A review by freedo8quigly
Starfish by Akemi Dawn Bowman

challenging emotional reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.5

This was at times a heavy read for me, but I love that there's a book about struggling with mixed identity. How Kiko talks about herself is how I used to talk about myself: unworthy, unloveable, ugly. But when she starts finding community, oh man, that really comforted my heart. The writing feels a bit younger than the protagonists age (17/18), and I don't love the YA trend of constantly reiterating things that we already know. Though, you could argue it's a character tool in this book because Kiko has high anxiety. 
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