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yvrowe 's review for:
I Am Not Starfire
by Mariko Tamaki
I wanted to give this book a fair chance, since so many old school comic nerds were poo-pooing it so hard, but yikes. This book deserves a lot of the criticism.
Mandy is Starfire's only child, so a look into what it's like to be raised in the shadow of a super hero should be interesting, right? Right, but with the right character, which Mandy is not. Mandy is ~not like other girls,~ so she slut shames her own mother, and is "above" school. She doesn't even want to go to college, imagining instead a life in Paris. How will she pay for this? That doesn't matter to her. The level of privilege she has is mindblowing. There are alt girls who are relatable characters but Mandy was not it.
The story mostly centers on the fact that Mandy resents her mother. For what? For being a superhero and trying to be a supportive mother. But she's not supportive in the "right way," so yeah, Mandy craps all over her mom's efforts to be involved. She turns this toxic attitude toward her love interest as well. Cutting her off after Claire takes a picture with the Titans while at her house, like???? She doesn't bother to try and understand Claire and her personality and lifestyle. She is expected to adapt to Mandy's expectations.
The ending is so rush that there is no good resolution to Mandy's character. She realizes she's not the "anti-Starfire," but there's no addressing her anti-feminist, slut shamey ways. The only redeeming factors for this book was having a plus size main character (just wish she wasn't such a B) and Yoshitani's art. It's beautiful and colorful and perfect for YA graphic novels.
Mandy is Starfire's only child, so a look into what it's like to be raised in the shadow of a super hero should be interesting, right? Right, but with the right character, which Mandy is not. Mandy is ~not like other girls,~ so she slut shames her own mother, and is "above" school. She doesn't even want to go to college, imagining instead a life in Paris. How will she pay for this? That doesn't matter to her. The level of privilege she has is mindblowing. There are alt girls who are relatable characters but Mandy was not it.
The story mostly centers on the fact that Mandy resents her mother. For what? For being a superhero and trying to be a supportive mother. But she's not supportive in the "right way," so yeah, Mandy craps all over her mom's efforts to be involved. She turns this toxic attitude toward her love interest as well. Cutting her off after Claire takes a picture with the Titans while at her house, like???? She doesn't bother to try and understand Claire and her personality and lifestyle. She is expected to adapt to Mandy's expectations.
The ending is so rush that there is no good resolution to Mandy's character. She realizes she's not the "anti-Starfire," but there's no addressing her anti-feminist, slut shamey ways. The only redeeming factors for this book was having a plus size main character (just wish she wasn't such a B) and Yoshitani's art. It's beautiful and colorful and perfect for YA graphic novels.