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My Tokyo Summer: A Graphic Novel
A charming and vibrant true story about an unforgettable summer in Japan!Abby lives in the United States and loves comics, zines, and punk music. Yuuko lives in Japan and loves manga, American movies, and creating art. When Yuuko visits New York City and sees a comic that Abby made, she writes a letter to Abby and they become pen pals. Later, Abby takes the opportunity to enroll in a summer art program in Japan, and the two girls get the chance to meet in person. What follows are charming and funny adventures in Tokyo as Abby and Yuuko explore the city together. Things get even more exciting when they decide to combine their talents and make a comic to sell at Comiket, one of the largest comics conventions in the world. This will be an extraordinary summer of life-changing friendship!
208 pages, Paperback
First published July 7, 2026
About the author
Abby Denson
56 books32 followersCartoonist Abby Denson is the author of Uniquely Japan, the Kitty Sweet Tooth series (illustrated by Utomaru), the fun and fully-illustrated cartoon travel guides, Cool Tokyo Guide and Cool Japan Guide, out from Tuttle Publishing. She is the creator of the graphic novels Dolltopia (which won a Moonbeam Children’s Book Award and an International Manga Award) and Tough Love: High School Confidential, which was originally serialized in XY Magazine. She has scripted comics for Amazing Spider-Man Family, Powerpuff Girls Comics, Simpsons Comics, Sabrina The Teenage Witch, Josie and the Pussycats, Disney Adventures, and comics for Nickelodeon Magazine. She has taught comics classes and workshops at various venues including the Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art, Sophia University, and Eugene Lang College at The New School.
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
July 13, 2026
That was cute. But the characters looked like middle schoolers and I thought they were supposed to be in college. If this is supposed to be based on college years then actually write it for older teens and at a higher reading level. I got so confused as to why and how these characters were taking college classes when they look like kids not teens or young adults. I didn't even know they were supposed to be college students until I read the back matter. I enjoyed the back matter far more than the book. The friendship, culture, and love of art is wonderful. If it weren't for the nudity, I would have thought this was for elementary school kids. In fact I initially thought it was due to the art and writing. Those scenes also felt weird given the fact that I didn't realize Abby and Yuuko were college students. I get that some people can look really young, but they really look and act like kids. And that really took me out of the story and makes me wonder who this story is for.
May 2, 2026
Based on a true-to-life friendship, this graphic novel is an account of Abby, an art student, traveling to Tokyo to visit her longtime penpal, Yuuko, where they collaborate on a comic for Comiket! A really fun story of new experiences and throwbacks to 90's pop culture and style.
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
Review of ARC provided by publisher.
Beautiful illustrations. Though the ARC doesn't have all the images in color like book will, they didn't feel unfinished, and it felt vibrant even without color (again, the published book will be in full-color).
Really cute book about a friendship across continents that gives the reader some insight into Japanese culture and cuisine.
Abby is very excited to explore Japan during a semester abroad, and spend time with her pen pal Yuuko. The two work on their comic together.
Content/maturity rating: Suggestion was 12+, I think maybe because of some scenes with full nudity and discussion about it (sensitive areas covered creatively). I think the actual reading level works for younger grades, too.
Loved the ending.
Beautiful illustrations. Though the ARC doesn't have all the images in color like book will, they didn't feel unfinished, and it felt vibrant even without color (again, the published book will be in full-color).
Really cute book about a friendship across continents that gives the reader some insight into Japanese culture and cuisine.
Abby is very excited to explore Japan during a semester abroad, and spend time with her pen pal Yuuko. The two work on their comic together.
Content/maturity rating: Suggestion was 12+, I think maybe because of some scenes with full nudity and discussion about it (sensitive areas covered creatively). I think the actual reading level works for younger grades, too.
Loved the ending.
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
ARC provided by the publisher
In this graphic memoir, we go back to 1986 to meet Abby, who lives in the US, and Yuuko, who lives in Japan. Both girls are interested in comics and anime. Abby's mother has traveled to Japan for business, so Abby is enthralled with that country, and Yuuko and her older sister Yoko are interested in US culture. Both girls hope to one day spend time in New York City. When Abby gets the chance to stay with her grandfather in the Big Apple, she is introduced to the zine scene. She creates her own, which Yuuko discovers when she visits the city with her sister. Yuuko writes to Abby, and the two become penpals. in 1997, Abby gets the chance to attend a summer program in Tokyo, and she and Yuuko are able to hang out and experience all of the sites, food, and shopping in Japan. They write a comic together, and get a table at Comiket to sell it. Even years later, the two are still connected, and Abby, an author, goes back to visit as often as she can.
There are great notes from Denson and Utomaru, as well as Yuuko, at the end of the book, and some fun pictures. Like Santat's A First Time For Everything, My Tokyo Summer is a great snapshot of a particularly important and influential summer in an author's life. There are plenty of good details about things to do in Japan, and a LOT about the food. Transliterated Japanese is also included. While most of the ARC was in black and white, the few pages that are in color are bright and appealing. Utomaru's illustration style is a mix between US artists like Telgemeier and Galligan and Japanese manga (That ALWAYS in my head is expressed as Speed Racer-like!) and is very appealing.
Readers who enjoyed a taste of life in Japan in Brown's While I Was Away or Chapman's All the Ways Home or who enjoyed Misako's Bounce Back will be enthralled with this virtual field trip to Tokyo, especially if they are fans of anime and manga.
In this graphic memoir, we go back to 1986 to meet Abby, who lives in the US, and Yuuko, who lives in Japan. Both girls are interested in comics and anime. Abby's mother has traveled to Japan for business, so Abby is enthralled with that country, and Yuuko and her older sister Yoko are interested in US culture. Both girls hope to one day spend time in New York City. When Abby gets the chance to stay with her grandfather in the Big Apple, she is introduced to the zine scene. She creates her own, which Yuuko discovers when she visits the city with her sister. Yuuko writes to Abby, and the two become penpals. in 1997, Abby gets the chance to attend a summer program in Tokyo, and she and Yuuko are able to hang out and experience all of the sites, food, and shopping in Japan. They write a comic together, and get a table at Comiket to sell it. Even years later, the two are still connected, and Abby, an author, goes back to visit as often as she can.
There are great notes from Denson and Utomaru, as well as Yuuko, at the end of the book, and some fun pictures. Like Santat's A First Time For Everything, My Tokyo Summer is a great snapshot of a particularly important and influential summer in an author's life. There are plenty of good details about things to do in Japan, and a LOT about the food. Transliterated Japanese is also included. While most of the ARC was in black and white, the few pages that are in color are bright and appealing. Utomaru's illustration style is a mix between US artists like Telgemeier and Galligan and Japanese manga (That ALWAYS in my head is expressed as Speed Racer-like!) and is very appealing.
Readers who enjoyed a taste of life in Japan in Brown's While I Was Away or Chapman's All the Ways Home or who enjoyed Misako's Bounce Back will be enthralled with this virtual field trip to Tokyo, especially if they are fans of anime and manga.
Review of advance copy received from Edelweiss+
Denson wanted to share a graphic memoir, as an artist herself that is highlighted nicely throughout the graphic novel, when she spent a summer abroad in Japan because of her skills and where she met Yuuko beforehand and ended up spending quite a bit of time paling around Japan taking in the sights, sounds, and tastes and speaking Japanese quite well.
The final piece of the memoir is Yuuko and her tabling at a comic market and where it solidified her abilities and creative juices to continue art through manga/graphic novels. This is a snapshot of time that captures the excitement and energy of youth, friendship, and exploration.
I continue to enjoy books featuring settings in Japan where I can say "I was there" or "I had that" or "I did that" as this one showcased as well.
Books don't have to be overly dramatic, serious, or full of life lessons. This one simply exists for the slice of life it shows while also still doubling as a bit of an education of what Japan was like in the late 90s from bathhouses to Shibuya crossing. The embedded Japanese and facial expressions coupled with movement make this a engaging read.
The final piece of the memoir is Yuuko and her tabling at a comic market and where it solidified her abilities and creative juices to continue art through manga/graphic novels. This is a snapshot of time that captures the excitement and energy of youth, friendship, and exploration.
I continue to enjoy books featuring settings in Japan where I can say "I was there" or "I had that" or "I did that" as this one showcased as well.
Books don't have to be overly dramatic, serious, or full of life lessons. This one simply exists for the slice of life it shows while also still doubling as a bit of an education of what Japan was like in the late 90s from bathhouses to Shibuya crossing. The embedded Japanese and facial expressions coupled with movement make this a engaging read.
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
Honestly, such a cute story about how two girls that share a passion for art and drawing were able to share not only their creations with each other but their cultures. Also, definitely a throwback to before all the technology that now seems to dominate our lives and we weren't able to immediately contact/locate the person we wanted to communicate with.
This is a mindful reminder that just because an experience is different doesn't make it wrong, and that it's important to keep culture in mind when encountering something that is "strange" to us. It was also a good reminder to me to try new things and not default to what's comfortable. There is a wide and wonderful world out there with many new experiences and people to meet. Also really made me want to spend a summer in Tokyo so maybe in the near future, I'll actually make that happen. Enjoy and use this is the opportunity to consider what new experiences you could try or places you could explore.
This is a mindful reminder that just because an experience is different doesn't make it wrong, and that it's important to keep culture in mind when encountering something that is "strange" to us. It was also a good reminder to me to try new things and not default to what's comfortable. There is a wide and wonderful world out there with many new experiences and people to meet. Also really made me want to spend a summer in Tokyo so maybe in the near future, I'll actually make that happen. Enjoy and use this is the opportunity to consider what new experiences you could try or places you could explore.
Review of advance copy
This is an arc that I got to read and really enjoyed it! It is a graphic novel so I read it in one day and overall had a really fun time with this! Last year I had been on a trip to Japan and I got to relive my whole vacation through this book. A lot of the activities and experiences the girls in the book had done. I had also and it was so fun to read about someone else doing it and being able to relate like that! If you’ve never been to Tokyo or Japan, the book is also amazing because you learn about unique little culture moments. That’s are so fun to read about.
The whole point of this book is so cool because it’s actually a true story about two friends and one of the girls later than wrote this graphic novel about it! It’s not boring non-fiction it’s 100% entertaining and worth the read!
The whole point of this book is so cool because it’s actually a true story about two friends and one of the girls later than wrote this graphic novel about it! It’s not boring non-fiction it’s 100% entertaining and worth the read!
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
An incredible TRUE story of friendship across cultural borders and connection over a shared interest.
Based on the author’s very real friendship with Yuuko, who found a copy of her zine in a shop in NYC in the 90s, and they formed an overseas pen pal friendship.
This is the story of Abby and Yukko’s summer of experiences in Tokyo, of creating together, and of the friendship that endured.
In Abby’s words, “Let’s use the power of art and DIY to create more connections and friendship in the world!”
Thank you to Graphix for the advance review copy I received as a bookseller.
Based on the author’s very real friendship with Yuuko, who found a copy of her zine in a shop in NYC in the 90s, and they formed an overseas pen pal friendship.
This is the story of Abby and Yukko’s summer of experiences in Tokyo, of creating together, and of the friendship that endured.
In Abby’s words, “Let’s use the power of art and DIY to create more connections and friendship in the world!”
Thank you to Graphix for the advance review copy I received as a bookseller.
July 22, 2026
Even though Abby lives in the United States and Yuuko lives in Japan, the two girls connect over a love of comics when Yuuko finds Abby's comic zine for sale in a New York store. The two girls start as pen pals, but when Abby gets the opportunity to spend a summer studying art in Tokyo, the two girls get to spend a lot of time together and create a comic together. Based on the author's own experience, this is a lovely mini journey to Tokyo for the reader.
July 26, 2026
A bright, colorful, endearing story about 2 college students who meet up in Tokyo to create art together (manga/zines). There are plenty of interesting cultural facts to learn while you read.
I picked this up because it seemed like a book my oldest daughter would love. The college students are pretty innocent in this book, but there are 3 instances of nudity. The art covers all body parts creatively but it makes the rating a little higher. Maybe 13+ depending on your child.
I picked this up because it seemed like a book my oldest daughter would love. The college students are pretty innocent in this book, but there are 3 instances of nudity. The art covers all body parts creatively but it makes the rating a little higher. Maybe 13+ depending on your child.
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
This young adult graphic novel showcases Tokyo through a summer full of friendship and adventures. I absolutely love the notes following the story, too!
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
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Review of advance copy received from Publisher
Very cute and easy read!
Review of advance copy received from Publisher
This is cute, but not entirely my thing.
July 24, 2026
I loved all the cultural references that were included in this graphic memoir about two friends and their art.
Review of advance copy
Cute story about art and friendship.
December 2, 2025
Counting books in my reading challenge that I copyedited or proofread, when they're available here on Goodreads for me to add in a timely manner. It's only fair. It's a damn lot of reading I'm not including otherwise.
Lovely and sweet graphic novel. Fun project.
Lovely and sweet graphic novel. Fun project.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews