Available:*
Library | Call Number | Status |
|---|---|---|
Searching... Salem Main Library | TEEN Cohn, R. | Searching... Unknown |
Searching... Salem Main Library | TEEN Cohn, R. | Searching... Unknown |
Bound With These Titles
On Order
Summary
Summary
Enter foster-kid-out-of-water Elle Zoellner, who, on her sixteenth birthday discovers that her long-lost father, Kenji Takahari, is actually a Japanese hotel mogul and wants her to come live with him. Elle jets off first class from Washington D.C. to Tokyo, which seems like a dream come true. Until she meets her enigmatic father, her way-too-fab aunt, and her hyper-critical grandmother, who seems to wish Elle didn't exist.
Author Notes
Rachel Cohn was born on December 14, 1968 in Silver Spring Maryland. She attended Barnard College and graduated with a B.A. in Political Science intending to be a journalist. Instead she moved to San Francisco and began working at a law firm and writing. After moving back to New York City, her title Gingerbread was published. It was followed by several other books including: The Steps, Shrimp, Two Steps Forward, You Know Where to Find Me and Beta.
(Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (4)
Publisher's Weekly Review
Elle Zoellner's life changes drastically on her 16th birthday, when Uncle Masa, a family friend, arrives in Washington, D.C., to take her to Tokyo to live with her estranged biological father, Kenji Takahara, a Japanese hotel mogul. Elle welcomes the opportunity: she has bounced from one foster home to another since her addict mother went to jail three months before. But she has difficulty adjusting to Japanese customs, her aloof and formal father, the wealth that suddenly surrounds her, and the daily reminder that she is both hafu ("half Japanese, half something else") and gaijin (a foreigner). When Elle begins attending an elite international school, she falls in with the "Ex-Brats," the school's coolest clique, and starts falling for a boy whom they've "frozen out." At home, she barely sees her father, and things are tense with her paternal grandmother and aunt. Who is her family, really? Cohn (Kill All Happies) creates a relatable fish-out-of-water story with a lively heroine and a message about substance abuse, but the finale is rushed, and attempts to highlight cultural differences are often distilled to simplistic idiomatic misunderstandings (Masa, an educated and well-traveled character, calls Coke "dark sugar water"), keeping Elle's family and experience from coming fully to life. Ages 14-up. Agent: Jennifer Rudolph Walsh, WME Entertainment. (Dec.) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Horn Book Review
After her drug-addicted mother goes to jail, sixteen-year-old Elle Zoellner's long-absent, hotel-mogul Japanese father brings her to Tokyo, where she attends an elite international school. Elle struggles with cultural differences, getting to know her aloof father, and falling for decidedly uncool fellow student Ryuu. The chock-full-of-privilege-and-power plot is trendy (think Crazy Rich Asians) and entertaining in a soap-opera sense. (c) Copyright 2019. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
An American teen is swept away to Tokyo, Japan, beginning a posh new life with a father she's never met.Ever since her prescription-drug addicted mother went to jail, Elle Zoellner, who is European-American, African-American, and Native American on her mother's side and Japanese on her father's, has been in foster care. On her 16th birthday her long-lost father sends for her. Suddenly, Elle is living in a luxury Tokyo hotel owned by her family and attending an elite international school. It all seems like a dream come true until she meets her impassive father and indifferent grandmother and aunt. In an attempt to win them over, she makes her way into the superrich and popular clique at school, the Ex-Brats. But when Elle finds herself falling for the boy iced out by the group and hated by her family, her life becomes even more confusing. Cohn (Sam Ilsa's Last Hurrah, 2018, etc.) creates a fun, well-paced novel about family, friendship, and romance, but aside from Elle, many characters are underdeveloped and the plot feels like a soap opera. Cohn tries to tackle many important issues, including substance abuse, but doesn't devote much attention to them. The ending feels rushed and abrupt, but the descriptions of Japanese etiquette and customs, sights, attractions, and food succeed.Overall, a fun and enjoyable look into the drama of lives of privilege and power. (Fiction. 13-18) Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
*Starred Review* Life could hardly be bleaker for Elle on her sixteenth birthday. Living in foster care since her mother's imprisonment for drug charges, she's lost everything she cared about. All of this changes when an old family friend swoops in to take Elle away to Japan! While Elle has always known that her father is Japanese, she's never met the man. Now he wants to be united with her, offering her an überprivileged life in Tokyo. Faster than you can say Hello Kitty, Elle is attending a prestigious international school and living in a forty-ninth-floor penthouse apartment of her own. She's taken in by one of the most popular girls in the school, who introduces her to the magic of the city. Perfect, right? Except that Elle's long-absent family is remote and way more interested in their business than in emotional connections. And, wait, new Dad might be a criminal? Elle's narration sparkles with wit and insight. She is open to all the wonders of her new life, yet still very much the wary girl who lost her mother to drug addiction. Cohn's descriptions of Tokyo are fresh and vivid, focusing on details interesting to teen readers, such as cat cafés, Japanese slang, and the elaborate presentation of food. It's one of those rare books that combines an authentic teen voice with a confident plunge into a fascinating culture.--Diane Colson Copyright 2018 Booklist