This book follows the lives of three women:
Yuki, a 19 year old Japanese violinist who comes to the UK to study music. She falls in love with her music teacher Alex and falls pregnant early on in their relationship. Yuki wants to keep the baby so she and Alex marry and as her pregnancy progresses Alex pulls away from her.
Mei, a half Japanese half British young woman who is trying to find out who she is – her Japanese mother died when she was 6 years old and she was raised by her British father and stepmother in Surrey. As a young teenager Mei falls in love with Francesca who unfortunately for her doesn’t feel the same way. Mei and Fran remain best friends though.
Haruka, a young woman who was raised on a farm and who escapes to Tokyo after her mother passes away. She’s only 16 when she starts working as a sex worker in the Tokyo hostess bar industry. She returns to the farm when her grandfather Jiji gets cancer and asks her to come home.
This is Japanese-British actor Hanako Footman’s debut novel and it was shortlisted for the Waterstones Debut Fiction Prize in 2024. I really enjoyed this book – I loved the characters – they’re so different and yet they are intertwined. The ending didn’t quite feel finished to me – which leaves me to think about what might follow…
Read for the PopSugar Reading Challenge 2025
Prompt 26: A book where an adult character changes careers
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
