The cover of this book caught my eye, bright blue and the feeling was relaxing to me. I enjoyed the narration of this book also. Reading what this book was about interested me, I have a sister and sister books are sometimes fun to read. This book seemed to drag on. It wasn’t as fun and interesting as I thought it to be. There was Japanese terminology that I didn’t understand. Sometimes I could figure out what it was, it most of the time not. This just wasn’t the book for me. It may be for someone else though.

I received a complimentary copy of this book for review. All opinions are my own.

I wanted to love this book but I just found it to be okay. It was slow and just not what I wanted from it.

Kakigori Summer is a story of family, personal growth, secrets, following your dreams, love, loss, sisterhood and Chinese culture. Rei, Kiki, and Ai are three sisters divided by distance and circumstance. Rei works in finance in London; Kiki is the single mother of a young son, working in a retirement home in Tokyo; and Ai, the youngest, is a Japanese music idol. Having lost both parents, the sisters rely on each other as family, no matter how far apart they are. When Ai is embroiled in a scandal, Rei and Kiki pause their own lives to rescue their baby sister. Over the course of a summer spent in their childhood home on the Japanese coast, the sisters will reunite with their sharp-edged grandmother, care for Kiki’s irrepressible son, and silently worry about Ai, all while carefully not talking about the circumstances of their mother’s death fifteen years before. When their grandmother dies, they can keep silent no more, and they all share their feelings with one another. What will happen next in the lives of these sisters?

Kakigori Summer is a quiet family drama, slowly revealing all that the sisters have gone through, how circumstances changed their lives, and what they will do next. This is a beautifully written story, like the peeling of an onion revealing more and more about the sisters, their relationships, and their secrets. What is the mystery surrounding their mother's death? It seems to be behind a lot of their feelings and actions. It was obvious that the sisters loved each other, but there was tension there as well. Anyone with sisters will be able to see themselves in these relationships. Although there are some heavy topics in this book, with the setting, Kiki's son, and even their grandmother and other members of the community, the story still has a lighthearted feel to it. I loved the setting of the Kakigori Village, and enjoyed seeing the sisters open up and start enjoying being together and in their childhood home. The audiobook was narrated by Ami Okumura Jones. I enjoyed her voices for the main characters and her tone and pacing. I think I enjoyed this one more because I listened to it.

Kakigori Summer by Emily Itami is like diving into a triple scoop of nostalgia, sisterhood, and seaside scandal.

We follow the three “haafu” sisters—Rei, Kiki, and Ai—reuniting in their coastal Japanese childhood home after the youngest sister Ai, a pop idol, lands herself in a headline-making scandal. Rei’s the London banker keeping her cool, Kiki’s balancing life as a single mom (with adorable son Hikaru), and Ai’s retreating from fame and public shame

Itami nails the small-town, coastal Japan aesthetic—warm ramen stalls, lantern-lit evenings, and slow revelations. The sisters tiptoe around their mother’s mysterious death 15 years prior, adding a melancholic undercurrent. The dynamic between them—Rei’s dry control, Kiki’s warmth, and Ai’s fragile identity—feels authentic and moving. Plus, Hikaru’s linguistic and cultural journey (half-Japanese, quarter-Finnish, all charm) brings extra sweetness.

If you're after a tender, culturally rich slice-of-life story that mixes sisterly bonds, reputation repair, and seaside serenity, Kakigori Summer is a refreshing read with a small bittersweet brain freeze.

This novel follows 3 sisters who reunite for a summer near the Japanese coast where they grew up. I enjoyed the exploration of what their Japanese identity meant for each sister and the overall thematic idea that sisters know each other in a way no one else can. There was a beautiful part toward the end where a character described feeling more fully herself, fully at home when with her sisters. I listened to the audio and even though the chapters begin with the name of the sister narrating, it was easy to get lost in the narrative. It would have been better if there was more differentiation between the voice of each sister or even if the chapters in the digital file were titled by sister. This book had a lot of potential, particularly with the character who is a Japanese girl group pop star, but I did not connect to the characters as much as I wanted to and that made the narrative feel slow. Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Audio for the copy of this audiobook.

Three very different sisters are drawn back together to navigate a family emergency. Relationships, culture, family history, and more weave together in a funny, sad, beautiful, hopefully, insightful way

I wanted to like this book with great anticipation but found it challenging to connect with the sisters or become invested in the storyline.

I felt there was a lack of depth in each sister's narrative; the frequent shifts among the three made it difficult for me to truly engage or empathize with them. Just as I began to grasp one sister's perspective, the focus would shift to another, leaving me feeling disoriented. I also hoped to see more development from each character. However, the segments highlighting the sisters' shared grief resonated deeply with me.

3.75 ⭐️ Listening to the audiobook, the first 30% was a bit confusing. As it was fully first person perspective, it was difficult to keep track of the switches between each sister each chapter, and I found myself wanting third person instead. I also didn’t love Rei’s disposition and found it irritating (as a fellow eldest sister).

The second half was where it started hitting for me. Ai’s scandal forces them to come back together, and her depression and apathy for life pushes Kei and Kiki to confront their own feelings and grief over their mother’s passing fifteen years ago. As they leave the hustle and bustle of London and Tokyo to find refuge in their hometown, they redefine their bond as sisters - as each others’ closest family.

Sibling stories will always have a special place in my heart because they show how the bond of family can bring together the most different individuals. Kakigori Summer adds the elements of culture, identity, and multigenerational trauma. This was overall a poignant read with some of the most precious characters. It’s a family story bound to touch your heart.

Thanks to NetGalley and HarperAudio Adult for this ALC in exchange for an honest review.

A beautifully told story of sisters taking care of each other after a traumatic event. They return to their hometown and grapple with feeling unwelcome and not fitting in.

I love novels about sisters, and I love Japan, so Kakigori Summer immediately caught my attention. While it took a while for me to get into it and get a good sense of the characters, Rei, Kiki and Ai, once I did, this book was a delight. It's a quiet book, about two sisters (Rei and Kiki) coming together to support the third, the youngest (Ai), an idol in the midst of a scandal, and struggling deeply with her mental health.
The story is structured around the 3 POVs of the sisters, each told in the first person, and we get to see the family dynamics between them three, but also with their great-grandmother and Kiki's young son, Hikaru. The result is a touching tableau, layered with emotion and sensibility.
I appreciated the themes of mixed-race identity, mental health, and grief (TW - suicide ideation & discussion). It would have already been a lovely story in itself, but the Japanese setting added charm and depth to the storytelling.
I listened to the audiobook narrated by Ami Okumura Jones. While the narrator conveyed the nuance and emotions of the story, the voices of the three sisters weren't very distinct, and it was often difficult to know who was talking. I wish she had made the voices more distinctive, or that each sister had her own narrator.
All in all, it was still a great read, moving, often in subtle ways, that encapsulates beautifully the feeling of summer.
I've read in a few reviews that people preferred the author's debut novel - I'll definitely want to give it a try as well!

Title: Kakigori Summer
Author: Emily Itami
Genre: Womens Fiction
Medium: Audiobook
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Review: Kakigori Summer is a beautifully written, emotionally layered story of sisterhood, identity, and healing. When pop star Ai becomes entangled in a scandal, her older sisters—Rei and Kiki—return to their coastal childhood home for an impromptu reunion. As they navigate lingering grief over their mother's death, questions of mixed-race identity, and the weight of personal expectations, long-buried tensions and tender connections rise to the surface.
The narration by Ami Okumura Jones is stunning—subtle, expressive, and deeply engaging. Each sister’s voice is distinct and believable, drawing you into their quiet conflicts and hard-won moments of growth. I also loved how much I learned about Japanese culture—its traditions, expectations, and unspoken rules are woven seamlessly into the story, adding richness and depth.
One standout for me was the grandmother—her dry wit and bold, no-nonsense personality brought much-needed comic relief. She had me laughing out loud more than once, and her presence balanced the more emotional themes beautifully.
I’ve never read anything by Emily Itami before, but this book has made me a fan—I’ll definitely be looking for more from her in the future. Kakigori Summer is honest, heartfelt, funny, and quietly powerful. A perfect listen for those who love character-driven stories with emotional depth, lyrical writing, and a vivid sense of place.
Thank you NetGalley for providing an Advanced Listening Copy of this book.

Thank You Netgalley for the ALC in exchange for my honest review. I did pick this up for a reading challenge mostly, which sadly did not count by the time I read the book. No worries because this story was enjoying to follow. I could definitely see this as a show. Family closeness and fighting is always fun. I came from a large family so its that feeling you can give each other grief but once someone outside the family says something, you ban together to challenge this outsider. The Narrator was enjoyable to listen to, The cover is really beautiful as well.

Emily Itami’s Kakigori Summer is a sensory delight—its lush, summer setting is beautifully rendered. You can almost taste the shaved ice and feel the humidity in the air. The atmosphere is dreamy, and the backdrop is absolutely the star of the show.

However, I found it difficult to fully connect with the characters. It wasn’t a matter of relevance—I did see shades of universal emotion—but rather a narrative disconnection. It often felt like being dropped into the middle of someone else’s emotional journey without the emotional setup needed to care as deeply as I wanted to. That sense of intimacy never quite materialized.

That said, the sheer charm of the setting and the promise of a family drama filled with just enough summer wistfulness to make it worth a look for anyone in search of a gentle, aesthetically pleasing escape—even if the characters don’t fully steal the spotlight.

The audiobook was well done and helped make it easier to differentiate between sisters.

This is a beautiful story of family, grief, and life!

I loved the use of multiple POVs to explore the family dynamics/birth order of the sisters and how they viewed themselves and each other. It gave such a unique perspective!

I was able to review the audiobook, and I genuinely thought there were multiple narrators because each sister was done perfectly! I absolutely recommend giving it a listen!

Thank you to the author and HarperAudio for my advance copy!

What a beautiful book. I loved the simplicity in this story and how it focused on the sisters bond and their reconnecting to their childhood home. It's hard to explain what i loved about this book. It just felt like a gentle embrace. The sisters are all so unique from each other but have such a strong bond. I loved their interactions with their great grandmother and their journey to understand the fate of their mother. This wasn't an exciting book, but I was never bored. It also made me want all of the Japanese food!! I definitely recommend this one, lovely narration as well.

Three sisters that have been separated by distance and choice come together when one is involved in a scandal. They resolve old issues, confront their past, and embrace the idea of returning home. The print version worked much better for me than the audio - I kept mixing up the sisters as the point of view changed with each chapter.

Kakigori Summer is a good novel, and it features almost everything that I loved abut Emily Itami’s debut Fault Lines—funny and witty and charming—but I think it was a mistake for this audiobook edition to only feature one narrator when there are three protagonists with wildly different voices.

Ami Okumura Jones is a good narrator, but when books are structured between perspectives like this it’s just always going to be preferable—and less confusing—for there to be multiple voices in the mix. I'll probably recommend people pick this one up in print.

Kakigori Summer by Emily Itami 🍧⛱️
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4/5

As an eldest sister of three girls who has lived in Japan, there was a lot of myself I could see in this story. The three sisters in this book deal with individual issues, while supporting their baby sister - a pop star involved in a scandal - while still each processing the death of their mother.

Emily Itami is an extremely thoughtful author. The story is told tenderly and intentionally. This ARC was an audiobook and I think I would have liked the physical better because it was tough to figure out who was speaking at times.

Some of the themes of this book:
-Grief
-Sisterhood
-Racial Identity

Now, I’m missing Japan and my sisters, but this book ends on a hopeful note after examining a snapshot of the sisters’ journeys together.

Thank you to NetGalley and HarperAudio for the ARC!

I really loved the author's debut, Fault lines and while this sophomore work had glimpses of the relatable, beautiful prose, I didn't connect with it as much as I had hoped I would. That said, it's still a moving story of sisterhood, nostalgia and mother-daughter trauma/drama. Good on audio and a light-hearted enough, feel-good read to entertain over the summers. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early audio copy in exchange for my honest review!

I really did not have an interest in this story. I tried and listened to the entire audiobook. It was a missed for me.

Many thanks to Net Galley and HarperAudio Adult for an audio ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.