Diary of a Tokyo Teen: A Japanese-American Girl Travels to the Land of Trendy Fashion, High-Tech Toilets and Maid Cafes - Softcover

Inzer, Christine Mari

Softcover

ISBN 10: 480531396X ISBN 13: 9784805313961

Publisher: Tuttle Publishing, 2016

Synopsis

**2017 Creative Child Magazine Preferred Choice Award Winner**
**2017 Moonbeam Children's Book Award Gold Medal Winner**

A book for comic lovers and Japanophiles of all ages, Diary of a Tokyo Teen presents a unique look at modern-day Japan through a young woman's eyes.

Born in Tokyo to a Japanese mother and an American father in 1997, Christine Mari Inzer spent her early years in Japan and relocated to the United States in 2003. The summer before she turned sixteen, she returned to Tokyo, making a solo journey to get reacquainted with her birthplace. Through illustrations, photos, and musings, Inzer documented her journey.

In Diary of a Tokyo Teen, Inzer explores the cutting-edge fashions of Tokyo's trendy Harajuku district, eats the best sushi of her life at the renowned Tsukiji fish market, and hunts down geisha in the ancient city of Kyoto. As she shares the trials and pleasures of travel from one end of a trip to the other, Inzer introduces the host of interesting characters she meets and offers a unique—and often hilarious—look at a fascinating country and an engaging tale of one girl rediscovering her roots.

**Listed as a 2016 Great Graphic Novel for Teens by the Young Adult Library Services Association**

About this title

About the Author

Christine Mari Inzer was born in Tokyo in 1997 to a Japanese mother and an American father. She spent her early years in Japan and relocated to the United States in 2003. She is currently a college freshman.

Reviews

Gr 7 Up—Born in Tokyo in 1997, Inzer grew up there until her family moved to the United States in 2003. While the book refers to her as a "Tokyo teen," she in fact has revisited different neighborhoods and provinces and shares accounts from urban and rural locations. This offering will attract a wide range of Japanophiles, both for the humorous stories and her charming and colorful drawings. This is a visually engaging selection, and photographs from Inzer's visits help to ground this narrative in reality. Readers will appreciate the amusing tales about unfamiliar foods, far-out fashion, and intriguing traditions and will enjoy reading something by a teen author. One minor drawback is the title—while it has lots of teen appeal, it's not entirely accurate, because Inzer's experiences take place all over Japan. This work is a newer version of Halfway Home: Drawing My Way Through Japan, which featured a more accurate title. The main difference between the two versions is that this one has additional illustrations and is also in color. VERDICT A sweet and funny book that will entice those with an interest in Japan, as well as fans of Lucy Knisley's Relish: My Life in the Kitchen.—Andrea Lipinski, New York Public Library

Edition details

• Publisher: Tuttle Publishing
• Publication date: 2016
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 480531396X
• ISBN 13: 9784805313961
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 128