Hey, it's Empire's Book of the Day. I'm Andrew Limbaugh. In Emikojean's new novel, Mika in real life,

a teen girl, Henny, reaches out to her birth mother, the titular Mika. And when that happens,

Mika feels all these feelings of inadequacy. You know, her own lives are wreck, what could she offer

this kid that seems so bright and full of life?

There are a lot of big things to unpack in this story, but in this interview with Hero now Celeste Headley, Emiko and Celeste get to talking about the seemingly small but

ultimately important issue of names and how they can inform your identity and how even with

the best of intentions, parents always end up

messing up their kids somehow.

In the U.S., national security news can feel far away from daily life.

Distant wars, murky conflicts, diplomacy behind closed doors on our new show, sources and

methods. NPR reporters on the ground bring you stories of real people, helping you understand why distant events matter here at home.

Listen to sources and methods on the NPR app or wherever you get your podcasts.

Author Emikojean is perhaps best known for her books for young adults, the best-selling Tokyo ever after, and its sequel,

Tokyo Dreaming. Both books centered around a Japanese-American girl from a small northern

California town who struggles to define herself after she finds out she's the daughter of the

crown prince of Japan. Now Emikojean is out with her first book for grown-ups. It's called Mika in Real Life. And as the

title implies, the book's central character also deals with identity issues. And Emico Gene joins me now

to talk about it. Hi there. Hi. You know, one of the things that really struck me in this book

is the consequences of white lies. And I'm going to be very careful not to

give away any spoilers here, but it's pretty early on that she tells this one little lie that

kind of grows out of control. Was that just a plot device for you, or were you trying to say something

there? You know, it started as a plot point,

...