Nori Tanaka is thrilled to be studying abroad in Tokyo, Japan, but it isn't exactly what she had imagined. She expected tranquil gardens and swoopy-roofed houses, not concrete and neon. And everyone assumes that, with her traditional Japanese features, she's a native instead of the naïve Japanese-American that she really is. Even Erik, a gorgeous German student, mistakes Nori for Japanese, and treats her like a personal tour guide. Nori is sure that he'll like her for who she is once he gets to know her, so what harm can come of temporarily pretending to be Japanese? It doesn't take long to realize that she has a lot to learn about Japan, and about herself, before she can pass for a native. But after exploring the karaoke clubs in Tokyo, the peaceful temples in Kyoto, and the tranquil heights of Mt. Fuji, Nori knows she has a good chance of finding the hidden Japanese spirit and Zen mindset within herself.

There is a young teenage girl Named Nori Tanaka. Nori Tanaka is trying to escape from her life and her parents as they are getting divorced and she wanted to completely forget about it! She then join the S.A.S.S or for other words, Students across seven seas. Nori didn’t really want to go to Japan, but it was the only way to get away from her family. The S.A.S.S students go to Japan, Tokyo for the whole summer. When Nori arrives at the airport, she meets a girl named Amberley, and throughout the whole trip on the bus, Amberley chats nonstop! Amberley is then set as Nori’s roommate. Nori then ends up being separated from her group at the most busiest train station. Unfortunately she then loses her backpack with all her money, phone and passport in the train she was suppose to go in with her group. However, a native Japanese Student noticed her and grabbed her backpack, getting of the next stop then coming back to return it back to her. The teenage Japanese boy named Atushi found her at the train station and then becomes her guide throughout the entire novel. Erick (her crush) mistakes her as Japanese but Nori does not correct him, as she wants Erick to like her. Nori then uses Atushi to help her to get closer to Erick and makes up many lies. She then tumbles into a whole heap of trouble that she has to explain. Nori then meets her Grandparents who live in Japan and is Japanese and they somehow help her understand that what she did to Atushi, to Erick (lying) and to everyone that it was wrong to do so.

I would recommend this book to anyone who likes Japan or Japanese culture. Also to anyone who likes to read travel books. Maybe the first two or three pages are boring, although you have to try and read on the first two or three pages to get to the main interesting part of the novel. Give it ago, you never know, it might even be your favourite book you’ve ever read. ( )

Nori Tanaka wants to escape from her home life and join S.A.S.S. (Students across the seven seas) in Tokyo, Japan for the summer. Studying abroad is not exactly what she expected though. First she runs into Amberly, the most bubbly girl who Nori has ever seen. They end up sitting next to one another and Nori just stays quiet as Amberly chats non-stop about everything. When they reach their destination, it is just Nori’s luck that Amberly ends up being her roommate. On the first day of classes, everyone is given a partner except the native students who are supposed to help people along, but when the list is done, Nori ends up with no partner. She is devestated because she was hoping that her partner would be the good-looking German boy, Erik. Everyone seems to think that she is native Japanese because of the way that she looks and her last name. However, she is an American and has no idea anything about Japan. She ends up getting separated from her group at the train station, one of the most packed places in the world, and misses her train. She even loses her backpack on the train that she was supposed to get on. Lucky for her, a native Japanese student noticed and grabbed her backpack, getting off at the next stop to go back for her. Atsushi finds her against a pillar in the train station and ends up being her guide through the rest of the story. Classes begin and Nori tries to find a way to impress Erik. When she finds out that Erik is interested in her, as a native Japanese girl, he asks her to show him around. Since Nori does not know Japan, she enlists Atsushi’s help. He reluctantly agrees. This continues with Nori’s lie building and building. She does not realize how many people she may end up hurting, and throughout the whole time she is really acting out of character and hurting herself. When they go to their home stay visit and Nori is off to meet her aunt and uncle for the first time, she begins to realize the faults that she has and what she must do to clear the air back home and in Tokyo.

Nori is not a terribly likable character, so I went back and forth on the novel as a whole. It is hard to not like the main character of the story you are reading and want to continue it. However, the cultural information was very interesting. If you have never been to Japan, you will learn some new things. I think my favorite part of the book was when they were describing the field trips that the students went on. Plus, I got to know a few Japanese words, even if I don’t pronounce them correctly. I did not like Erik. Throughout the whole story, he portrays a smooth talking bully. What happens to him at the end is justified, but not nearly as satisfying as I would have hoped. In some cases, I think the villain gets off to easily, and this happens to be one of those times. This is definitely a book that I would encourage my students to read because I think that they would be able to notice the changes in Nori and identify with the loss of self when you are trying to impress someone who you like.

4/5 stars ( )

Twitter review @book_kungfu:
From jean-clad #Asian-American to culture-shocked in #Tokyo. A travel tale with heart. -- Kung Fu moment: inside the Zen temple ( )

Nori Tanaka is getting away from her feuding parents and going to Japan on an exchange program. She didn't particularly want to go to Japan, she just wanted to go SOMEWHERE to get away from her parents. Now that she's in Japan, she wants nothing more than to forget about their impending divorce. And once she spies the uber hottie Erik from Germany, she thinks she's got the perfect distraction.

There's just one problem with being in Japan. Because she's Japanese-American, the foreigners all assume she's local. And the locals all know she's foreign. When Erik mistakes her for a Japanese girl, she doesn't correct him right away because she wants him to like her. And the longer the deception goes on, the harder it is to 'fess up. The worst part is that Nori is taking advantage of her new Japanese friend Atsushi. How did Nori ever get into this mess? And can she come clean with everyone and fix her mistakes before it's time to head home?

I found this book in the Students Across the Seven Seas series to be a bit harder to get into than Heart and Salsa, mainly because Nori wasn't a very likable character at the beginning of the book. True, she was dealing with a lot of confusion and anger about her parents, but she was rude to everyone and got caught up in a bunch of lies. By the end of the trip, though, Nori had figured some things out and was more prepared to deal with her parents and life in general. Like Heart and Salsa, I found the descriptions of the surroundings to be one of the most appealing elements of the book. A light read for those who love travel. ( )