What do you think?
Rate this book
Kenji and Yuki: A Japanese Tale
Meet Yuki Sakamoto.
Sixteen, easily distracted, and a runaway. Coping with the loss of her grandma seems like a mountain she struggles to climb. She hasn’t even had the courage to visit the family grave she’s buried in.
After a series of misadventures, she meets another girl in an abandoned house one night.
That girl?
Kenjiro Furukawa.
Seventeen, wired when not on her meds, and resident of the house. The dark strikes fear into her heart. She has a nightlight in almost every room of the house.
As the days pass, their connection and feelings for each other strengthen through conversations, stories, and outings. But can these experiences help them rise above their struggles?
Sixteen, easily distracted, and a runaway. Coping with the loss of her grandma seems like a mountain she struggles to climb. She hasn’t even had the courage to visit the family grave she’s buried in.
After a series of misadventures, she meets another girl in an abandoned house one night.
That girl?
Kenjiro Furukawa.
Seventeen, wired when not on her meds, and resident of the house. The dark strikes fear into her heart. She has a nightlight in almost every room of the house.
As the days pass, their connection and feelings for each other strengthen through conversations, stories, and outings. But can these experiences help them rise above their struggles?
247 pages, Kindle Edition
Published November 10, 2021
20 people want to read
About the author
Hailey Sawyer
1 book53 followersHailey Sawyer is the author of Kenji and Yuki: A Japanese Tale and a proud native Rhode Islander. She has possessed a great interest in learning about Japanese culture since she was about nine or ten years old. When she’s not writing, she loves to read and code.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews
January 21, 2023
An emotional story about family, friendship, travel, love and sadness combined
June 23, 2022
Kenji and Yuki: A Japanese Tale is a perfect f/f romance read for pride month to support the LGBTQIA+ community through supporting an indie author.
There were so many things I loved. The imagery is so rich and the descriptions throughout really set the scene and make you feel like you are really in Japan. The pop-culture references stuck out to me and increased my enjoyment. For an example of these references, Malcolm in the Middle was mentioned, Mcdonald's and there’s even a Pokemon-esque game that takes a center seat in characters’ lives. It’s very detailed which most of the time was something that enriched my reading experience. I was able to glean more insights into main characters with well-written side characters and MCs' interactions with them. There was also an ending that I enjoyed with good conversations with family and some relationship mending while new relationships begin and grow stronger!
There were a few things I didn’t like. The dialogue feels stiff at times which would sometimes break the fourth wall bringing me out of the reading experience and reminding me that this is a debut novel. Certain developments in the plot or character decisions made it difficult to identify with some characters. This isn’t a big deal because I read books all the time where I don’t feel that I identify with the characters but I definitely enjoy a novel more when I do or when I feel the character reactions and decisions are realistic. At times the incredible detail felt a bit tedious with a focus on the small moments in the characters’ lives.
Overall, I enjoyed it and would definitely read more if this is going to be a series and would also read more authored by Hailey Sawyer in general!
Content warnings: homophobia
Disclaimer: I received a free review copy from the author, Hailey Sawyer. It was my choice to read and I’m leaving this review voluntarily.
There were so many things I loved. The imagery is so rich and the descriptions throughout really set the scene and make you feel like you are really in Japan. The pop-culture references stuck out to me and increased my enjoyment. For an example of these references, Malcolm in the Middle was mentioned, Mcdonald's and there’s even a Pokemon-esque game that takes a center seat in characters’ lives. It’s very detailed which most of the time was something that enriched my reading experience. I was able to glean more insights into main characters with well-written side characters and MCs' interactions with them. There was also an ending that I enjoyed with good conversations with family and some relationship mending while new relationships begin and grow stronger!
There were a few things I didn’t like. The dialogue feels stiff at times which would sometimes break the fourth wall bringing me out of the reading experience and reminding me that this is a debut novel. Certain developments in the plot or character decisions made it difficult to identify with some characters. This isn’t a big deal because I read books all the time where I don’t feel that I identify with the characters but I definitely enjoy a novel more when I do or when I feel the character reactions and decisions are realistic. At times the incredible detail felt a bit tedious with a focus on the small moments in the characters’ lives.
Overall, I enjoyed it and would definitely read more if this is going to be a series and would also read more authored by Hailey Sawyer in general!
Content warnings: homophobia
Disclaimer: I received a free review copy from the author, Hailey Sawyer. It was my choice to read and I’m leaving this review voluntarily.
January 26, 2022
Yuki Sakamoto is a sixteen-year-old runaway. She’s trying to cope with the loss of her grandmother, but can’t even bring herself to visit the family grave. Soon, she meets Kenjiro Furukawa, a seventeen-year-old girl in an abandoned house. As their unlikely friendship develops, each realize their deeper feelings for each other.
If you enjoy reading the minutiae of a slow burning female relationship, captured through conversations, stories and outings, then this is the book for you. The story is set in Japan, and author Hailey Sawyer captures a believable backdrop. Sometimes stories do not need to be about big adventures and cliff hangers. This book is subtle in its message and I found it a worthy read.
If you enjoy reading the minutiae of a slow burning female relationship, captured through conversations, stories and outings, then this is the book for you. The story is set in Japan, and author Hailey Sawyer captures a believable backdrop. Sometimes stories do not need to be about big adventures and cliff hangers. This book is subtle in its message and I found it a worthy read.
December 26, 2021
Thank you to the author for sending me a free copy of the book, in promotion and an interview on my blog
Displaying 1 - 4 of 4 reviews