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A review by crookedtreehouse
I Am Not Starfire by Mariko Tamaki
5.0
I was really worried about this one. Not because of the Incel Reviews. Bigots gonna bigot. But because I felt the previous Mariko Tamaki YA DC book, [b:Harley Quinn: Breaking Glass|50225349|Harley Quinn Breaking Glass|Mariko Tamaki|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1670558130l/50225349._SX50_.jpg|60077747], was so out of touch and inadvertantly offensive. Dated stereotypes, toxic relationship goals, totally like language that like nobody like uses anymore. It had been a real let down, as I love Tamaki's creator-owned work.
This was pretty much the opposite of Breaking Glass. I thought Mandy, Starfire's daughter, was a realistic and perfectly conceived protagonist. She's imperfect, makes bad decisions, is unknowingly self-sabotaging, but really wants to be better without anyone else's assistance. I grew up knowing a couple of Mandy's (minus the superhero mom).
I thought her relationships with the people around made sense, particularly being completely exhausted by people who fetishize her mom and constantly ask her questions about it.
Yes, the ending is very predicatbly super-heroey and teen romance, but I feel like the book earns it by having three-dimensional characters and a clear plot and sense of themes.
[a:Yoshi Yoshitani|17587209|Yoshi Yoshitani|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1583794463p2/17587209.jpg]'s art is perfect for this book. I loved the panel placement, the coloring choices, and how each character had their own body shape, as opposed to all characters having mostly the same build.
Of all the DC YA books, this is head and shoulders above the rest, my favorite.
This was pretty much the opposite of Breaking Glass. I thought Mandy, Starfire's daughter, was a realistic and perfectly conceived protagonist. She's imperfect, makes bad decisions, is unknowingly self-sabotaging, but really wants to be better without anyone else's assistance. I grew up knowing a couple of Mandy's (minus the superhero mom).
I thought her relationships with the people around made sense, particularly being completely exhausted by people who fetishize her mom and constantly ask her questions about it.
Yes, the ending is very predicatbly super-heroey and teen romance, but I feel like the book earns it by having three-dimensional characters and a clear plot and sense of themes.
[a:Yoshi Yoshitani|17587209|Yoshi Yoshitani|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1583794463p2/17587209.jpg]'s art is perfect for this book. I loved the panel placement, the coloring choices, and how each character had their own body shape, as opposed to all characters having mostly the same build.
Of all the DC YA books, this is head and shoulders above the rest, my favorite.