Have you ever loved a book so much that you started taking your sweet time reading it? That’s how I feel right now with Mika in Real Life by Emiko Jean. I’m not ready for this book to end and to let any of these characters go.
From page one, I was instantly attached. I easily connected with Mika and felt her worries and insecurities about the person she is now compared to who she used to be. As you get older there are times when you wonder what your life would have been like had you done this or chosen to do that. Sometimes you can’t help but feel some regret or remorse about what you didn’t get to do, but mostly you miss the person you once were when you had so much exuberance or optimism for what lay ahead. These deeply personal moments, along with the light and humor that Emiko Jean is able to express through Mika’s journey and getting to know Penny, the 16 year old daughter she gave up for adoptions years prior, is what has made this such a great read.
Mika and Penny’s relationship is the heart of this book. I’m about midway through, but I love how much it has grown and continues to develop. There’s a strong bond there as I feel they are not only learning about each other, but are recapturing a part of themselves they lost due to their own experiences, while accepting another part of themselves they never really understood until they met. I also couldn’t help laughing at some of the funny moments like the anecdotes Thomas, Penny’s adoptive father, shared about Penny’s childhood (the potty training story had me in tears and I couldn’t laugh as hysterically as I could because I was in a public area and didn’t want to scare anyone).
It’s hard to express in such a few words how much I am loving this book so far. I have laughed and cried and I’m not even near the end yet. There’s so much packed in about parents, growing up, identity, and healing from trauma and loss, but everything is presented so seamlessly with characters that you will love.
Have you read Mika in Real Life? What did you think of it?
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