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A review by malloryfitz
Star Daughter by Shveta Thakrar
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
Premise- (4/5) So, so, so much about this premise called to me. First of all, stars. Who doesn't love the night sky? And the concept of stars as beings is so excellent! I also love magical competitions, so that was a big plus. The comparisons for Star Daughter also had appeal--I like quite a bit of Laini Taylor, Roshani Chokshi, and Neil Gaiman, so that was promising as well.
Characters- (3/5) Mixed feelings here. Sheetal was an overall likable protagonist, but she was a little all over the map. Which, on the one hand, was very understandable, given that she's 16 and going through both mortal and star puberty, with massive consequences on both sides. But it also felt a bit heavy-handed to read at times. I liked Minal a lot, and her relationship with Sheetal, but also, I felt like there were some tricky grey areas in their relationship that weren't addressed as clearly as I would have liked. I actually felt like that about a number of Sheetal's relationships, including her mom and Dev. There were a lot of supporting characters, from Sheetal's grandparents and other members of the star court to the competing champions and Sheetal's mortal family, but I thought Thakrar did a pretty good job of handling them.
Plot- (2.5/5) I liked the overall plot structure of Star Daughter, but the pacing was a bit of a struggle, especially once we got to the star court. I had a hard time keeping track of exactly how quickly the competition was approaching. It was soon, and the soon-ness was emphasized, but at the same time, it felt like we spent a LOT of time in the court before the competition not doing very much. It picked up again once the competition hit through the end of the book, but the middle was a bit uneven.
World- (4/5) I really, really enjoyed the star court. I'll get into the writing down below, but the descriptions were lovely, and Thakrar did a nice job of making the star court feel real but also unimaginably whimsical and fantastic. I was entranced by the magical settings Thakrar described, but also chuckling sometimes at the normalcy of some aspects of the court.
Writing- (2.5/5) This was tough. On one hand, Thakrar's descriptions were often stunning, lyrical, and magical. The comparisons to Laini Taylor and Roshani Chokshi ring true. On the other hand, there was a lot of telling instead of showing. Star Daughter was packed with high-running emotions, but I often felt like Thakrar was just narrating Sheetal's emotions to me rather demonstrating them. The language also, sometimes, while gorgeous, got repetitive. This was a debut novel, and I think Thakrar's writing will only improve over time, which I look forward to because the prose was often lovely!
Overall- (3.2/5) Star Daughter was a fantastic premise with strong world-building and lush prose. Sheetal's journey of self-discovery was an emotional roller-coaster, but while the writing was often beautiful, it did a lot of telling instead of showing when it came to Sheetal's feelings. The novel struggled at times with pacing and consistency, but I loved the world of the star court. Though I didn't always love the characters, their motives were always clear and usually sympathetic, and Thakrar juggled a large supporting cast quite well. I would love to see more from her, but I would also love for her narrative voice to continue to mature. All in all, very cool mythology and important themes about self-discovery and relationships (familial, romantic, platonic), but also some stumbling blocks in the writing and pacing for me.
Characters- (3/5) Mixed feelings here. Sheetal was an overall likable protagonist, but she was a little all over the map. Which, on the one hand, was very understandable, given that she's 16 and going through both mortal and star puberty, with massive consequences on both sides. But it also felt a bit heavy-handed to read at times. I liked Minal a lot, and her relationship with Sheetal, but also, I felt like there were some tricky grey areas in their relationship that weren't addressed as clearly as I would have liked. I actually felt like that about a number of Sheetal's relationships, including her mom and Dev. There were a lot of supporting characters, from Sheetal's grandparents and other members of the star court to the competing champions and Sheetal's mortal family, but I thought Thakrar did a pretty good job of handling them.
Plot- (2.5/5) I liked the overall plot structure of Star Daughter, but the pacing was a bit of a struggle, especially once we got to the star court. I had a hard time keeping track of exactly how quickly the competition was approaching. It was soon, and the soon-ness was emphasized, but at the same time, it felt like we spent a LOT of time in the court before the competition not doing very much. It picked up again once the competition hit through the end of the book, but the middle was a bit uneven.
World- (4/5) I really, really enjoyed the star court. I'll get into the writing down below, but the descriptions were lovely, and Thakrar did a nice job of making the star court feel real but also unimaginably whimsical and fantastic. I was entranced by the magical settings Thakrar described, but also chuckling sometimes at the normalcy of some aspects of the court.
Writing- (2.5/5) This was tough. On one hand, Thakrar's descriptions were often stunning, lyrical, and magical. The comparisons to Laini Taylor and Roshani Chokshi ring true. On the other hand, there was a lot of telling instead of showing. Star Daughter was packed with high-running emotions, but I often felt like Thakrar was just narrating Sheetal's emotions to me rather demonstrating them. The language also, sometimes, while gorgeous, got repetitive. This was a debut novel, and I think Thakrar's writing will only improve over time, which I look forward to because the prose was often lovely!
Overall- (3.2/5) Star Daughter was a fantastic premise with strong world-building and lush prose. Sheetal's journey of self-discovery was an emotional roller-coaster, but while the writing was often beautiful, it did a lot of telling instead of showing when it came to Sheetal's feelings. The novel struggled at times with pacing and consistency, but I loved the world of the star court. Though I didn't always love the characters, their motives were always clear and usually sympathetic, and Thakrar juggled a large supporting cast quite well. I would love to see more from her, but I would also love for her narrative voice to continue to mature. All in all, very cool mythology and important themes about self-discovery and relationships (familial, romantic, platonic), but also some stumbling blocks in the writing and pacing for me.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Blood, Panic attacks/disorders, and Addiction