**I received an ARC from the publisher (thank you, Simon Teen!). These are my honest opinions, and in no way was I compensated for this review.**
Starfish by Akemi Dawn Bowman
Release Date: September 26, 2017
My Rating: 4.5 stars
Summary: A half-Japanese teen grapples with social anxiety and her narcissist mother in the wake of a crushing rejection from art school in this debut novel.
Kiko Himura has always had a hard time saying exactly what she’s thinking. With a mother who makes her feel unremarkable and a half-Japanese heritage she doesn’t quite understand, Kiko prefers to keep her head down, certain that once she makes it into her dream art school, Prism, her real life will begin.
But then Kiko doesn’t get into Prism, at the same time her abusive uncle moves back in with her family. So when she receives an invitation from her childhood friend to leave her small town and tour art schools on the west coast, Kiko jumps at the opportunity in spite of the anxieties and fears that attempt to hold her back. And now that she is finally free to be her own person outside the constricting walls of her home life, Kiko learns life-changing truths about herself, her past, and how to be brave.
From debut author Akemi Dawn Bowman comes a luminous, heartbreaking story of identity, family, and the beauty that emerges when we embrace our true selves.
A William C. Morris Award Finalist; A New York Public Library Best Book for Teens of 2017; A Junior Library Guild Selection
I was really excited to read Starfish; I mean, the description already sounds amazing, and believe me, the book is even more beautiful than it makes it sound. I was tearing up at some points, and now it's a day later that I'm writing this, still crying.
Kiko is a half-Japanese girl who doesn't know much about her culture because her mother is toxic and controlling and refuses to allow Kiko do anything that she doesn't approve of. She always picks on Kiko, rather than her two brothers; Kiko, in turn, just wants to keep her head down at home and at school until she can escape to her dream art school, Prism. But then she doesn't get in. Yet Kiko can't bear to stay at home because her abusive uncle moves back in, so when her childhood best friend comes back to town, she jumps at the chance to go back to California with him and tour art schools on the west coast.
First off, the writing is so beautiful! Kiko is a painter, so almost every chapter ends in a description of a sketch she draws. If you've read I'll Give You The Sun, it's a bit like Noah's POV where he talks about the paintings in his head. These descriptions capture so much emotion, sometimes in two or three sentences, sometimes in just five words. Not only that, but they were also such vivid descriptions, I could honestly draw you the picture just from a sentence.
Kiko also has social anxiety, and you can feel everything she feels. I totally related to some of the things she felt; being in a group of completely new people? I panic and don't talk and mess up when I do speak, just like Kiko. Also, I somewhat related to her relationship with her mother, like how nothing is good enough or making you feel bad. The difference, however, is that I know my mom loves me and supports me. Kiko's mother has her seeking validation from her for no reason at all except that she's a narcissist and incredibly manipulative. This occurs throughout the book, and you can feel Kiko's pain as she struggles between pleasing her mother or living her own life she wants to live.
In the end, Starfish is a story about finding yourself after rejecting your true self after so long. The summary says it best when it says that Starfish "is a luminous, heartbreaking story of identity, family, and the beauty that emerges when we embrace our true selves." It's beautiful and raw and real; your heart will be broken, but at the end, it'll be put back together again, just like Kiko's. Pick up this lifechanging book on September 26th for a story that will stay with you forever.
About the Author: Akemi Dawn Bowman is the author of William C. Morris Award Finalist STARFISH, SUMMER BIRD BLUE, and HARLEY IN THE SKY. Her upcoming sci-fi series, THE INFINITY COURTS, is set to release in 2021, followed by her middle-grade debut, GENERATION MISFITS. A proud Ravenclaw and Star Wars enthusiast, she has a BA in social sciences from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. She currently lives in Scotland with her husband and two children. She is represented by Penny Moore of Aevitas Creative Management.
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