I Love You So Mochi by Sarah Kuhn (Scholastic)

Sarah Kuhn is a third generation Japanese-American living in Los Angeles. She brings to light a problem facing many children who are considered hafu, a coin termed in the seventies describing people who are the offspring of a Japanese and an American parent. It’s a question of identity. Contrary to what a lot of people believe, hafu is not a derogatory term. I proudly call myself a hafu as my mother is Japanese and my father is American. Your Japanese relatives will consider you a gaijin or foreigner and your American side will sometimes say you’re not American enough. 

I Love You So Mochi explores this theme in a light-hearted and humorous way. Kimiko, Kimi-chan for short, is a senior in high school. Her mother is Japanese and is a successful artist. Her father is a fourth generation Japanese-American. They live in Culver City, California. Kimiko had just been accepted to the Liu Academy, a prestigious art institute but Kimiko had not informed her mother that she had dropped out of her Advanced Fine Art class. Her friend tells her, “The longer it takes to tell your mom you dropped the class, the more she’s gonna blow like a full-on rage volcano. It’s Asian Mom Math”. 

Something just resonates with me about her friend’s use of “Asian Mom Math”. Perhaps it’s not true for all Asian Mom’s but you know when they call you by your full name, you’re in big trouble or else they will scold you in their native language. Many hafu kids feel pressured to live up to their mother’s high expectations and when you let them down, the look of disappointment is sometimes worse than just being yelled at. After Kimiko’s mom finds out about her daughter dropping the class, they have a big fight and mom gives that look of disappointment followed by the silent treatment.

Before Kimiko has her big fight with her mother, she receives a letter from her estranged grandfather. Kimiko’s mother hasn’t spoken to her parents in years and Kimiko has never met them. The grandfather has invited Kimiko to spend her spring break at their home in Japan which is located outside of Kyoto. This seemed like the perfect opportunity to get away from her mother and also to “find herself” and learn more about her Japanese heritage. 

Kimiko’s impression of her first day in Japan - “Crap. Did I really just travel halfway around the world on a whim to a place I know nothing about?”. On her journey of self-discovery, Kimiko meets Akira. A cute boy she sees dressed as a giant mochi mascot. 

Mochi are “rice cakes”, they are not to be confused with “rice balls” which are onigiri. Kimiko came to Japan not only to meet her grandparents but also to discover what it is she’s really passionate about. Now she is distracted by her feelings for a boy who seems to like her as well. 

Will Kimiko find the answers she’s looking for? Is her time spent with Akira just a spring-break fling? And what will she say to her mother when she flies back home? This story will take you back to those awkward years when you’re no longer a child but not quite an adult and have to learn responsibility and make your own decisions, right or wrong. You may even find yourself having a craving for love and mochi! ~Ernie Hoyt