The only thing Lily did was complain that she wasn’t in Tokyo. I really wish I could have finished this book.

Thank you to Netgalley for an e-ARC of this book. The second half of the book is more tolerable but I couldn't care less by that point. I had been expecting someone to find out and expose her for the liar she is. I'm also surprised that Lily never got caught for outright lying on her blog. The book reads more like a middle grade novel than young adult because the protagonist sounds so childish (both her behaviour and the writing). Need I remind that she is the foreigner in Japan, not the other way round?!?!? She couldn't even buy a book or a magazine here. 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. 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). Yet she puts in no effort at all to learn Japanese or talk to her classmates. She also complains non-stop about not having friends and how her classmates do not understand English and vice versa.

She is intentionally difficult and plays pranks on them in hopes of being kicked out and sent to Tokyo instead.ĭespite 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?'

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. Like, there is more to Japan than just Tokyo, you know? You can just imagine her stomping her feet and demanding to be sent to Tokyo instead of the small town she finds herself in. 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. 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. The first half of this book was terrible.

Edokko by Loren Greene