Mika in Real Life

A Novel

By: Emiko Jean

Narrated by: Sura Siu, Andi Arndt

A GOOD MORNING AMERICA and READ WITH MARIE CLAIRE BOOK CLUB PICK!

Named a best book by Glamour, Marie Claire, TIME, Good Housekeeping, Cosmopolitan, and more!

From New York Times bestselling Emiko Jean, a whip-smart, laugh-out-loud funny, and utterly heartwarming novel about motherhood, daughterhood, and love—how we find it, keep it, and how it always returns.

One phone call changes everything.

At thirty-five, Mika Suzuki’s life is a mess. Her last relationship ended in flames. Her roommate-slash-best friend might be a hoarder. She’s a perpetual disappointment to her traditional Japanese parents. And, most recently, she’s been fired from her latest dead-end job.

Mika is at her lowest point when she receives a phone call from Penny—the daughter she placed for adoption sixteen years ago. Penny is determined to forge a relationship with her birth mother, and in turn, Mika longs to be someone Penny is proud of. Faced with her own inadequacies, Mika embellishes a fact about her life. What starts as a tiny white lie slowly snowballs into a fully-fledged fake life, one where Mika is mature, put-together, and successful in love and her career.

The details of Mika’s life might be an illusion, but everything she shares with curious, headstrong Penny is real: her hopes, dreams, flaws, and Japanese heritage. The harder-won heart belongs to Thomas Calvin, Penny’s adoptive widower father. What starts as a rocky, contentious relationship slowly blossoms into a friendship and, over time, something more. But can Mika really have it all—love, her daughter, the life she’s always wanted? Or will Mika’s deceptions ultimately catch up to her? In the end, Mika must face the truth—about herself, her family, and her past—and answer the question, just who is Mika in real life?

Perfect for fans of Rebecca Serle and Jojo Moyes, Mika in Real Life is at once a heart-wrenching and uplifting novel that explores the weight of silence, the secrets we keep, and what it means to be a mother.

Loved it

An lovely story about overcoming pain, trauma and self imposed expectations. Finding oneself and letting go.

Such a wonderful book

This book speaks to so many important life experiences in a natural, humanistic and thoughtful way. Parental relationships, friendship, the pressures of a successful life, the significance of culture, parenthood, grief and being a woman! I related to so many parts of this story. It helped me understand myself and process my own life experiences with a kinder perspective. Such a good read. And the audio version is great!

Beautiful story

I loved this story of mothers & daughters & the complicated relationships they have. It is beautifully written about Mika giving up Penny for adoption. Penny finds Mika when Penny is 16 & Mika struggles to feel worthy of Penny & of her own mother. So well written & mostly realistic.

the culture

there's nothing in this book that I did not love very comfortable and easy to listen to

A Good, Well Written Story

I enjoyed this. It was better than I expected. I expected what I call a ‘Beach Read’ - fun but superficial. I’m a little disappointed with the author’s need to go into detailed descriptions about meaning, rather than let the story speak for itself. I think it was good enough to do that. It was enjoyable, though, and I would recommend it.