Book Review

Starfish

by Akemi Dawn Bowman

Before reading this review that may or may not encourage you to pick up this book, I would like to make you, the reader, aware of some of the content in this book. This book is about a teenage girl Kiko Himura who's had a not-so-great life. Some people may be sensitive to some of the content in this book which I will list here:

Racism
Sexual & emotional abuse
Parental abuse
Suicide attempt

Nothing graphic, just some things to be aware of. The suggested age for this book is 13 and up, so hopefully that gives you an idea of what to expect before reading this amazing novel. Now let's talk about the book!

So, what is this book even about? Kiko Himura is about to graduate high school. After being rejected from the art school of her dreams, Prism, and with her abusive uncle about to move in, she feels the need to get away. Needing an escape from her narcissistic mother and her uncle, she accepts an invitation from her childhood friend, Jamie. They take a trip to California, hoping to find a possible art school alternative to Prism and a "fresh start" for Kiko.

This book took me way too long to finish because right when I was about 80% or so through, I was ambushed with assignments…

This book honestly was amazing. Despite needing to put it down for a bit, I managed to pick it up and finish it in one sitting without becoming detached from the story. My feelings on the book are at extreme levels of incoherence because of all the emotions that were just...happening. So I’ll summarise with some fun dot points:

The writing? Amazing, show-stopping, stunning, phenomenal. But in all seriousness, this is one of the best writing styles I have ever encountered. Just wow. Akemi Dawn Bowman uses Kiko's paintings/drawings in the book to beautifully portray her emotions

Here's an example:

"I draw a black heart exploding in every direction, and inside is a girl made entirely of light."

I had a better example but it's kind of a spoiler. Who knows, but her writing was outstanding and truly a highlight of this book for me.

The characters? Insanely relatable and, if it applies, insanely annoying. Kiko is definitely up there with some of my favourite characters. Being mixed race means she feels mostly confused about her Japanese heritage. The disconnect from heritage is something I found extremely interesting and, at times, did relate to. She also experiences social anxiety, which was depicted in such a way that it felt so real and genuine and I really sympathised with Kiko.

The side characters were also phenomenal. Jamie? Jamie everyone. Let me shout it for those in the back, JAMIE EVERYONE! I loved him if it wasn't obvious. I can't really explain why he was an amazing character without spoiling the book. If you read the book, you’ll know, that's all I'll say about him.

As mentioned before, some characters made me want to throw the book (or I guess my computer as I read the eBook) across the room. Specifically, Kiko's mother. She was an extremely frustrating character to read about. In the book we see Kiko's thought process when talking to her mother written like this, "WHAT I WANT TO SAY: ... and WHAT I ACTUALLY SAY: ...". Kiko struggling to say what she really wants to say makes letting her mother "get her way" extremely infuriating. As a character though, great. I hated her, but she is an extremely well-developed character.

The plot? Just lovely. It definitely relies on the characters, so keep that in mind. It's quite "slice of life" (but what contemporary ficton isn't?) in the best way possible, so don't let that dissuade you from picking up this book. Trust me, it’s worth it. I promise. The pacing was great, the book never dragged, and Kiko's character development was quite compelling.

Overall, this book is completely and utterly beautiful, and you need to pick this book if you...read? Or if you don't, it's not that long. So, you have no excuse, right? This is available on the school ePlatform, waiting for you to pick up!

Nikita Arun (Year 10)