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Review: What I Love About Me: A Very Special Fill-In Journal to Inspire Self-Celebration and Growth for the Year Ahead

What I Love About Me: A Very Special Fill-In Journal to Inspire Self-Celebration and Growth for the Year Ahead
Studio Press, September 2022
Hardback £11.99
ISBN 9781800782839

This journal enables those who write in it to compile a book that’s all about them. It aims to create an inspiring, empowering and extremely personal celebration, building self-confidence and helping define and obtain goals. It encourages all who use it to appreciate who they are, focus on the positives and improve the most important relationship in their life: the one they have with themselves.

There are practical sections promoting self-care, financial skills and time management, as well as plenty that are just for fun. Users can compare themselves to different foods, select the soundtrack to their lives, choose who would play them in a movie, and compile lists of books and podcasts they’re interested in. There are spaces to record affirmations, intentions and general thoughts, and a useful habit-forming tool.

Write a letter to your future self, track how you are feeling from month to month, or identify your style icons as well as your ambitions: this journal allows you to pause and reflect on all you have achieved and are grateful for, as well as everything you enjoy. One of my favourite entries poses the question, “What would I do if there was no way to fail?”

As the pages do not include dates, this journal can be used at any time of the year, in no particular order. An attractive hardback, it makes a gorgeous gift for a friend or relative, or anyone looking to treat themselves. What I Love About Me generates a time capsule of a person that can be kept as a memento and revisited many years later by future selves or even future generations.

Ciara O’Hara

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Review: From Little Tokyo, With Love by Sarah Kuhn

From Little Tokyo, With Love
Sarah Kuhn
Viking, May 2021
Paperback, £8.99
ISBN 9780593403082

From Little Tokyo, With Love is an intoxicating romance which takes readers into the heart of a vibrant Japanese-American district in LA. Rika is a biracial 17-year-old who feels like an outsider in her community and within her own family. In addition to not looking like anyone around her, Rika’s fiery temper often gets her into trouble, making her feel even more conspicuous. Raised by aunts after her mother died in childbirth, the identity of Rika’s father is a mystery, and she knows very little about either parent. Feeling unwanted, angry and frustrated, a chance encounter with actor Hank Chen sets Rika on a journey of self-discovery while finding clues about her mother too.

Infused with Japanese folklore and food, this story is enjoyed with all of the senses. It defies gender stereotypes and subverts the traditional fairy tale, while demonstrating how everyone deserves a happily ever after. I loved all the descriptions of Little Tokyo and LA and how both places are imbued with magical qualities.

Rika is an amazing character; she is strong and passionate, determined and tough. She refuses to change in order to feel more accepted, but instead reaches a better understanding and a greater appreciation of herself. Although this book is about falling in love, it doesn’t just concern romance. Rika must learn to love who she is and, just as importantly, realise how much she is loved by her family, friends and neighbours. A moving and uplifting story with a fascinating setting and magnificent, memorable characters.

Ciara O’Hara