This Is How I Roll

by Debbi Michiko Florence

Let the good times roll with this rom-com about sushi rolls, secret crushes, and chasing your dreams! Susannah Mikami dreams of becoming a famous sushi chef like her dad. And this summer, she plans to learn everything about his traditional kitchen. Only he refuses to teach her, and won’t tell her why. Is it because he doesn’t want her to embarrass him in front of the documentary crew filming at his restaurant? Or worse, because she’s a girl? Either way, Sana decides he’s not the only one who can keep secrets. So when she meets Koji, a cute boy who wants to help her cook up some trouble in the kitchen -- and film online tutorials to show the world her mad skills -- Sana is all in. But sneaking around means lying to her parents, something Sana’s never done before. Can she take the heat, or will she get out of the kitchen for good?

Genres: Middle Grade, Romance, Realistic Fiction, Food, Contemporary, Friendship, Family

288 pages, Paperback

First published January 3, 2023

About the author

Debbi Michiko Florence is the author of upper middle grade novels Sweet and Sour, Keep It Together, Keiko Carter, Just Be Cool, Jenna Sakai, and This Is How I Roll. She has a debut middle grade series called Last Chance Academy. Book 1, A Study in Secrets, is coming on March 11, 2025! She is also the author of three chapter books series including Jasmine Toguchi with four new books, Follow Jasmine as she travels to Japan on vacation! And Debbi co-authored a picture book biography, Niki Nakayama: A Chef’s Tale in 13 Bites.

Her books have received starred reviews, JLG Selections, and inclusion on lists such as Amazon Best Books and the Chicago Public Library Best of the Best.

Reviews

[Cam (Lana Belova) · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's almost summer and nothing beats the feeling of reading an MG novel set during the summer when it's summer! I chose this title because I love to occasionally - when I have spare time - cook Japanese food and my favourite is Onigiri with tomato sauce. I learned about onigiri in one of my all-time favourite j-dramas "Osen". And yay! - it was a pleasant bonus - the summertime under the cover!
Sana, the main character, aspires to become a sous chef and her best friend Charli is talented in all things Art. And there also a misterous boy Koji. So - summer, art, cozy food, mystery... The first pages just captured me completely - this story was heartwarmingly written and I loved it 🙂🩷

[Heaven Adore · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was...interesting? I liked the story in it of itself. Sana had a passion and she wanted to chase after it, despite how it seemed her dad was against it, though I dislike how the lying was handled. Since there was an 'understanding' later, she wasn't grounded for her actions. I honestly thought that was a bit weird as she was hanging around with people her parents didn't know about and literally sneaking around. No, just no. Also, can I just say, how can you be 'more than just friends' with someone of the opposite gender at the age of 13? Anywho, in general, there was a nice pacing of the story, and the characters were surprisingly pretty developed. I would've loved to see Charli, Sana's cousin a wee bit more just because of the type of relationship they had, but overall, it was a sweet story.

[Alisha Lor · Rating 5 out of 5]

I LOVE this book it was so interesting and I could kinda related to how her parents sometimes keep secrets from her but yeah don’t forget to smile..

[Emily · Rating 4 out of 5]

Look! More formulaic fluff from Wish! This was one of the better-written entries in the catalog; the characters felt realistic, and Sana's bad decisions were portrayed in such a way that they made sense and seemed reasonable enough as opposed to coming out of nowhere. Also it was really cute and made me want sushi.

[Cody Roecker · Rating 5 out of 5]

love love loved this one.

[Yewon Shin · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read it because my sister loved it. It's a typical kid book :)

[Annie Ryan · Rating 3 out of 5]

My almost 5th grade niece recommended and lent this middle grade book to me. Cute story. Sweet characters. And a good lesson about being honest and telling the truth to your parents, friends, and everyone in your life. I loved how the author showed that kids can be passionate about their hobbies and dreams too.

[Emilia · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book and I really liked the ending! I thought the book flowed really well, and I thought it was very fun and enjoyable to read.

[Ms. Yingling · Rating 3 out of 5]

E ARC provided by Edelweiss Plus

Sana (Susanna) Mikami moves from the city with her parents when her father's sushi restaurant starts to become very popular. Piper Bay, where her uncle and cousin Charli live, is okay, and Sana is not overly concerned about making friends. Her mother isn't working long hours for a big hotel any more. For the summer, Sana is hanging out with Charli, who loves crafts as much as Sana likes to cook. Sana's dad, however, doesn't seem thrilled that she wants to take after him, and after a disastrous experience in the kitchen, seems determined to keep her from being in the kitchen with him. He's especially busy, since he is being filmed for a documentary. When Sana pops by the restaurant, she meets Koji Yamada, a boy working for the landscaping business that keeps up the restaurant's yard. Charli says that Koji is bad news, and that he was expelled after hitting a friend of hers, but Sana thinks he is cute and nice. He takes her home to meet his mother, and she and Sana start to cook together. Koji's older sister makes a comment about Mikami Sushi, saying that the restaurant was why her mother lost her job, because Sana's father's place made the other business close. Sana doesn't want to stop her cooking lessons with Koji's mother, so keeps her identity secret. This is a little harder, since Koji has made a couple of cooking videos with Sana making kawaii sushi in the shape of penguins and other animals. Even though he has the videos set to private and only shows Sana's hands, she's concerned that her parents will find out and make her stop cooking. Charli gets into an arts summer camp at the last minute, so Sana has more time to spend with Koji. This is great, but his best friend Harley feels threatened. Sana's mother is busy renovating their rental home, and her father works long hours at the restaurant, so Sana has plenty of time to spend cooking and hanging out with Koji. When Harley tells Koji about Sana's identity, will she be able to keep up with these fun summer activities?
Strengths: This was a delightful, light romance with lots of cooking. There aren't enough novels that delve into what tweens do in the summer, and Piper Bay was a fun setting for Sana's exploits. There's just enough tension with her parents, there's a lot of food that is described, and there's even a little bit of social media exploration. Sana also has friends in the city who text message her, which seems a very realistic way of dealing with friends after a move; it's so much easier that writing letters! Koji is a nice guy, but Charli imbues him with just a tiny bit of bad boy reputation that he doesn't really merit. Like this author's Sweet and Sour, this combined family drama, friend drama, and romance and served it all up in a great Bento box of a story. I love the cover as well.
Weaknesses: Some people won't be happy that Sana lies to her parents, but since she's lying about hanging out with a boy's mother, it seems pretty innocuous to me. This is absolutely on point with how tweens interact with their parents. Sana is very concerned about safety, but she just doesn't want to let her parents in on what she is doing quite yet.
What I really think: The WISH novels are super popular in my library, and I would have loved these when I was in middle school. I went through a candy making phase in middle school; I think adults forget how much fun cooking is when you don't have to do it every night! I'll be looking forward to more light romances like Just Be Cool, Jenna Sakai and Keep it Together, Keiko Carter from Florence!

[Melissa Killian · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book made me so hungry! Loved it!

Sana, who wants to be a chef like her dad, spends the summer after seventh grade learning to cook from her crush's mom, since her own dad is too busy and doesn't seem to want to teach her anymore. This is Sana's assumption about her dad because he doesn't really talk about what he's thinking or feeling. And neither does her mom, really. This story does a good job of showing how kids will try to fill in the gaps themselves when they're not given the whole truth of what is going on around them. Adults want to "protect" kids and not burden them with adult problems, but the anxiety of not knowing and imagining the worst case scenario actually does more harm than just being honest. And it makes the kid think they can't be honest with their parents, also because they don't want to burden them with more problems. Parents who aren't honest can't really expect their kids to be honest. They have to lead by example.

I liked the relationship building between Sana and Koji, her crush. He's a nice kid who immediately introduces her to his mom, and both he and his mom are super supportive of Sana's dream to become a chef. His mom teaches her some recipes and Koji helps Sana make videos demonstrating her skills. Koji's best friend Harley sometimes gets in the way because she also has a crush on Koji, and I thought these friend dynamics were right on point for middle-schoolers. Also, Sana's cousin Charli warning her away from Koji because of something he did in elementary school to get him expelled also rang true. Sometimes you just can't escape your reputation, even if you've done everything you can to change. It takes someone new, who doesn't know the old version of you, to give you a second chance before others will do the same.

[28Sneh4 · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a feel-good novel! This is How I Roll by Debbie Michiko Florence follows a young girl named Sana who strives to become a sushi chef and cook delicious Japanese food like her dad. The downside to Sana's big dream is that Sana's dad seems to want to avoid teaching Sana how to cook, and it might just be because Sana is a girl. Then, Sana meets a cute boy named Koji whose mom happens to actually want to teach Sana how to cook! Suddenly, Sana is faced with a choice. Sneak around behind her parents' back to do what she loves, or play dutiful daughter, losing her only opportunity to cook and get to know Koji. What will she choose?

This novel is such a great reminder on what really matters in life, surrounding yourself with loved ones. I love how this book was such a light read, and the cute romance was nice. If you've just done some heavy reading or if you just want a cute Halmark movie story, then this would be a perfect read for you! I loved the characters, the well-thought-out plot, and just the story itself! A great read!

[MJ Brodie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this with my daughter as she loves cooking, and her favorite food is sushi. I liked the focus on Sana's passion for cooking and how she persists in following her dream to become a chef. That was the part of the book that drew my daughter in too. The crush storyline with Koji was cute but went on too long with no resolution and I felt uncomfortable with the aspect of Sana lying so much to her parents about how she was spending her time. Her dad was also gruff and seemed overly harsh on Sana. There were hardly any scenes with Sana and both parents together as a family, for example. I would have liked to have seen more scenes with Sana and her parents together to understand the dynamic better and what was driving her father's critical attitude. We didn't get to learn much about her father's mindset until the very end of the book, which made it hard to understand his relationship with Sana.

[TheNextGenLibrarian · Rating 5 out of 5]

A @scholasticinc Wish MG novel.
🍣
Sana dreams of being a famous sushi chef like her dad, even though he doesn’t have the time or inclination to teach her himself. When Sana meets a cute boy outside her dad’s restaurant she ends up taking secret cooking lessons with his mom and making YouTube videos to post online about it. Unfortunately her secrets are getting out of control because her cousin warned her away from the cute boy, her parents don’t know about her cooking lessons and her crush doesn’t know who her father is and he blames him for getting his mom fired. What happens when everyone finds out the truth?
🍱
I love all of Debbi’s books because she write for tweens in a way that doesn’t make them seem younger than they are. The phones, crushes, friendship drama—it all rings true of middle schoolers. I adored this #book and was very hungry reading it!

CW: physical assault, parental death (mentioned)

[Wynee Igel · Rating 3 out of 5]

The main character wants to cook Japanese food with her father who is a sushi chef, but the father won't teach her. The family just moved closer to her uncle and cousin, so the summer starts off with her spending time with her cousin, who she's good friends with, doing art and craft projects. Then the cousin gets into a summer art program and leaves the main character alone. Luckily the main character meets a cute Japanese boy and starts learning how to cook from the boy's mother. But there's trouble and she lies, then lies again, becomes a video sensation until everything blows up. The author continued to build the stakes and did a nice job of creating believable characters, dialogue, and situations and getting into a 13-year-old girl's head. She included Japanese words and sprinkled Japanese customs throughout which was great. This was an enjoyable read.

[Melissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book felt like a love letter to my childhood. While I definitely don't have a famous sushi chef as a father, I do have so many fond memories of cooking oyakodon and sukiyaki with my mom, being trusted by my dad to shred ginger or slice cucumbers on a mandolin, of food as love and warmth and care. Sana's love for food and her family echoes throughout the pages, and while it's initially a little tricky to understand, we see it in her father as well. I love how Mr. Mikami was able to talk about his feelings and explain the reasons behind his actions, rather than leave Sana to fill in the gaps like before. Debbi also brilliantly captures the excitement of a first crush - from sweaty hands and racing hearts - that's perfect for upper middle grade readers.

[Yvonne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great for an upper elementary or middle schooler. This book is more than about sushi although the love of eating sushi will make the reading more fun. It's mostly about family and misconceptions. It's very current as Tik-Tok and other social media topics are engaged. Summer break has never been so fun and full of tween angst. This is a rom-com but this book stays pretty clean. I love the other titles by this author: Sweet and Sour and the Jasimine Toguchi series. She also has written YA titles. I am biased in that I like the Asian twist.

[Jessica Harrison · Rating 4 out of 5]

This Is How I Roll is a sweet, fast-moving novel that has a lot of heart. It’s perfect for middle readers who are drawn to stories about friendships and crushes against the backdrop of family dynamics.

At the center of the story is Sana, the daughter of a famous sushi chef who loves to be in the kitchen and wants to be just like her dad. But no matter what she does, he seems less than taken with her work. Sana is smart, bright and full of energy. She’s a likeable character with a strong supporting cast.

This Is How I Roll is a fun read for tweens. It’s a strong bridge into young adult.

[Karen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Sana just wants to cook with her Dad, a famous sushi chef. Ever since they moved and he opened his own restaurant, he has been too busy and seemingly uninterested. When she meets Koji who is working for a landscaping company, she ends up hanging out at his house and starts learning to cook from his mother. But everyone has secrets – why was he expelled from his old school? Is Koji’s neighbor Harley his girlfriend? Things get even more complicated with Koji starts filming Sana creating her sushi edible art and the videos go viral.

[Hannah · Rating 3 out of 5]

“but I understood a little because my parents spoke it once in a while, mostly when they were upset or wanted to say things they didn’t want me to know. Plus I’d made it a point to learn food-related words in Japanese.”
-
This wasn’t bad. I somewhat related to Sana’s situation with her dad, in which she wanted to follow his career path but he seemed to not want the same. Really, he was supportive of her in whatever she wanted to do, but knows that there are difficult things in his line of work and wants her to do whatever brings her joy.

[Estrella CHAN · Rating 4 out of 5]

Have you ever wished that you were a famous chef's daughter? Sana, the daughter of a famous sushi chef dreams of being like him. But sadly, her dad doesn't seem to encourage that. So when she meets Koji, she makes a little YouTube channel to teach others to make kawaii sushi. When her parents ask her where she's going when she's not home, she has to do something she has never done before- lying. Will her parents find out, or will she survive?

[Steph · Rating 4 out of 5]

If I was a tween, I would have saved every ounce of my allowance to buy each and every book in the Wish series, and I would have displayed them at the top of my bookshelf in rainbow polka dot color order.

So sometimes I curl up with one of the books in this delightful middle grade series and enjoy the heck out of it, just for fun.

Such a delight. :-)

“It lasted less than a second and forever at the same time.”

[Carol · Rating 4 out of 5]

Sana (short for Susannah) and her family move to the town where her cousin, Charli, lives. Sana’s dad opens a sushi restaurant. She misses all her friends in the city. She feels like her parents don’t tell her anything, and she just wants to learn more about being a chef like her dad. He stopped teaching her 2 years ago!

[LostCitiesGirl · Rating 5 out of 5]

I LOVED THIS BOOK SO MUCH!!!! And I was soooooo hungry after...
This book was such a fun read! Suma has such a passionate interest and I really enjoyed hearing her story. It reminded me that everyone can follow your dream and people don't know what they want unless you tell them! This book was very inspirational an dI would definitely recommend it to a friend.

[Cindy · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved the family dynamic in this story. I also learned about Japanese culture! It’s a story about family and secrets and how communication is key for kids as well as the adults! I think it would be an excellent addition to classroom libraries as well as school libraries!

[Genres and Journals *Tia* · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 stars
Loved all the talk of cooking and food. But didn’t like the deception or all the preteen love triangle drama. I’m glad that Sana eventually was honest with her parents but it was sad that she spent so much time sneaking around and lying to them!

[Jennybeast · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute book, with really endearing characters. Some aspects of Japanese culture are challenging, especially the roles of women -- this book flips that neatly on its head. Age appropriate lessons on not lying, first crushes, following your creative passions and being true to your family and friends.

[Quinn Astleford · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is now my absolute favorite book!! I just finished reading it a few minutes before I wrote this review. I really like a few of Debbi michiko Florence’s other books but this is my favorite. I would definitely read it again. Would recommend.

[shannon✨ · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was such a wholesome read, I loved the diversity as well. I’m happy I’ve read this book while I was having sushi otherwise I for sure would’ve been craving it. The lessons that were included in the story were also quite nice.

[Jennifer Hottinger · Rating 5 out of 5]

All of the food will have you snacking while reading this one! So many lessons for Sana beyond cooking lessons!!

[Sherry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely loved this YA story-the relationships between the characters were so real and easy to relate to. I wish I had a middle grade student in my home to share this with. Highly recommend.