Mika Suzuki is 35 years old and her life is a mess, her relationship failed and she has just been fired from her job. Then she gets a call from Penny Calvin, the child she gave up for adoption 16 years ago. Embarrassed, Mika makes up some things to make Penny proud of her: she says she has an art history degree and is opening a gallery, she boasts about her boyfriend Leif (her ex) being a very successful entrepreneur. Then after chatting to Penny for a few weeks on the phone, Penny announces she’s coming to visit. Now she has 2 options: 1. Come clean about her fibs, or 2. Pretend everything was true while Penny is in town.
Mika chooses option 2, and for days during the visit all goes well, she and Penny get along famously. She even starts to get on with Penny’s adoptive father Thomas. Until the night of her gallery’s fake opening when Mike’s mother Hiromi shows up unannounced and messes everything up. Penny and Thomas leave without another word and Mika is heartbroken. She leaves a message on Penny’s voicemail while the Calvins return home. Mika is sure she’s really messed up and wishes she could do things over again.
Next to this, Mika is forced to think about Penny’s biological father, Peter, and come to terms with the circumstances surrounding her daughter’s conception.
Emiko Jean has written another book I could not put down. Mika’s feelings are complex and the web of lies she’s spun around her life was fragile. I was glad when Mika turned her life around… the best book I have read so far this year!
Read for The 52 Book Club Reading Challenge 2025
Prompt 33: A Standalone Novel
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
