Tokyo Ever After

Izumi Tanaka grows up Japanese American in a small, mostly white town in northern California, where she has never felt she fit. Her single mother has been her one ally, and at school and among friends she goes by Izzy because it makes things easier.

Then Izumi finds a clue to the identity of the father she has never known. He turns out to be the Crown Prince of Japan, which makes the outspoken, irreverent Izzy a princess. She flies to Japan to meet him and to see the country she has always dreamed about.

Royal life comes with more than gowns and tiaras. Her cousins scheme against her, the press follows her everywhere, and she has almost no time to absorb thousands of years of tradition and custom. A scowling but handsome bodyguard is also there, and he may turn out to be her soulmate.

This is a contemporary young adult romance with a fairy-tale frame and a light, playful tone. At its core is an identity question: at home Izumi was never considered American enough, and in Japan she has to prove she is Japanese enough. The book asks whether she can carry the crown or whether it will crush her.