective of Japan. The display of the culture clash between Lily’s Canadian upbringings and the Fujino family’s Japanese culture is very nicely done. This book has the necessary elements to translate nicely into the cinema.

I'm going to be honest and say that for the first half of this book, I was not enjoying it. Lily, the main character, was so entitled and annoying that I thought I'd have to DNF the book. But, it does get better! Lily has amazing character development and as she starts to grow and become a better person, I couldn't put the book down! Lauren Greene is a very talented writer and I loved her descriptions of Japan. I can't wait to read more of her books.

I have received a digital review copy via Netgalley in return for my honest opinion. Thank you!

4 stars - a student exchange to Japan gone all wrong (but all will be well in the end)

This one is a pretty light and fluffy novel (in Japan this would be called a "light novel") about Lily, a rather entitled and confident 16-year-old Canadian who is dreaming of going to Tokyo for a year for her student exchange. In her imagination, it will be just like in her favorite manga and her days will be filled with shopping and other awesome stuff. She is planning to blog about her year abroad, basically hoping to be admired and envied by everyone at home.
However, it just so happens that things go wrong because her original host family changes their mind at the last minute, and so she ends up going to some small town in Kyushu - not at all what she expected! Now she has to deal with this decidedly uncool place while still pretending how awesome everything is on her blog.
Of course, she is going to settle in eventually, but it'll be a bumpy ride.

While Lily is definitely not particularly sympathetic I did enjoy that the plot was mostly character driven and her experiences and reactions to those experiences feel relatable and realistic. We do get a sense for what kind of person she is - entitled, for sure, but also energetic, someone who takes matters into her hands instead of just watching passively. Also, Loren Greene clearly knows Japan well.: the way people behave, the school and family life are captured really well.

If you like Japan, this well be a nice fix for that slice-of-life itch, and if you are thinking about going to Japan (maybe for a student exchange?), this one is very nice to get some idea of life over there. I did like a lot that this story kind of turned the stereotype around that Tokyo is the only place to be and shows that Japan has so much more to offer.

This was certainly an interesting book! Lily was exceptionally unlikeable for much of the story, which definitely made it harder to root for her. She was so excited to go to Japan and, while I absolutely understand her disappointment at learning she'd no longer be in Toyko, she's still so so lucky to be in Japan! For a year! Additionally, she said she did so much research to prepare but then didn't know any Japanese and expected people there to speak English in order to accommodate her. Her rudeness regarding the customs and living situation in the town that kindly took her in on such short notice really highlighted how entitled she was.

I did enjoy her progression, particularly with how she helped Fuyumi and Mrs. Ono. However, I'm not sure these aspects really made up for her general attitude throughout the story. It was such an interesting choice for her to lie to her blog followers, and the inclusion of the entire blog felt quite unnecessary.

I did a little bit of research and, apparently, Ajimu is no longer its own town, which is certainly interesting.

If you'd like to learn a bit more about Japan and an exchange student's experience, then please consider picking up a copy of Edokko!

There are some situations and language that keep this book firmly in YA territory for high school readers and would not be appropriate for middle school readers or younger. Definitely a story many high school readers will connect with and understand, as well as enjoy

I received this book for free for an honest review from netgalley #netgalley

Well. Not my favorite read. A little weird.

Such a fun read and found it interesting as I learned a lot about Japanese culture. and what a year abroad that didn't go as planned turned into. Aimed at a younger audience but still fun.

This was so wonderful.
One of the reasons why I liked this so much was because it is a YA contemporary that DOESN'T focus on romance. It was really good because it had such development on the relationships of siblings, friendship, and family.
The bonds that she builds with her host family and all of the boys at school are so heartwarming.
This is such a feel-good book. Very wholesome and refreshing.
The only reason I am rating this 4 stars rather than 5, is because, in the beginning, I found lily to be extremely annoying:)
While the book is super jubilant and happy, it also had its heartfelt moments. Talking to her dad on the phone, discovering more about fuyumi, THe teacher Ono, etc.
Everything was very good and this book was very enjoyable.
Highly Recommend! :)

This book was so wonderful! I was an exchange student myself when I was around Lily’s age and this definitely brought back a lot of memories!

Things I loved most about this book:

The protagonist. Lily felt like such a real teenage girl to me. She thought she knew it all and had it all figured out, when in reality she still had so much growing up to do and so much to learn and experience. I especially liked that she was not very likable in the beginning. She was such a self-absorbed, close-minded, consumerism-driven, entitled teen princess. She really only wanted to go to Japan to go shopping and eat sushi and boast about being in Tokyo to her online-followers. Ugh! And that left a lot of room for beautiful character growth. I think this is one of the ya books with the most believable and rewarding character growth I’ve ever read

The setting. The author really brings Japan to life, it was as if you could breathe and feel and see the country. I loved how real it all felt, so very different from a lot of the „I went to Japan once and now I am using it as a pretty backdrop for my story“ novels it was

The pacing: I was never once bored while reading this, even though the story is kind of a quiet one, without too much super-duper-drama. But despite the slow feeling, I was so engaged and grew to love all of the characters so much that I finished this in one sitting

The characters: They all felt so real and I was sad when the book ended, because I really wanted to spend more time with them!

The blog. The idea of Lily writing a blog and the way her entries and her actual experience diverged the more the book went on was so cool. And I really liked how it ended and what that showed about Lily as a person and how she had grown and changed throughout her year abroad

Overall, this was a very beautiful, character-driven YA read that I would highly recommend to anyone who likes YA contemporary fiction. It was such a warm-feeling, beautiful story!

ARC kindly provided via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

The first half of this book was terrible. The Canadian protagonist is a spoiled, ungrateful and whiny brat who expects people to conform to her culture and beliefs despite being on a student exchange program in Japan.

I think most people would kill to be able to go to Japan, but Lily (who is from Toronto) spends most the book complaining about everything. You can just imagine her stomping her feet and demanding to be sent to Tokyo instead of the small town she finds herself in. Like, there is more to Japan than just Tokyo, you know?

Self-entitled Lily is the one imposing on her host family, yet she complains about everything, such as her small room, the cold temperature in the house (they gave her a heater), and having to sleep on a futon instead of a bed. She is intentionally difficult and plays pranks on them in hopes of being kicked out and sent to Tokyo instead.

Despite having her host parent cook her meals, she whines about: "But home cooking at the Fujino house didn't resemble any Japanese food she'd eaten in Toronto" and "But surely it would be impossible for Japan to reach the twenty-first century without Mexican food?"

She also complains non-stop about not having friends and how her classmates do not understand English and vice versa. Yet she puts in no effort at all to learn Japanese or talk to her classmates. The only exceptions are when her tutor is a cute Japanese boy that she has a crush on, and when she picks the most good-looking and popular girl in class to talk to (but is rebuffed).

This is an exact quote from the book: "A town the size of an airport, an icebox house, a room with no furniture, a mom who couldn't cook, a pretentious sister who might be a serial killer for all Lily knew, and the only one who could talk to her in her language was a little kid. She couldn't even buy a book or a magazine here. Forget about the comforts of home!"

Need I remind that she is the foreigner in Japan, not the other way round?!?!?

The book reads more like a middle grade novel than young adult because the protagonist sounds so childish (both her behaviour and the writing). I'm also surprised that Lily never got caught for outright lying on her blog. I had been expecting someone to find out and expose her for the liar she is.

The second half of the book is more tolerable but I couldn't care less by that point.

dnf after 50 pages

An exchange student from Canada travels to Japan. Lily has great plans for her year of freedom!

Yes, I dnf-ed this yet give it three stars. TL;DR: This book does what it sets out to do and I would have loved this as a twelve year old. My present self just has no patience for Lily's behaviour.

This includes:
- the application process for the exchange student program took months, and while it took a while to know she'll end up in Japan, or Tokyo specifically, she says she did research.
can't have been much. she doesn't even know what kendo is, she is surprised, when she is in a rural town, that people stare at her "like they have never seen a white person before". Her initial reaction on seeing her room, and realising she has to sleep on a futon, is to speak to the manager, ehr, contact her parents to complain so something could be done about it.
- she never considered to learn some Japanese beforehand. sure, in Toyko, you'd assume that a lot of people are fluent in English and you'd get by, but then she was sheduled to go to a regular school and have lessons in Japanese.
- we're told she read manga for a year to a point at which she didn't need a dictionary, yet she understands not even tiny words unless they were taught in the three days crashcourse at the beginning of the trip
- to make the novel trendy and relevant, Lily is a blogger. we have her entries. could have done without them, I hope that later on the blog plays a part in the plot instead of just being there.

Again, I am not the target audience and while a lot of young adult can be consumed by adults as well, some simply don't work and this is one of those. I don't fault the author or the book for that. Twenty years ago I'd have devoured it and I am sure it will make readers very happy.

Also, I have a friend who went to Japan specifically to do a language course and a bit of travelling. She stayed four months and I got regular updates on her prep for the trip, so I was waiting for Lily to get special vaccinations or be annoyed with the visa process. To be fair, she says the paperwork was done by her dad. ...spoiled child, my parents would have told me that if I want this, I'd have to do the work for it.
And apparently, I read more manga than the protagonist of this book.

The arc was provided by the publisher.

I loved the premise of this book mainly because I was also on a cultural exchange to Japan, although it only lasted a week.

Centering around Lily and her adventurous journey throughout Japan, we watch as she does everything in her capacity to live the Japan she always envisioned through her manga obsession. That is of course, until things take a turn.

I'd say this is a pretty easy read, around middle school level. Very easy to follow, predictable to a fault, but also very optimistic.

I cannot for the life of me though like the main character in the first half of the book (I nearly DNF'ed it because of how unlikeable she is. She was super spoiled, bratty and privileged there were no redeeming qualities to her). Which I think was my main downfall in this book.

However, the ability of the story to take you through Japan both location-wise and culturally as if you were there itself is absolutely beautiful. Showcased many sides I would not have otherwise known. Also its saving grace is character development and relationship building between Lily and her host sister Fuyumi.

Bright read if you want a light-hearted fiction that doubles as a travelling guide, but don't sue me if you want to pull your hairs out because of Lily's first arc. It does get better.

I enjoyed this book although it felt a little like a middle/ kid book. It is told in first person and third person at points which I didn't enjoy that much. cute enough for be to finish it. The plot was cute and the friendships in the book were realistic. The first chapter was short and a good induction into the characters we would be following. I really enjoyed how the main characters were introduced. The world building was beautiful and painted a clear picture in my head. The dialogue between some characters was funny and very entertaining. The characters were relatable. Overall I would recommend this book if you are looking for a fast and fun read with super cute characters.

Thank to the publisher for sending me a copy in exchange for an honest review.

I thought this looked interesting and easy to read but I didn't expect to get completely absorbed! You can tell the author put in a lot of research to make sure she was getting things right about Japan. I ended up buying the prequel and I loved both of them. Couldn't put it down! Will be eagerly waiting for the next book by the author. I'm not even a YA fan usually!

I wanted to read Edokko because the blurb made it sound so interesting and the story lived up to my expectations. Through the story I got to explore a different side of Japan that I haven’t heard a lot about. Most of my knowledge came from hearing about Tokyo but this book explores the small town side of Japan and I loved that.

The one thing I struggled with most was Lily. I didn’t like her at the beginning because she was so stuck up and self centered. But as the story went on she changed. Her experience in Japan helped shape her into a better person and that’s what I loved about this book the most; it shows how experiences can shape and change you. I also loved the gradual growth of Lily’s relationships with her peers, teachers, and her host sister.

This story used blog posts as a story element and that helped to cement Lily’s personality, as the story is told in 3rd person except for the blog posts which are in 1st person from Lily’s perspective. I liked this addiction, though it helped me dislike Lily more when she was acting like a brat. Haha.

Overall a good read and if you want to read about a story that focuses on personal growth then I think this novel is for you.

A sweet early teen read about a young girl called Lily who travels from Canada to Japan for a one-year exchange program. The story follows Lily as she goes through all the trials and tribulations of moving to a completely new country and family for the year. It's a very light, a little predictable read, and definitely for a young reader (and I am a big fan of YA), and if you want to immerse yourself in Japanese culture and the overarching challenge of fitting in and being your true self then you will enjoy this.