Finding Naomi

De: Diane Hawley Nagatomo

Narrado por: Grier Cooper

Stuck in a dead-end bar job in central Tokyo and barely making ends meet, Naomi Kihara's life turns upside down when her American father, whom she hasn't seen since she was a toddler, dies. Having been brought up to believe he abandoned her, it's a shock to learn she is his heir. But there's a catch: Naomi must go live in his hometown for one year. Felix, Nebraska couldn't be any more different from Tokyo, Japan. And besides, not everyone in town is happy the Johnson property now belongs to the Japanese daughter everyone forgot Mike ever had in the first place. But with the help of her new friends and neighbors, Naomi discovers a strength in herself she never knew existed.

Finding Naomi is the tale of one woman's search for family, acceptance, and love.

©2024 Black Rose Writing (P)2024 Black Rose Writing

Reseñas de la Crítica

“A delightful novel by a skilled storyteller, Japan and the American Midwest blend seamlessly in this fast-paced modern-day fairy tale.” –Karen Hill Anton, author of A Thousand Graces

Light, Engaging and Authentic Fiction

As a woman who lived in Japan for 20+ years, the storyline was both plausible and enjoyable, junping between Tokyo, Shizuoka and Nebraska. Peppered with Japanese words and scenes in Tokyo, those who have lived there will feel nazukashi! The performance was good, though the Nebraska accent became a little too much at times. It was a well written, light narrative with a few unexpected twists. Be aware that there is some mature sexual content though. There were so many insights that I thought I might suggest it to my teen daughter until I came across those graphic bits. Though I was disappointed, it is the author’s right to include what she feels appropriate. It just means that the audience. should be prepared. It was definitely a page turner/ binge listen!

A Heartwarming Journey of Self-Discovery in a Foreign Land

This is the second book by Diane Nagatomo that I've listened to, and I greatly enjoyed it. Ms. Nagatomo has masterfully applied her knowledge and experience of life in Japan and rural America to craft characters and stories that are both believable and engaging. Similar to the theme of her first book, "The Butterfly Cafe," the heroine in this one is pushed by circumstances to find herself and grow. Community and friends support and help her in her quest to create a new life in a land completely foreign to her. Towards the end, there's even a touch of suspense that makes the story even more compelling. All in all, this was a very enjoyable audiobook, and I'm looking forward to Ms. Nagatomo's next work.

Too many storylines

The story started out with great promise of a Japanese girl now finding herself in Nebraska and navigating cultural and economic changes. Usually stories like this have one or perhaps two nice story twist that go to it and a conclusion demonstrating self growth and awareness. The story unfortunately has so many unnecessary and unrealistic twist and turns that were just too much and buried the real message of the story by the end. Keeping the plot a little more straightforward with a couple of twists to have the reader be surprised would have been perfect for this book, but I’m sorry to say that for me it veered into very improbable directions and the characters became too caricature focused and lost all realism

Spoiler alert
The initial reviews don’t focus on actually the main part of the story which happens to do with 2 forced poisoning, murder, blackmail, self artificial insemination, adultery - it’s just not what I was expecting for the way this book is marketed