This book was cute and fluffy. I do wish the relationships and characters had a little more depth.

Sophia has seven days left in Tokyo before she moves back to New Jersey. Seven days to say goodbye to her friends. Seven days to say goodbye to her life. Seven days before everything changes. She’s all set to have the time of her life before heading back to the States, but then Jamie comes back and ruins everything.

Jamie and Sophia used to be friends. Back in the day, they were kind of inseparable. Then something awful happened, Jamie went off to boarding school in the States, and Sophia tried her best to forget him. Now he’s back, and he’s the last person she wants to see. But what happens when Sophia’s best friendships start falling apart, and Jamie is surprisingly there for her when nobody else is?

I was really looking forward to this book. If you check back on my anticipated 2017 releases, I am pretty sure this one shows up multiple times. I was shocked when I got an email from Netgalley offering it as a Read Now since this was being hyped up quite a bit on Goodreads and many book blogs. I started reading it right away and was quickly drawn into the colorful, fast-paced atmosphere of Sophia’s Tokyo.

I could easily give this book five stars for the first half. You would never know that this is a debut -- Cecilia Vinesse writes beautifully and creates such an atmosphere that you’d think she’s been at it for years. Sophia and her friends all had such distinct and varied personalities that they could be real people. I’ve never been to Tokyo, but I felt like I was right there with them while reading about their adventures at karaoke, or the train station, or running around the city. This book has a definite vibe, and I was really impressed.

The thing that made me change my rating was the ending. I don’t want to get into spoilers in this review, especially since this was an ARC, but I thought Sophia’s behavior toward Jamie and her other friend David was really uncalled for. I understood why she did it, but that didn’t make it okay. There was also no real discussion of what had happened. It was just kind of brushed off and then everything was fine again. (I guess? I actually don’t know, since the book has no real ending, which also made me mad.)

Again, I don’t want to get into spoilers (and you’re probably mad at me for being so vague, just message me if the suspense is killing you), but what happened toward the end of Seven Days of You is very similar to what happened at the end of You Don’t Know My Name, another YA debut I recently read. I’m not sure if this is a trend in young adult novels now (I really hope not), but it is kind of baffling.

I also didn’t really like the fight Sophia had with her friend Mika. I know it set up Sophia’s whole reunion with Jamie, but I thought the whole girl-on-girl drama over a boy was kind of unnecessary and it played into overdone stereotypes about the kinds of things that females fight about. I mean, I guess this kind of thing probably happens sometimes in female friendships (though it’s never happened in any of mine), but any reasonable friend would never do what Mika did. Ever.

So, some definite positives and definite negatives with this one. Despite the problems I had, I still enjoyed reading it and would love to see what Cecilia Vinesse comes up with next.

Final rating: ★★★☆☆

Thanks to Netgalley and Little, Brown Books for Young Readers for the ARC!

The setting of this book was what really drew me in. In her acknowledgments, Vinesse mentions this book being a "love letter to Tokyo," and it was exactly that. The way she describes the places around them, from the beloved Hachiko statue, the Shibuya crossing, and even down the her descriptions of the vending machine alcoves - it is plain to see that she holds Tokyo in her heart. Tokyo was the grounded character amidst the hot mess that was Sophia and her friends.

This group of friends definitely threw me for a loop. I could not get down with Sophia's preferred method of dealing with something she doesn't want to hear; Davidwith his questionable (and highly problematic) way of interacting women; and the way these 17/18 year-olds threw down the tantrums like nobody's business. My biggest issue, though, was how Jamie's story got thrown around and got set up to be meaningful - just to be brushed off in a quick paragraph. This was an opportunity for Sophia to actually acknowledge someone else's life issues - but it quickly just became another way to shift the story back to her own woes. I get she's the main character - but a little empathy for the boy you love never hurt a girl!

Otherwise, it was a quick and enjoyable read. A definite vacation read. Not quite the fluffy beach read, but more somber - and heavy on the drama.

Seven Days of You was… okay. To be honest, I think Tokyo was my favourite part about it. The setting added something extra to the book, and I think without that unique element it would have gotten a lower rating from me.

The very nature of the book (“seven days”) is a bit insta-lovey. But I also think Seven Days of You tries to do something that’s very hard. It tries not to be insta-lovey because Sophia and Jamie have already known each other for a while prior to the book starting. So in a way it’s not “love in seven days”; it’s “love in seven days after a long history of friendship”. But the problem is, the reader wasn’t there for that friendship so it still feels a bit like insta-love.

My major gripe with Sophia and Jamie is at the beginning, I didn’t get the impression that Sophia and Jamie used to be best friends. In hindsight, I’m paranoid that maybe I missed that part, but in my memory I just see Sophia acting like she and Jamie happened to hang out in the same circle of friends, and then Sophia started hating Jamie because they got in a huge fight. But I never got the impression that they were super close. Then later on, Sophia started acting as if they had been best friends before the fight… It was a bit confusing and, unless I did miss something, inconsistent.

I think that weird inconsistency made me distance myself from their relationship. I was never super into it, which was a bummer since it was such a huge part of the book.

My other gripe was that the characters could be kind of annoying. I’m not sure if I’m supposed to give them a pass because they’re teenagers or what.. but ugh. Sophia had this friend named David who was an actual legit total asshole. She had a crush on him and I was just like, why why why. Total dick. Then there’s this scene where Sophia gets angry and takes it out on someone and says mean things, while her internal dialogue is all like:

“Inside I was begging him, Please know that I’m lying, please know that I’m lying, please know that I’m lying. But outside I wasn’t saying anything at all.”

So she blatantly lies to someone just to piss them off for no reason, and internally she’s shouting, “Please know that I’m lying!” Stupid stupid stupid.

But hey.. despite my gripes it was still a cute book. There were some tough family issues (one in particular that was really sad!), the setting was very cool (though more would have been nice), and although I wasn’t totally sold on the romance it still had its sweetness.

"Seven Days of You" follows Sophia during her last week in Tokyo, where she has lived for the last four years while her mother was on sabbatical from Rutgers (which ends just in time for her senior year of high school). Sophia is particularly upset because her last seven days are the first seven days that Jamie is returning to Tokyo after going to a boarding school in the US for three years. We quickly learn that Sophia and Jamie were close before he left and then had a bad fight right before he left which neither of them has really gotten over. In part, the fight was because Sophia (or Sofa as she has been nicknamed) had a crush on David- which she still does.

Sophia learns a lot of hard truths about her parents, her sister, and her friends during the last week she spends in Tokyo. It's a difficult time for her mainly because she has to leave her friends and the world she knows for New Jersey- the events that happen during the week just compound the difficulty. The book only covers those seven days- but they are a set of days in which Sophia will have to do a lot of growing up. Sophia was, at times, hard to like- she's selfish, oblivious, and easily lashes out at everyone around her. Jamie is quite the opposite, easy to like and sweet through and through. David was even more selfish than Sophia, and clearly has some bigger issues to work through. I felt pretty badly for Caroline, as the group is not terribly kind to her, though there are some revelations there. Mika was a fun character- outgoing, unique, and in the center of it all.

Overall, I really enjoyed it and read it in basically one sitting. Sophia really grew during the book, and it draws you through her memories and current revelations in a really fascinating way. As a note, there is a lot of underage alcohol use, mentions of sexual activity, and a lot of really poor parenting (parents who aren't around and all the high school student parents let them go out and stay out all night). I almost think a college setting might have fit better, as I found some of this hard to believe, but it was an interesting perspective nonetheless. As a warning, the end is a little open/not closed book, and I find myself very much hoping for a sequel, but an epilogue would have been nice (this story is not all wrapped up in a bow). I don't want to say much, it isn't a cliffhanger, but it doesn't have a sense of finality.

I really enjoyed this book and found it really unique and fascinating! I would recommend it for an older audience (older teens/adults) mainly due to some heavier issues/themes. Please note that I received an ARC from the publisher through netgalley. All opinions are my own.

I have a book hangover! I devoured SEVEN DAYS OF YOU in one night. The voice was authentic - quirky and unique and kept me thoroughly entertained. I laughed. I snorted. I even cried and it takes a very special book to inspire my tears. I've been to Tokyo so the author's descriptions and setting were realistic. In fact, I felt as if I were transported back there. The best part about the book was how well each character was developed and played an integral part in Sophia's journey. I just loved the relationship between sisters. And, it has just the right amount of heat and situations that kept it real for this genre. I can't wait to read more from this author.

So my impression of this was Ernest Hemingway does YA in Japan.

The saving grace of this book was the characters. I enjoyed them for the most part, although Sophia was a bit exhausting in her internal dramas, and Mika was just a surly stereotype.

The plot however was lacking. The story was mostly a series of over emotional drunken encounters, inter-spliced in a lovingly detailed travel log through Tokyo.

Good effort for a debut author, and I would definitely try her books again, just hope for a little more plot.

I had a really hard time connecting with the characters in this book, which made the love story less than interesting. Everyone was really strange and immature, and not in a fun, quirky way. I didn't enjoy the characters or the writing style, but I'm sure people who connect better with it will enjoy it.

First off I will say that I am not a huge contemporary lover so that may have an effect on my feelings toward this book.

I thought the setting of the book, Tokyo, was so cool and I really liked that it was different than most contemporaries. I think because the book is set over a period of 7 days that I didn't connect with any of the characters at all. I liked Sophia, but she just seemed to juvenile for me. But in saying that a lot of the things she thinks about boys did remind me of when I was in high school so I do think that was captured pretty well.

Overall not something that I would pick up for myself, but would definitely recommend to younger readers

This book was just okay for me. I'm not entirely sure how I feel about the main character, but I loved the setting. The writing was good, too!

The book begins as Sofia is counting down her final days of living in Tokyo before returning with her family to New Jersey. She plans to spend her remaining time experiencing her favorite parts of the city with her best friends. However, circumstances (plus the return of an old friend) put a bit of a hitch into her plans.

I loved this book. The author did an excellent job of showing the variety of emotions that one experiences when they are about to move away from their friends and home. The confusion, sadness, anger, and dread were all quite visible in the story. Then there was Jamie (le sigh) ...
All around good read.

I've been struggling a bit with this genre and wanted something different, something that would pull me out of my YA funk and so I went into this maybe with slightly high expectations. Anna and the French Kiss is one of my all time favorites in this genre and having that compared to this story out those expectations higher than I should have let them go.

This wasn't a bad read, in fact, I adored the setting. It isn't often we see a setting take place in Japan with so much life around it in this genre. In fact, it was my most favorite part of the story. I wish I could say I adored the rest but the fact is, I just could't connect with the rest of the storyline or the characters.

That isn't to say that someone else won't absolutely adore this, it just wasn't exactly my read at the moment, in fact if I picked this up at any other time, I might have even liked it more, who's to say.

Overall, I do think a lot of people will really like this and even love it.

Seven Days of You just didn't work for me. I didn't like or connect with the characters, their problems, or the setting.

LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE
** spoiler alert ** I absolutely adored this book! Once I started it I was absolutely hooked. It was beautiful, it was moving, and I loved the backdrop of Tokyo in the book.

I connected deeply with Sophia and her struggles to find "home" and "her people".

I wanted SO DESPERATELY for it to end differently. I wanted a "Surprise! Mom's grant was renewed we are staying" but I think I like the real ending so much more. Simply because it WAS real. She did find her people (Allison and her Mom) and she was content.

Highly, HIGHLY recommend!!

...So sad about Jaime though....

This is not a review. I didn't request this title, but since I clicked the link it added it to my shelf, and sending my opinion is the only way I can remove it.