I Love You So Mochi is an adorable YA with a romance in it, although it’s more of a coming of age story than a romance novel. In this book, Kimi, a Japanese-American high school senior, visits Japan to Find Herself. In the process she connects with her Japanese grandparents, meets A BOY, sees cool stuff, makes things, and eats fantastic food. Kimi is a likeable and engaging heroine, everything is gorgeous, and now I’m hungry and want to go to Japan. If this was the book’s goal, it has succeeded.

The set up is that Kimi’s mom was born in Japan, and Kimi’s father is a fourth-generation Japanese American. Kimi knows her father’s family and has heard their stories about internment during WWII and other challenges they faced. However, Kimi’s mother defied her own parents when she married someone who was born in America as opposed to someone born in Japan. Consequently, Kimi has never met her maternal grandparents.

Kimi’s mom is a painter who sacrificed for years before she was finally able to turn her full attention to painting. She expects Kimi to be a painter as well, but Kimi is more interested in clothing design (Kimi insists that this is “just a hobby”). When Kimi’s maternal grandparents invite her to spend her spring break with them in Japan, Kimi takes the opportunity to meet them and to go on a “quest of self-discovery.” She quickly meets a boy, Akira, who offers to help her on her quest. There is a lot of flirting and eventually kissing and they are totes adorbs, which I say unironically.

My problem with this story is that it’s based on the idea that no one thinks of fashion as a career. What? Why isn’t this brought up in chapter one: “Hey Kimi, have you thought about a career in fashion or textile design?” My idea of fashion is baggy T-shirts and pants with elastic waistbands, and even I know that fashion is a significant art form and that there are multiple possible career paths within fashion and textile arts, some of which can be quite lucrative. When Kimi tells her mom that she likes making clothes, her mom responds with:

“Well that’s fine. You can like clothes. But that’s a hobby Kimi, not a career. Not a passion. Not something that will take you through life in a meaningful way or set you up for a good future.”

Why does no one say the words “fashion design?” I realize there is a cultural and generational issue at play, but even my husband, upon being questioned, reported that he is vaguely aware that there’s some sort of fashion industry that people get jobs in. Believe me, Bitches, if he knows, EVERYONE KNOWS. The entire story is based on a conflict that doesn’t make sense! Of course, there is a real emotional conflict over Kimi’s lying to avoid confrontation, and the fact that her mom, who is a painter, bonded with her through painting. But the “clothes aren’t a profession” issue didn’t make sense to me.

However, if we put that aside, the book is delightful. It’s adorable but not cloying. Kimi and Akira both have a reasonable number of flaws. Neither one of them is a manic pixie – they are just teamed up in an awesome way, and Akira’s support of Kimi is equally reciprocated. I liked that Kimi and Akira are realistic about the odds of a long-distance relationship working, but still refuse to give up without giving it a try, leading to some very sweet texting. I also loved Kimi’s evolving relationships with her grandparents and her mother, and her appreciation of Akiria’s relationship with his grandfather.

Above all, this is a book about passions. I loved how the book explores different kinds of passions and different kinds of art. Kimi’s use of colors, textures, and materials like candy wrappers incorporated into fabric are fascinating. Akira is fascinated by anatomy and medicine, and his grandfather is truly a mochi artist, as is Kimi’s father. Kimi’s Japanese grandfather is passionate about model trains, and her Japanese grandmother is just as passionate about sewing and clothing creation as Kimi is. Meanwhile Kimi learns a lot about her mother’s evolution as a painter. All of these things are celebrated. I need more stories that contain characters appreciating different forms of art and craft and skill.

At one point in the book, Akira says, “You get excited about so many things.” Kimi is a flawed protagonist who, as a teen, lacks maturity in some areas and who is so conflict avoidant that she often inadvertently hurts people by avoiding conflict until it blows up in her face. However, she is basically a person who has no chill, and I LOVE people who have no chill. While the central conflict seemed insufficiently supported by the narrative, there is much to love in this story. I think readers from middle schoolers to adults would enjoy this book.