Seven Days of You

by Cecilia Vinesse

It's Sophia's last week in Tokyo, and she's going to make it count...

Sophia has spent her life ping-ponging between different countries and schools, so, in theory, saying goodbye should be easy. But now she's leaving Tokyo - the place that finally felt like home. The only way she can get through this is to make her final week perfect.

Then Jamie Foster-Collins shows up, just in time to ruin everything. Jamie and Sophia used to be friends . . . and his return stirs up feelings she thought she'd forgotten.

Suddenly, hours and minutes become meaningless. Only time spent together, exploring the hidden streets of the city they love, is real.

• ISBN10: 1510200398
• ISBN13: 9781510200395
• Publish Date: 9 March 2017 (first published 7 March 2017)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: GB
• Imprint: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
• Format: Paperback (B-Format (198x129 mm))
• Pages: 336
• Language: English

Reviews

[Jo]

Originally posted on Once Upon a Bookcase.

I don't really know what to say about Seven Days of You by Cecilia Vinesse. I was really looking forward to it as it sounded so good, but I finished feeling really let down.

Most of the characters are unlikable. You don't need to like a character to enjoy a story, but there was may one character I liked out of them all, Alison, Sophia's older sister, but that was only sometimes. Most were either not very nice people, or just bland. I didn't like Sophia, either, she could be so cruel at times.

And then there's the romance itself, which I simply didn't believe. I didn't feel it. Sophia went from hating him to liking him so quickly; you don't spend three years hating someone, only for them to say sorry and suddenly everything is ok and the hate is gone.And I didn't believe that they fell in love over seven days. Maybe I would have if we got to see more of the conversations they had when walking around Tokyo, instead of just being told they walked around Tokyo for hours talking. What I did see didn't feel like enough for the romance to develop as quickly as it did. And it's not that the book took place in seven days - I completely believed the romance in Just One Day by Gayle Forman, and that took place over one day. It just didn't work for me, here.

I did like what we learnt about Tokyo, but we didn't get to see a huge deal. Again, there was a lot of walking around that we didn't actually see. The book is supposed to be the author's love letter to Tokyo, but we don't really see a huge amount of it. And one of my main problems is the lack of diversity. Sophia's sister is gay, and it's possible that Sophia's friend, Mika, is biracial; half-white-American, half-Japanese, but that isn't made completely clearl. It's possible it's hinted at, with her father being the vice president of a big Asian airline, but that could just be me reading too much into things, looking for diversity. If Mika is biracial, her father is the only Japanese character to have a name. The only one. And if he's not, then there are no Japanese characters in this book except in the periphery; people Sophia walks past, or accidentally bumps into, or buys things from. And considering this is set in Japan, I think that's terrible. I know this is the story of an ex-pat, and all the friends Sophia has are from her school for ex-pats, but she doesn't know anyone in Japan who's actually Japanese? No friends, no neighbours? Not one single person? I find that surprising and unrealistic - how can you live in a country and not know anyone from there? It's just not possible - but also hugely problematic. This book is set in Japan, where are the Japanese people?! Their absence is not ok.

Nor am I impressed with Sophia, who was born and raised in Japan until she was five, and then came back to Japan four years ago, and yet only knows the the most basic Japanese. It was never the plan to move from Japan when she was five, it was only after Sophia's mother got a job in the US that they decided to move, but up until then, until issues came about, the family were living in Tokyo with no plans to leave - I would have expected that they help their children learn to communicate with the people whose country they're living in. I cannot believe that for those first five years of her life, Sophia parent's only spoke to her in English - especially considering her mother is Polish and her father is French. Surely they would have talked to their kids in Polish and French, and English and Japanese?

So not only does Sophia not know anyone who's Japanese, she can't really communicate with them either. Surely I can't be the only one who thinks this is just awful?! Why right a story where your main character is completely cut off from the people around them. I can't help but think if a Japanese person/someone with Japanese heritage were to read this book, they would feel insulted by the lack of Japanese people, Sophia's failure to get to know any of them, or to actually try to learn to talk to them. Japanese is one of her classes at school, for crying out loud! I'm really not happy or comfortable with any of this.

This book just wasn't for me, I'm afraid. And as I can only give a "maybe" about any person of colour being in this book, I can't in good conscience recommend it.

Thank you to Little, Brown Books for Young Readers via NetGalley for the eProof.

[Chelsea]

I'm disappointed. After reading the synopsis of Seven Days of You I was expecting a contemporary I'd at least like. I'm generally pretty picky with my contemporary books but this one sounded unique which is why I requested an ARC of it.

My first and biggest problem I had with this book is the setting. Seven Days of You takes place in Tokyo. I was expecting lots of vivid descriptions because how many YA books take place in Japan? I should have kept my expectation A LOT lower because it didn't feel like we were in Japan at all. It could have taken place in New York or London and it wouldn't have made a difference. There was no world building AT ALL and I can't tell you enough how disappointed I feel. This epic setting was chosen for some reason and the author did absolutely nothing with it. A few scenes had some Japanese elements but they felt force, almost like they were just thrown in and landed wherever. If you didn't know anything or not much about Japan you'd be reading certain words and have no idea what they mean. Even some Japanese words were added sporadically without any context and it didn't even serve a purpose except to remind us that we were actually in Japan. You really wouldn't have remember otherwise.

My other issue was with Sophia herself. I found her extremely immature and boring. One moment she was hanging out with her friends having fun like any other teenager and the next moment she was suddenly five. I couldn't keep up with it at all. Even her romance scenes were awkward. I get the concept of it being her first love of sorts but can a teenager really be that immature? (I know they can obviously). In once scene Sophia's friends are basically complaining that she's never kissed anyone and then when she does kiss someone her first thought is "oh my gosh he's probably not a virgin". Umm. What? Can we calm down here please? It also drove me crazy that her nickname was Sofa. Who calls a person a piece of furniture?! It wasn't even once or twice either! She was constantly called Sofa during the entire book.

That was just one character I had a problem with! Mika was probably that worst best friend ever. She was mean and all she ever did was put others down to make everyone feel bad. David was a jerk and I have no idea how he has friends. Plus he was one part of a strange love triangle. Jamie was part two of the love triangle and was probably the most typical YA love interest ever. He had family drama yet was nothing but nice all the time. He could have been any other YA male love interest.

The only redeeming part of this book was that I honestly really enjoyed the first half. There was actually things going on and some decent drama happening. For some reason when I picked it back up again at about 60% it felt like the whole tone changed. I don't know if that was just me but I had a really hard time reading after that point.

This just felt like a very generic YA book hidden behind what sounds like an awesome premise. If you like to read boring contemporary plots (seriously I started skimming at the end) then you might like Seven Days of You. If you're looking for something special and unique then this isn't the book for you.

[chymerra]

Seven Days of You is a story about a teenager who is leaving behind friends and a city she loves to go back to the United States. This book centers around Sophia and her relationships with her sister, her best friends and the boy who broke her heart 4 years earlier. Everything in the book takes place 7 days before she is supposed to fly back to New Jersey.

I am going to come right out and say it, I couldn’t stand Sophia. While she was 17, she acted more like a child and it really grated on my nerves after the first couple of chapters. I mean, take it when she found out that Jamie was coming back…..her jealousy of his and Mika’s friendship almost consumed her. She was so focused on him becoming Mika’s best friend that it ruined those chapters of the book. To be honest, I skimmed those chapters because she annoyed me so much. The rest of the book really wasn’t any better with her. She refused to listen to reason (ie Allison) when it came to her moving to Paris.

Jamie was another one who annoyed me. He took Sophia’s crap when he came home and didn’t say a word in his defense (even to David who let it “slip” that Jamie was adopted). He just let it roll off of him. At one point, I wanted to say “Dude, what happened 4 years ago is in the past. Man up and stop letting them push you around.” The only reaction that I saw him have, in the entire book, was when Sophia kissed David on her last night in Tokyo.

David, I couldn’t stand. He just oozed player from the first page and, to be honest, I wasn’t surprised when something major was revealed later in the book. And I hated his nicknames. Sofa? Really? When I heard that, I imagined a girl who just let people sit all over her. He was condescending and to be blunt, a jerk.

Mika was actually my favorite person in the book. She came across as true (as weird as that sounds) and she fought for Sophia’s friendship when that stuff with David went down. I wouldn’t say that I loved her but I enjoyed it when she appeared in the book.

My other favorite person was Allison, Sophia’s sister. She had her own issues, her girlfriend dumped her and she was hurting, but she looked out for Sophia the best way that she could. I mean, she even took her to that tower and out to lunch to try to find out what was wrong with Sophia. She cared and she didn’t want Sophia to get hurt by their father…who makes promises and then breaks them.

I did think the story was cute and loved that it was set in Tokyo. I think the author did a great job of capturing Tokyo through teenage eyes.

The end of the story was pretty standard with a hint of a HEA.

How many stars will I give Seven Days of You: 3

Why: While I liked the story and the location, the characters ruined the story for me. Sophia and David acted like toddlers, Jamie wouldn’t stick up for himself and Allison was an emotional mess and was absent for 90% of the story. The only person who I connected with was Mika and even she was a jerk at points in the book.

Will I reread: Maybe

Will I recommend to family and friends: Maybe

Age range: Older Teen

Why: Language. Also sexual situations and underage drinking

**I chose to leave this review after reading an advance reader copy**

[Sam@WLABB]

Sophia had seven days left in her "home". She had seven days left to spend with her best friends. She had seven days until her whole life changed and not necessarily for the better. As her world is falling apart, a person from her past resurfaces in her life and knocks her even further off balance.

I guess that's why I'd made this stupid countdown. Because I wanted to hold on to the time I had left here. Because I wanted to separate good-bye from all the moments - all the better moments - that came before it. It was my own little scientific experiment, to try to contain that one second when everything I cared about would suddenly vanish.

I am a sucker for a broken character, and Vinesse gave us a bunch of them in this book. First and foremost, Sophia. Poor Sophia! My heart really went out to her. She was searching for "home" and just when she thought she found it in Tokyo, her mother's job forces her to relocate yet again. And while she is dealing with the move, she finds out that her friends have been keeping secrets from her. But, it's not just her friends who have been hiding things from Sophia, her sister, who had been distant the entire summer, drops a bombshell about their father. During this cataclysmic series of events, Jamie returns to Tokyo. Jamie, who was Sophia's best friend. Jaimie, who Sophia crushed on. Jamie, who broke Sophia's heart, and she in turn, broke his. So, yeah, Sophia is dealing with a lot, and I really appreciated that Vinesse did not make it easy for her. Sometimes it was tough standing by as Sophia tried to work it all out, but she came out better on the other side because it was difficult.

This is a black hole. Or this week has been, anyway. Every second was longer than just a second, you know? And I mean that in a really good way because I love the idea of black holes. The idea that all of this space and time isn't really fixed, that we can change it.

Jamie was quite wounded too. As his story is slowly revealed, we learn that Jamie was hiding big and important parts of himself. But together, he and Sophia are able to feel "home". I bet you noticed I keep putting home in quotation marks. It's because the author made the idea of home a part of the story. Is home a place, a person, or a thing? This idea of home is explored by both Sophia and Jamie, as he is returning from a three year absence, and she is preparing to leave. I really enjoyed this aspect of the story, as I was totally able to relate.

What I was going to say is, I never really felt like I belonged anywhere. I always felt like I was half in one place and half somewhere else. Like I was never exactly where I should be. Except - now. Except being here, with you.

In-between all the drama, there were a lot of fun parts. Most of them involved another very important character in the book: Tokyo. Tokyo is on my bucket list, and reading this book just increased my desire to visit. Vinesse painted a glorious picture of the city from the sights and sounds, to the food and entertainment. I really felt Sophia's attachment to the city and I could clearly see part of what Sophia would be missing.

What do I wish this book had? An epilogue! I so needed an epilogue. I have read endings like this a million times. That traditional, contemporary, open ended thing. I know it's supposed to allow me, the reader, to decide what happened next, but I hate that! I want the author to tell me. I just need closure, it's who I am.


This is me, begging for an epilogue

Overall: Super cute romance filled with love, loss, and hope for things to come.


**I would like to thank Little Brown Books for the advanced copy of this book I got at BEA.


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[Ashley]

So-so.

- Cute
- Loved Tokyo
- Family problems were tough/sad

But..

- There was a love triangle between the MC, a total dickhead, and a guy who was pretty sweet but the background between them was inconsistent.

- The MC had some stupid stupid moments. Like, lying to someone to piss them off for no reason so she can take her anger out on them, then internally saying, "please know I'm lying, please know I'm lying". Stupid.