BLOG TOUR Tessa Miyata is No Hero by Julie Abe

Hi friends! 

Welcome to my stop for the blog tour organized by TBR and Beyond Tours for Tessa Miyata is No Hero by Julie Abe. Check out the tour post to learn more about the book, the author, and how you can get your own copy. Make sure you show the other hosts some love as well - the link to the schedule is below. 

Happy reading everyone!

Tessa Miyata is No Hero by Julie Abe Tour Schedule (TBR and Beyond Tours) 

About the Book

Genre: Middle Grade Fantasy
Publishing date: August 22nd, 2023

Rep: Japanese, Japanese-American, Asian

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A thrilling and charming middle grade fantasy steeped in Japanese lore and mythology, perfect for fans of the Zachary Ying series.

Tessa Miyata has never fit in. When she and her two sisters are told they will be staying at their grandparents in Japan, Tessa is thrilled. A summer in Japan could be her chance to go on an adventure worthy of impressing her classmates back home.

Her hopes are quickly dashed when, all too soon, she realizes that life in Japan is just like being in California: her sisters are old enough to go into Tokyo, while she can’t even go to the corner store by herself. Plus, her grandparents want her to stay home with the neighbor kid, thirteen-year-old Jin Uehara, who’s made it clear he’s too cool to spend time with a weirdo like her.

When Tessa is finally allowed to go to Tokyo, it’s only to join her grandpa’s retiree aerobic class with none other than Jin. Their disastrous forced hang out comes crashing to a halt when Tessa and Jin break the Miyata family’s precious heirloom—accidentally releasing the malicious samurai god Taira Masakado and discovering a hidden part of the city where gods and mythological creatures walk among humans—including their new companion, a mythical nine-tailed fox who may be more trouble than he is help.

Despite doing everything to avoid spending another minute together, Tessa and Jin must now work together to stop Taira Masakado before he traps them—and the rest of Tokyo—under his command, forever.

Perfect for fans of Rick Riordan and Graci Kim, this brand new fantasy adventure will grip readers from the very first page and never let go.

REVIEW of Tessa Miyata is No Hero by Julie Abe

Rating: 4 Stars
Release Date:  August 22, 2023
Format: eARC (Courtesy of Publisher and TBR and Beyond Tours)
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

Julie Abe’s Eva Evergreen series was an entertaining set of middle-grade fantasy reads, so it was very exciting to learn she was releasing another middle-grade book in the form of contemporary fantasy Tessa Miyata is No Hero. Perfect for fans of Rick Riordan, Yoon Ha Lee, Xiran Jay Zhao or Graci Kim, this book celebrates Japanese culture and stories at its heart. 

From the perspective of being a fantasy book, the author introduces readers to many figures from traditional Japanese stories and folktales. For example, the villain of the story is a former samurai who was inadvertently freed from his prison due to Tessa’s actions. Many of the moments in the story also serve as love letters to Japanese culture and food. The author makes some of the less widely recognized elements easy to understand for readers of any age, and doesn’t try to oversimplify things to the point of dumbing it down (which I appreciate). 

While I was entranced by the fantasy elements of this book, the author also captured my attention with how well she encapsulated the feeling of not belonging when you are middle school age. Tessa in particular is incredibly lonely, and lacks a sense of place both from a cultural and social standpoint. I related to this so much, especially when so many figures were telling her no matter what she would not be a hero to the point she almost believes it herself. As an underdog, she had a lot to work through but I was rooting for her the entire way.  

Sura Siu did an excellent job bringing Tessa’s adventures to life with her performance in the audiobook narration. I was very surprised by the ending of the book, though there's no major cliffhanger to worry about. As this is supposed to be the first part in a new series, I’m curious to see what happens next for Tessa and her friends in the next installment. If you’re looking for a book that honors elements of Japanese culture and mythology, this would be a great choice. 

Thank you to the author, the publisher Little Brown Young Readers, NetGalley, and TBR and Beyond Tours for providing me with a complimentary review copy of the book as part of my participation in the tour. I appreciate the opportunity to read and review Tessa Miyata is No Hero immensely. Please note - I voluntarily read and reviewed the book. All opinions expressed in the review are my own and not influenced in any way. 

About the Author

Julie Abe is the author of the EVA EVERGREEN, SEMI-MAGICAL WITCH middle grade fantasy series; the middle grade fantasy ALLIANA, GIRL OF DRAGONS; and the young adult novel THE CHARMED LIST. She has lived in Silicon Valley, spent many humid summers in Japan, and currently basks in the sunshine of Southern California with never enough books or tea, where she creates stories about magical adventures.

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REVIEW Eva Evergreen Semi Magical Witch (Eva Evergreen #1) by Julie Abe

Eva Evergreen Semi-Magical Witch (Eva Evergreen #1) 

by Julie Abe
Rating: 4 Stars
Release Date: August 4, 2020
Format: Audiobook (Borrowed from Library)
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

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“No matter how far I flew, I never seemed to be able to catch up to her”

Julie Abe’s middle-grade debut, Eva Evergreen Semi-Magical Witch, is a whimsical and entertaining coming-of-age tale that emphasizes the importance of defying expectations, owning your talents and uniqueness, and the power of community. If you’re a fan of fantasy titles or the Studio Ghibli collection (especially Kiki’s Delivery Service), then I think you’ll enjoy this book. 

Eva Evergreen is the daughter of grandmaster Nela Evergreen, and she’s an apprentice looking to graduate to the next rank. The only problem is that she has a pinch of magic compared to her mother. As part of her quest to become a novice, she arrives in Auteri and becomes the town witch. However, she has her work cut out for her because the townspeople are very reluctant to trust her. They eventually warm up to her over the course of the month, enjoying her ‘semi-magical’ fixes, and everyone bands together once they realize ‘The Culling’ (the yearly storm that everyone fears will hit their town) is headed their way. 

I really enjoyed Eva’s growth in this book. She’s able to make her own path and come out of the shadow of her mother’s position and power, and that was so exciting to see. To quote Edward de Bono, “Creativity involves breaking out of established patterns in order to look at things in a different way.” Eva couldn’t fix the town’s problems in the usual way, so she came up with creative fixes. You go, girl! Semi-Magical Witch for the win. My favorite ‘fix’ was the spell that went slightly awry but ended up creating a tasty new treat everyone ended up loving. 

The rhyming nature of the magic in the book was fun. Each rhyme helped add to the whimsical nature of the book (I’m also impressed with how many rhymes the author came up with). It was cool to see the structure of the witch's and wizard’s society (grand master witches, novice witches, apprentice witches…) In addition to the magic system, there is also some traces of Japanese influence in the world of Eva Evergreen. For example, many of the town names are Japan-inspired. There are also various foods in this book that seem inspired by Japanese culture. 

All in all, Eva Evergreen Semi Magical Witch was a wholly magical debut from Julie Abe. Narrator Caitlin Kelly did a great job bringing the story to life with her performance in the audiobook. If a fantasy tale about defying expectations and creating your own path in the world sounds like something you would enjoy, then visit Eva Evergreen’s world today! I’m excited to be able to revisit the world in Julie Abe’s most recent novel, Alliana Girl of Dragons (a separate storyline set in the same world) as well as the sequel Eva Evergreen and the Cursed Witch.  

About the Book

Sometimes all you need is a pinch of magic...

Eva Evergreen is determined to earn the rank of Novice Witch before she turns thirteen years old. If she doesn't, she'll lose her magic forever. For most young witches and wizards, it's a simple enough test:

ONE: Help your town, do good all around.
TWO: Live there for one moon, don't leave too soon.
THREE: Fly home by broomstick, the easiest of tricks.

The only problem? Eva only has a pinch of magic. She summons heads of cabbage instead of flowers and gets a sunburn instead of calling down rain. And to add insult to injury, whenever she overuses her magic, she falls asleep.

When she lands on the tranquil coastal town of Auteri, the residents expect a powerful witch, not a semi-magical girl. So Eva comes up with a plan: set up a magical repair shop to aid Auteri and prove she's worthy. She may have more blood than magic, but her "semi-magical fixes" repair the lives of the townspeople in ways they never could have imagined. Only, Eva's bit of magic may not be enough when the biggest magical storm in history threatens the town she's grown to love. Eva must conjure up all of the magic, bravery, and cleverness she can muster or Auteri and her dreams of becoming a witch will wash away with the storm. 

About the Author

Julie Abe is the author of the EVA EVERGREEN, SEMI-MAGICAL WITCH middle grade fantasy series; the middle grade fantasy ALLIANA, GIRL OF DRAGONS; and the young adult novel THE CHARMED LIST. She has lived in Silicon Valley, spent many humid summers in Japan, and currently basks in the sunshine of Southern California with never enough books or tea. Keep up with Julie’s latest books and adventures at instagram.com/julieabebooks or sign up for her newsletter at julieabebooks.com/newsletter.

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BLOG TOUR Alliana Girl of Dragons (Eva Evergreen #0.5) by Julie Abe

Hi friends! I'm excited to be a part of the blog tour for Alliana Girl of Dragons by Julie Abe. 

Thank you to the author, Little Brown Books for Young Readers, the team at TBR and Beyond Tours, and NetGalley for my complimentary review copy of the book! Be sure to check out the other tour host's pages as well, and show them some love. The link to the schedule is below. 

Alliana Girl of Dragons by Julie Abe Tour Schedule (TBR and Beyond Tours)

About the Book

Release Date: August 2, 2022
Genre: Middle-Grade Fantasy

Once upon a time, Alliana believed in dreams and fairy tales as sweet as spun-sugar clouds. Alliana wished on shooting stars, sure that someday she and her grandmother would be able to travel to the capital city to see the queen. Then her grandmother passed away—and those dreams disappeared in a disenchanted puff.

Now Alliana’s forced to attend to the whims of her wicked stepmother—with long days of cleaning her stepfamily’s inn as her skin burns raw or staying up until the crack of dawn to embroider her stepsister’s ball gowns. Until she meets two beings who change her life forever—the first is a young nightdragon who Alliana discovers she can magically talk to. And the second is Nela, a young witch.

Nela needs Alliana’s help navigating the mysterious abyss, filled with dangerous beasts, a place Alliana knows by heart. Alliana sees Nela’s request as a chance to break free of her stepmother’s shadow and to seize a chance at a life she’s barely dared to hope for—but there’s a risk. If caught, Alliana will be stuck working for her stepmother for the rest of her life. Can Alliana truly make wisps of dreams into her own, better-than-a-fairy-tale happily ever after?

Inspired by the Japanese Cinderella story and set in the same world as the Eva Evergreen series, this story can be read as a standalone.

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REVIEW of Alliana Girl of Dragons (Eva Evergreen #0.5) by Julie Abe
Rating: 4 Stars
Release Date: August 2, 2022
Format: ARC (Courtesy of Publisher and TBR and Beyond Tours)
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

Julie Abe’s Alliana Girl of Dragons, the prequel to her debut Eva Evergreen Semi-Magical Witch, is a magical fantasy tale inspired by the Japanese version of Cinderella. Instead of fairy godmothers, pumpkins, and mice, however, Alliana is surrounded by magical friends, her dreams and even dragons. 

While reading the book, it's not immediately evident that it is a fairytale retelling. However, once the story really gets started, you can see the elements of Cinderella at its heart with the various twists the author implemented to make it a unique tale.  Similar to Cinderella, Alliana is an orphan who’s forced to work for her cruel stepmother and stepsiblings like a slave. She’s always loved fairy tales, but instead of dreaming of a Prince Charming to take her away from her situation, she’s been dreaming of joining the Royal Academy. That dream has seemed just out of reach for most of her life. Things change, however, once she meets her new magical witch friend Nela and a night dragon.   

Alliana is a kind-hearted gentle girl, and it was hard as a reader to see how cruel her step-family were. Grandmother Mari was a shining light in Alliana’s life, and after reading the author note it was touching to see that the character was inspired by the author’s own Grandmother. Alliana’s friends Nela and Isao were also instrumental in giving her the nudge and the resources to allow her to chase her dream. I just love the incorporation of a dragon in the book. In my opinion, dragons make every book better (without fail) and Kabo is awesome. I hope the author writes more books in this world and incorporates him into more stories in the future. 

I did want to note that, as opposed to the Disney retelling of Cinderella, I appreciated how Alliana’s step-family were punished at the end of the book for their treatment of her. Instead of just throwing them in a hole and tossing the key away, their punishments were designed to make them understand why what they did was wrong. I don’t think blanket forgiveness is the best message for the audience level this book is aimed at. 

If a fairy tale retelling that features found family, friendship, and perseverance at its core sounds like something you would enjoy, then you should check out Alliana Girl of Dragons. Readers who are familiar with Eva Evergreen should know that this is set in the same universe, but it's an entirely different storyline and set before Eva is born. As a nice treat, there are some characters that appear in both books (you’ll have to read the books to figure out which ones).  

Thank you to the author, the publisher Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, NetGalley and the team at TBR and Beyond Tours for providing me with a complimentary review copy of the book. I appreciate the opportunity to read and review Alliana Girl of Dragons immensely. Please note - I voluntarily read and reviewed the book. All opinions expressed in the review are my own and not influenced in any way. 

About the Author

Julie Abe is the author of the EVA EVERGREEN, SEMI-MAGICAL WITCH middle grade fantasy series; the middle grade fantasy ALLIANA, GIRL OF DRAGONS; and the young adult novel THE CHARMED LIST. She has lived in Silicon Valley, spent many humid summers in Japan, and currently basks in the sunshine of Southern California with never enough books or tea. Keep up with Julie’s latest books and adventures at instagram.com/julieabebooks or sign up for her newsletter at julieabebooks.com/newsletter.

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