Five Blessings for a Wedding by Maiko Seo

A humorous, tender novel about found families and the people who shape our lives

Yuko has had four different surnames and been brought up in several families, and by various step-parents. Despite not being related by blood, they have all always cared deeply for her. Through it all, pragmatic and resilient, Yuko has navigated life's changes and its occasional conflicts without bitterness, always managing to find a kind of equilibrium. 

As an adult, Yuko falls in love with Hayase, a talented pianist she's known since her school years. Now a married woman, she embarks on a journey to reconnect with the various parental figures from her past to seek their blessing for her marriage. Along the way, she revisits her former life and the people in it and gains a deeper understanding of what truly defines a family.