Recently fired from her job and single after her last relationship blew up, Mika cannot seem to get her life together. When Penny, the daughter she gave up for adoption 16 years ago, contacts her and wants to forge a relationship with her, Mika invents a much better life for herself in order to impress her daughter. What starts out as a white lie blooms into an entirely new, and fake, existence for Mika. However, when she meets Penny’s widowed father and their initially contentious relationship develops into something more, her lies threaten to catch up with her. Mika in Real Life had me cheering for Mika as she struggled with the weight of her choices, the secrets she held, and what it means to be a mother.

Mika, a woman struggling with unmet expectations and recent job loss, receives a surprising call from her daughter Penny, whom she gave up for adoption 16 years ago. Determined to connect with Penny after the passing of her adopted mother, Mika embellishes her life during their conversations, weaving tales of success and excitement. When Penny decides to visit Portland to meet her, Mika enlists the help of her best friend Hana to blend her fantasy life with reality, fearing disappointment.

Emiko Jean's "Mika in Real Life" navigates themes of mother-daughter relationships and the complexities of identity. While some aspects may feel predictable, the novel delves into the nuances of familial bonds, portraying Mika's deep love for Penny amidst her own personal struggles. Despite Penny's youthful voice, the supporting characters add depth to the narrative, creating a compelling exploration of life's imperfections and the ongoing journey of self-discovery.

I read about 60% of this book and got distracted with something else. Unfortunately, I found I really didn't think about it again. At this point, it's been about a year since I've revisited it. So I think that's a sign I likely won't pick this up. For what it's worth, I did enjoy what I read and would still recommend it!

I feel like this story is a coming-of-age in your 30s. Mika has some tough experiences from early on in life and has to come to terms with it so she can move forward. I liked this story and how Mika had people rallying around her to take that step forward in her life and find herself.

This was a tough read for me. While I enjoyed the story, it took a while for me to get into it. I wasn't pulled to read it, I had to real work to pick up the book and invest in the reading. Although, once I did pick it up I would be interested in the story.
Overall, there were a lot of characters and a lot of different storylines going on, sometimes they made sense to the plot and sometimes they didn't.
This was just an average read for me, I am glad I read it, but I don't know that I would recommend.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me free access to the advanced digital copy of this book.

The cute cover can be deceiving.. this book was a great read and covered important topics like pressures of living up to expectations of society and expectations of parents especially those from migrant families to be successful. It really covers many aspects of parenting focussing especially on mother/daughter relationships highlighting that parenting doesn’t come with a manual and despite judgment, they did the best they knew at that time. Thank you @netgalley and @thoughtsforapage for this advanced copy.. I really enjoyed this!

This is Emiko Jean’s first adult novel, and it didn’t disappoint. It was a beautifully written novel that tackles complex and heavy topics. The core and heart of the story is Mika’s journey to understand mother daughter relationships and to figure out what it means to be a “good mother.”

Mika is a messy and flawed character. I saw some make this their reason for not liking this book, and I find it unfair. There is so much trauma Mika goes through, it makes sense her life is a bit of a “mess.” It made her growth throughout the story all the more impressive. The way Mika had to navigate her own trauma, the trauma of putting her child up for adoption, and figuring out her own self worth was just as messy as she is. It was heartbreaking and beautifully done.

A major reason for pause was the romance plot line between Mika and her daughter’s adoptive father. That just did not sit right with me personally.

There are HUGE trigger warnings for this: adoption, rape, inter generational trauma, culture erasure.

I’m looking forward to more of Jean’s adult novels after reading this!

⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

I found this novel to be a delight from start to finish. It is infused with warmth and humor, even when tackling complex themes of family, adoption, social media, reconciling with the past, and identity. I enjoyed spending time with Mika, her friends, and the daughter she gave up for adoption many years prior. The story felt balanced as Mika grappled with her messy real life (both personal and professional) and figuring out how to welcome her biological daughter, Penny, into it. Penny has tracked Mika down on social media and has made many assumptions about how fabulous Mika's life must be based on those posts. Rather than coming clean, Mika enlists her friends to create a version of this life when Penny and her adopted father, Thomas, visit Mika for the first time. The truth eventually is revealed and Mika must find a way to make amends if there is any chance of a future relationship with Penny. While some of the themes are difficult, the are treated with warmth and compassion. Although Mika is in her mid-thirties, this is a coming-of-age story as she confronts her past, deals with the present, and looks to the future. This reader could not help but root for her to find herself and her footing as she moves forward in a newly imagined version of her real life.

Many thanks to the Book Club Girl Early Read Program and William Morrow for the opportunity to read this NetGalley copy!

Mika in real life is a lost 35-year-old living in her friend’s house with no job, no career, and no love. When her 15-year-old biological daughter unexpectedly contacts her, she makes up a glamorous, fake life that she thinks will impress her daughter. As the story of why she gave up her baby unfolds, you find out the reason behind her lethargy in life. Mika learns a lot as she struggles with building her relationship with her daughter, and also finds love along the way. I love the heartfelt journey of Mika, discovering her true self in her real life.

Mika in Real Life is an excellent read! I connected to the story right away and could not wait to see where the journey took them. Highly recommend!

This book has sweet, flawed characters that I enjoyed watching grow. It made me think a lot about mother daughter relationships and adoption. Very thought provoking.

This book was so boring, without beautiful writing to redeem it. I could see what Jean was attempting, but it was just a slog to finish.

After the initial pages, I found myself not connecting with the story or characters, so I decided to pass on this book. Did not finish

One phone call changes everything.

At thirty-five, Mika Suzuki’s life is a mess. Her last relationship ended in flames. Her roommate-slash-best friend might be a hoarder. She’s a perpetual disappointment to her traditional Japanese parents. And, most recently, she’s been fired from her latest dead-end job.

Mika is at her lowest point when she receives a phone call from Penny—the daughter she placed for adoption sixteen years ago. Penny is determined to forge a relationship with her birth mother, and in turn, Mika longs to be someone Penny is proud of. Faced with her own inadequacies, Mika embellishes a fact about her life. What starts as a tiny white lie slowly snowballs into a fully-fledged fake life, one where Mika is mature, put-together, successful in love and her career.

This one was one of my favorite reads of 2022. This is a heartwarming story of a mother reuniting with her adopted daughter. Mika just wants to be someone her daughter could be proud of and Penny just wanted to know her biological mother as she is. There is also a small love story that I really enjoyed.

I was given a copy of this book by the publisher to Review and my opinion is my own.

What an incredible book! I loved Tokyo Ever After and was excited to read something new and different from Emiko. This book checks all the boxes for me funny, heart warming, a little sad, but leaves you with a feeling of incredible warmth and satisfaction. The storyline is great and the writing is excellent. Highly recommend!

This book didn't hold my attention and took me so long to finish. Maybe it was just the mood I was in, but this book was not for me.

I had to take this book all the way to the end to decide that I really liked it. Books like this are really frustrating to me because the lies makes me really uncomfortable. You have to know if you embellish things, eventually you will get caught. Things conveniently work out throughout the book and I ended up liking it. Things work out a little too easily at times but I like the writing and characters.

Thank you to netgalley for providing a e-galley for review. Mika in Real Life tells the story of Mika after she gave her baby up for adoption and how she floated about directionless after that decision. Sixteen years after, the now teenaged Penny contacts her to form a relationship. Mika decides she has to fake a new life to be more successful. Of course this come tumbling down. This book could be quite divisive owing to the manner in which Mika concieves Penny, and her choices after, but Emiko Jean writes her characters with honest and truthful motivations and reactions, which leads to a well-crafted story.

I am always up for messy women fiction genre. The messier, the better. But this book wasn't it for me. I understand people go through different phrases in their life. But it doesn't mean that you need to lie. Throughout the whole book, Mika was lying through her teeth about her life. She only confesses when it was expose. She never took responsibility until the end. I'm sorry but I truly didn't care for Mika. And once I don't care for the main character in a book, then the book isn't it for me.