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A review by tanaz_masaba
I Love You So Mochi by Sarah Kuhn
5.0
An absolute sweet treat, I Love You So Mochi by Sarah Kuhn is a delightful, heartfelt story about discovering your identity, reconnecting with your roots, mending bridges between your family members, and finding love along the way.
The story begins with Kimi, our adorable protagonist who has a talent for painting but secretly does not find joy in it. For her, art is a way to connect with her mother, who has planned Kimi’s entire life down to the t so that Kimi can get into the most prestigious art school and become one of the most renowned Asian American artists the world has ever known.
Unfortunately, things don’t go as planned when Kimi’s mother finds out Kimi has dropped out of her art classes and spent all her time designing clothes, something her mother considers a “silly hobby”.
This, of course, leads to a massive fallout between mother and daughter, prompting Kimi to travel all the way to Japan to visit her estranged maternal grandparents and figure out who she wants to be without her mother’s expectations looming over her.
What I loved the most about this book, was how wholesome and innocent the story was. Kimi is a sweet, bubbly teenager who has lived a very sheltered life, following closely behind her mother’s footsteps.
At the start of the book, she is a very naive, clueless girl who daydreams about cute clothes and cute boys. Her first solo trip to Japan is understandably nerve-wracking, and she is constantly making culturally inappropriate social blunders.
However, I loved how, over the course of the story, she grew into a confident young woman who knew what she wanted from her life, who was daring enough to confess her feelings to her crush and take risks and fall in love, and most importantly, a woman who knew how to voice her thoughts and be assertive of her needs.
I also adored how at its core, the story is essentially about loving and honoring your family, even when you dream of a life that is different from what they want for you. We see this with Kimi and her mother; the reasons for their falling out go deeper than her mother’s disdain for Kimi’s passion. It is rooted in her mother’s wish for her daughter to have all the best opportunities she never did, in her wish for her daughter to never struggle the way she had to.
Ironically, these same exact reasons had caused the estrangement between Kimi’s mother and her grandparents. So it was an absolute treat to see our bubbly, immature Kimi take the time to understand this cycle of generational trauma and mend the bridges with the utmost respect and compassion. As a South Asian reader, Kimi’s experience in navigating her family’s expectations while asserting her own dreams was extremely relatable, and I loved that this was one of the central themes of the novel.
And though I am definitely not an expert to speak on the representation, I will admit that to me, it seemed that the book was a celebration of Japanese culture–from its description of the food, places, clothing, history, and superstitions. Exploring Japan through Kimi’s eyes made me wish I was in Kyoto in person, and I loved how her time in Japan helped Kimi understand her own self in a better way.
Interestingly, the romance in this novel was very cleverly interweaved into these themes of self-discovery and healing. I loved how easy the chemistry and friendship between Akira and Kimi grew into something deeper, something might lead to a happily ever after.
Akira was not your usual sexy YA boy fantasy; he was cute, smart, and also annoying in the way only teenage boys could possibly be. For me, the highlight of their romance was how they both taught each other to be brave, to believe in their dreams and choose their own passions over all else.
All things considered, this is a book that I can see myself rereading cover to cover again, and I would definitely recommend it to any body who enjoys cute, fluffy, lighthearted coming-of-age romances.
The story begins with Kimi, our adorable protagonist who has a talent for painting but secretly does not find joy in it. For her, art is a way to connect with her mother, who has planned Kimi’s entire life down to the t so that Kimi can get into the most prestigious art school and become one of the most renowned Asian American artists the world has ever known.
Unfortunately, things don’t go as planned when Kimi’s mother finds out Kimi has dropped out of her art classes and spent all her time designing clothes, something her mother considers a “silly hobby”.
This, of course, leads to a massive fallout between mother and daughter, prompting Kimi to travel all the way to Japan to visit her estranged maternal grandparents and figure out who she wants to be without her mother’s expectations looming over her.
What I loved the most about this book, was how wholesome and innocent the story was. Kimi is a sweet, bubbly teenager who has lived a very sheltered life, following closely behind her mother’s footsteps.
At the start of the book, she is a very naive, clueless girl who daydreams about cute clothes and cute boys. Her first solo trip to Japan is understandably nerve-wracking, and she is constantly making culturally inappropriate social blunders.
However, I loved how, over the course of the story, she grew into a confident young woman who knew what she wanted from her life, who was daring enough to confess her feelings to her crush and take risks and fall in love, and most importantly, a woman who knew how to voice her thoughts and be assertive of her needs.
I also adored how at its core, the story is essentially about loving and honoring your family, even when you dream of a life that is different from what they want for you. We see this with Kimi and her mother; the reasons for their falling out go deeper than her mother’s disdain for Kimi’s passion. It is rooted in her mother’s wish for her daughter to have all the best opportunities she never did, in her wish for her daughter to never struggle the way she had to.
Ironically, these same exact reasons had caused the estrangement between Kimi’s mother and her grandparents. So it was an absolute treat to see our bubbly, immature Kimi take the time to understand this cycle of generational trauma and mend the bridges with the utmost respect and compassion. As a South Asian reader, Kimi’s experience in navigating her family’s expectations while asserting her own dreams was extremely relatable, and I loved that this was one of the central themes of the novel.
And though I am definitely not an expert to speak on the representation, I will admit that to me, it seemed that the book was a celebration of Japanese culture–from its description of the food, places, clothing, history, and superstitions. Exploring Japan through Kimi’s eyes made me wish I was in Kyoto in person, and I loved how her time in Japan helped Kimi understand her own self in a better way.
Interestingly, the romance in this novel was very cleverly interweaved into these themes of self-discovery and healing. I loved how easy the chemistry and friendship between Akira and Kimi grew into something deeper, something might lead to a happily ever after.
Akira was not your usual sexy YA boy fantasy; he was cute, smart, and also annoying in the way only teenage boys could possibly be. For me, the highlight of their romance was how they both taught each other to be brave, to believe in their dreams and choose their own passions over all else.
All things considered, this is a book that I can see myself rereading cover to cover again, and I would definitely recommend it to any body who enjoys cute, fluffy, lighthearted coming-of-age romances.