My Tokyo Summer

My Tokyo Summer is a sweet story that celebrates creativity, culture and friendship. Written by Abby Denson, the book is a graphic memoir of her trip to Tokyo in 1997 to meet her pen pal Yuuko. Both love comics and they decide to write and illustrate a comic of their own. The book was published last month on July 7, 2026.

The publisher's summary:

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 university 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!

I loved this story. It was written for kids aged 12 and up so there are no sexy scenes, violence or foul language. Abby’s culture shock mirrored my own during a recent trip to Japan. I can honestly say that her experiences are authentic. A few examples of Abby’s cultural experience include a trip to Senkaido, the biggest stationery shop in Tokyo. The illustrations of the shop had me groaning with jealousy. She also learns how to order in a restaurant, order food from vending machines and from street vendors. Abby visits a few shrines and remarks on the excessive number of steps involved and is able to buy train tickets and board trains thanks to a Japanese language class she took back home in New York City. 

Abby and Yuuko collaborated together on a comic. The two worked well together and I'm going to attribute that to their youth. It seemed easy enough to have it copied in Tokyo. Yuuko's part included cut and pasting images she drew from gray sheets. I don't believe that this type of printing is available in the U S. I had never heard of gray sheets before. Some have the backgrounds already drawn so that the creator can fill in the characters and lettering. Others allow the artist to add gray highlights to their page.

Abby’s visit was 100% positive. This surprised me. She never got lost orhad money issues, although she had help from Yuuko on days they were together. Not much was told about the drawing class that Abby took but I guess it didn't fit in with the plot. I was also surprised by Abby’s attire. She dressed in overalls and had her hair pulled back in pigtails. This didn't seem plausible for a college student.

The story was inspired by Abby’s real life experiences in Tokyo and with Yuuko. Both characters are actual people who have kept up their friendship over the years. The language barrier and cultural differences did not prevent them from becoming lifelong friend. The drawings were done by Utomaru whom Abby has collaborated with before. They were colored with bright colors that would appeal to kids. 

I cannot recommend this memoir more highly. It's a fun and fast read. 5 out of 5 stars.