September 1, 2026 by Feiwel & Friends
Copy provided by the publisher
After their adventures in Bounce Back, No Such Thing as Perfect, and Sew Totally Nala, we catch up with Lilico and her many friends, and focus on the experiences of twins Angie and Kiara. When Lilico mentions that she is traveling to Japan with her family, Nala mentions that she would love to go to see the Harajuku district, and after some talking to parents, everyone is on board to go! There are nine altogether, including Joy, Emma, Sophie, Noah, and Henry. The group earns some money by teaching kids basketball, and soon they are on a plane to Tokyo. After some sight seeing, they get on a train to Osaka, where they get a chance to attend Lilico's school, and even get to wear the uniform. They get to meet her basketball team, and get a good feel for what school life in Japan would be like. There are even some opportunities for crushes. Travel is high on the agenda, and the group enjoys seeing the temples at Kyoto. There is some drama, with the twins fighting, since Angie and Kiara approach their travel opportunies with a different perspective.
Strengths: Students who, like Lilico's friends, want to pretend they are "living in their favorite anime" will aboslutely adore this virtual field trip to Japan. There are so many great details about what life is like, and since Lilico is either visiting with family or in her own home, there are activities that tourists wouldn't normally get to do. There are plenty of tourist activities, however, and Nala does get her fill of Harajuku fashion, and even impresses the local students! Angie and Kiara's differences provide a bit of dramatic tension, but don't ruin the trip. This had fewer magical elements and less over-the-top emotion than the rest of the series, which I appreciated. The addition of bits of romance are welcome as well. My students love this series, so this will be a popular title.
Weaknesses: The kids get to do a fair amount of shopping, but it seemed odd that they didn't stock up more on Japanese snacks, which are particularly cute and tasty. I leave space in my luggage for biscuits whenever I get to travel to England!
What I really think: This is a good choice for readers who enjoyed Santat's A First Time for Everything or Craft's School Trip.
Strengths: Students who, like Lilico's friends, want to pretend they are "living in their favorite anime" will aboslutely adore this virtual field trip to Japan. There are so many great details about what life is like, and since Lilico is either visiting with family or in her own home, there are activities that tourists wouldn't normally get to do. There are plenty of tourist activities, however, and Nala does get her fill of Harajuku fashion, and even impresses the local students! Angie and Kiara's differences provide a bit of dramatic tension, but don't ruin the trip. This had fewer magical elements and less over-the-top emotion than the rest of the series, which I appreciated. The addition of bits of romance are welcome as well. My students love this series, so this will be a popular title.
Weaknesses: The kids get to do a fair amount of shopping, but it seemed odd that they didn't stock up more on Japanese snacks, which are particularly cute and tasty. I leave space in my luggage for biscuits whenever I get to travel to England!
What I really think: This is a good choice for readers who enjoyed Santat's A First Time for Everything or Craft's School Trip.
I thought I had posted a review of the third book; I found it on my Goodreads account, but not on the blog.
October 7, 2025 by Feiwel & Friends
E ARC provided by Netgalley
Nala is a HUGE fan of everything kawaii and Harajuku fashion, even buying fabric for an outfit from Tokyo. When she finds out that there is a summer fashion camp near her home in New York City, her mother manages to secure the last open spot for her. Julia, one of her friends’ sisters, is going to be working there, and famous designers will be instructors. When the camp starts, she meets Izzy, Luke, Riley, Kris, Rose, and Kat, who all have different favorite styles. The director, Clair, is the owner of a fashion boutique. While Nala is excited about the fashion show at the end of the program, she doesn’t feel confident in her skills at all, and worries that everyone else is so much better than she is. She does befriend the shy Rose, who is also obsessed with Harajuku style. She’s impressed with Riley’s 1970s style fashions and Kris’ streetwear, and intimidated by Kat’s elaborate, wedding gown style clothing. When Kat accuses her of copying from her, Nala’s insecurity grows, but luckily she is visited by a guardian spirit in the form of Timothy, a squirrel. Her friends Lilico and Emma also had these animals, so Nala hopes this will help. Timothy tries, but his designs aren’t great, and he is much more interested in snacking. Nala doesn’t want to ask for help, even when an upcycling project she attempts proves to be too challenging for her, and she even skips a day of camp. In the end, she manages to get some help, and is okay with the fact that she only has two designs in the fashion show instead of the three that others do, because she knows that she has learned a lot.
Strengths: It’s probably a good thing that Harajuku fashion was not known in the midwest in the 70s, because it is highly likely that I would have attempted to make my own jumper with a cat face on it. While I haven’t seen many of my students embrace this style, I have had a couple. It’s always good to see tweens exploring their passions and learning new skills, so seeing a variety of different sewists at the camp was interesting. There’s plenty of drama, and Nala’s insecurities showcase the current zeitgeist when it comes to mental health. Misako’s illustrations are brightly colored and very kawaii; Timothy is especially cute.
Weaknesses: The number of times that “kawaii” and “Harajuku” are mentioned was excessive. The author also employs the over-the-top starry eyes as well as teary ones as Nala bounces between her extreme love of fashion and the depths of despair over her imagined lack of skills.
What I really think: This is a good graphic novel for readers who like books that focus on a variety of characters, like Libenson’s Invisible Emmy, or that explore different forms of anxiety, like Scrivan’s Nat Enough.
E ARC provided by Netgalley
Nala is a HUGE fan of everything kawaii and Harajuku fashion, even buying fabric for an outfit from Tokyo. When she finds out that there is a summer fashion camp near her home in New York City, her mother manages to secure the last open spot for her. Julia, one of her friends’ sisters, is going to be working there, and famous designers will be instructors. When the camp starts, she meets Izzy, Luke, Riley, Kris, Rose, and Kat, who all have different favorite styles. The director, Clair, is the owner of a fashion boutique. While Nala is excited about the fashion show at the end of the program, she doesn’t feel confident in her skills at all, and worries that everyone else is so much better than she is. She does befriend the shy Rose, who is also obsessed with Harajuku style. She’s impressed with Riley’s 1970s style fashions and Kris’ streetwear, and intimidated by Kat’s elaborate, wedding gown style clothing. When Kat accuses her of copying from her, Nala’s insecurity grows, but luckily she is visited by a guardian spirit in the form of Timothy, a squirrel. Her friends Lilico and Emma also had these animals, so Nala hopes this will help. Timothy tries, but his designs aren’t great, and he is much more interested in snacking. Nala doesn’t want to ask for help, even when an upcycling project she attempts proves to be too challenging for her, and she even skips a day of camp. In the end, she manages to get some help, and is okay with the fact that she only has two designs in the fashion show instead of the three that others do, because she knows that she has learned a lot.
Strengths: It’s probably a good thing that Harajuku fashion was not known in the midwest in the 70s, because it is highly likely that I would have attempted to make my own jumper with a cat face on it. While I haven’t seen many of my students embrace this style, I have had a couple. It’s always good to see tweens exploring their passions and learning new skills, so seeing a variety of different sewists at the camp was interesting. There’s plenty of drama, and Nala’s insecurities showcase the current zeitgeist when it comes to mental health. Misako’s illustrations are brightly colored and very kawaii; Timothy is especially cute.
Weaknesses: The number of times that “kawaii” and “Harajuku” are mentioned was excessive. The author also employs the over-the-top starry eyes as well as teary ones as Nala bounces between her extreme love of fashion and the depths of despair over her imagined lack of skills.
What I really think: This is a good graphic novel for readers who like books that focus on a variety of characters, like Libenson’s Invisible Emmy, or that explore different forms of anxiety, like Scrivan’s Nat Enough.
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