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Sometimes after school, you have baseball practice. Sometimes, you go for pizza. Sometimes, your parents drop a bomb so significant your entire life explodes - like "We're moving to Tokyo in four weeks."
This is how it all began for my protagonist, Jacob, a smart, snarky, thirteen-year-old struggling with the most significant change in his life - a sudden relocation from the familiar Seattle suburbs to wild and bustling Tokyo.
In Trading Pizza for Ramen, Jacob and his twin siblings Dylan and Lily, have one summer vacation, three months, to figure out how to survive in Tokyo before school starts. From shrines to forests, arcades to onsens, ramen shops to baseball games, Jacob makes sure the fun never stops, typically at the detriment of a younger sibling or parent.
In sixteen chapters, 158 pages and 28,000 words, Jacob goes from hating everything about Tokyo to finding friends, food, and purpose in his new home.
About the author
Brenda Cohen is the author of Trading Pizza for Ramen and a mother, wife, and businesswoman. Having always wanted to be a writer, Brenda built a successful career as a copywriter, creative director, and marketing professional. Her favourite job, however, is the one she has right now: writing children's books and being the CMO of her own company, Award Pool, which she founded with her husband, Reuven, and their three kids.When she's not writing, Brenda spends her time cooking with her kids, snuggling with her dog, practising Japanese, or painting abstract art. She is as comfortable starting a campfire in the backwoods of British Columbia as she is navigating the busy streets of Tokyo. Brenda lives by the motto "You'll never regret being kind" and believes a walk in the forest can solve both writing blocks and dampened spirits.Brenda is a proud Third Culture Kid (TCK), having grown up in Tokyo. She works hard to bring multiculturalism into everything she does. Honest and creative, Brenda works hard to make the world a little better for everyone around her.
