Scan barcode
A review by allthatissim
Starfish by Akemi Dawn Bowman
5.0
Actual rating 4.5 stars
Full review on: FLIPPING THROUGH THE PAGES
Guys, this book was incredible and I wasn’t really expecting it to be so good. It was brutal but honest. I seriously have so many feelings about this book that, maybe, this review doesn’t justify it.
This story is about Kiko, who is half Asian (a Japanese-American to be exact). She is trying to find her place in life while dealing with the stress of her family and her narcissistic mother, who is always surrounded by her own thoughts and always considered Kiko as inferior. She deals with her childhood trauma and social anxiety while in search of her real motive and the aim to get admission in an art school.
Let’s move to the points why I liked it so much:
++ Kiko is a perfect character and the representation of the social anxiety is just awesome. Though I haven’t experienced this kind of anxiety myself, I was still able to relate to Kiko. Her social anxiety makes it difficult for her to attend the parties. I felt for her through the whole book. It made me feel sad. But I was happy to see her transformation throughout the book.
++ Kiko’s family was really fucked up or if we call it in a decent way- messed up. Kiko’s mother was American, so she always despised Kiko because of her Japenese features and neglected her. She was so contained in herself that she didn’t care about any of her children. Kiko had a bad relationship with her brothers too. No one talked to each other like normal families too.
++ This book showcased an important issue- childhood sexual abuse. She was sexually abused by her uncle in her childhood and this incident left her traumatized for the rest of her life. Reading about sexual abuse was so disheartening and to look how one bad incident can affect you for rest of your life.
++ Oh, another wonderful OTP – Kiko and Jamie! Well, the main focus of the book was not on the romance (which I appreciate) but rather on the journey of Kiko. But I really loved the friendship between Jamie and Kiko.
++ it was interesting to read about growing up as a mixed-race. She always felt that she doesn’t “belong” to the society. Her mother hadn’t raised her with Japenese culture but it was interesting to see how she found out more about her roots and actually enjoyed those moments.
++ I appreciate the #ownvoices thing in this book. [a:Akemi Dawn Bowman|15068129|Akemi Dawn Bowman|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1514475391p2/15068129.jpg] is a Japanese-American with social anxiety herself, just as Kiko. It was interesting and heartfelt to see her own journey and her thoughts.
++ Wow, all the art stuff showcased was really interesting. Both Kiko and Jamie were into arts. While Kiko loved drawing and painting, Jamie was into photography. I really liked all that art stuff shown.
++ This story has the perfect ending. I really liked how Kiko was transforming towards the end, but at the same time, she wasn’t completely cured.
++ The writing style of Akemi is just awesome. I really enjoyed reading this book. Her writing style made the story fast-paced and emotional.
The only thing that I wanted to have was a little side story of Kiko’s brothers. Besides Kiko’s feelings, I also wanted to know what her brothers were feeling at the same time and how difficult it was even for them, to handle their terrible mother. But I guess, since the story was from Kiko’s POV, there wasn’t a room for it 🙂
This book has all the ingredients for a perfect read. I loved everything about the book, the plot, the issues, the characters. It conveyed so many emotions and was relatable. It was sad and funny at parts. This book was about friendship, love, family and more than that, is about discovering yourself. This book gives you hope that actually you can fulfill your dreams and can overcome your fear and struggles.
If you are dealing with anxiety, then you should definitely read this. Even if you love a YA contemporary having a #ownvoices rep, you need this book in your life.
Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest | Amazon
Full review on: FLIPPING THROUGH THE PAGES
Guys, this book was incredible and I wasn’t really expecting it to be so good. It was brutal but honest. I seriously have so many feelings about this book that, maybe, this review doesn’t justify it.
This story is about Kiko, who is half Asian (a Japanese-American to be exact). She is trying to find her place in life while dealing with the stress of her family and her narcissistic mother, who is always surrounded by her own thoughts and always considered Kiko as inferior. She deals with her childhood trauma and social anxiety while in search of her real motive and the aim to get admission in an art school.
Let’s move to the points why I liked it so much:
++ Kiko is a perfect character and the representation of the social anxiety is just awesome. Though I haven’t experienced this kind of anxiety myself, I was still able to relate to Kiko. Her social anxiety makes it difficult for her to attend the parties. I felt for her through the whole book. It made me feel sad. But I was happy to see her transformation throughout the book.
++ Kiko’s family was really fucked up or if we call it in a decent way- messed up. Kiko’s mother was American, so she always despised Kiko because of her Japenese features and neglected her. She was so contained in herself that she didn’t care about any of her children. Kiko had a bad relationship with her brothers too. No one talked to each other like normal families too.
++ This book showcased an important issue- childhood sexual abuse. She was sexually abused by her uncle in her childhood and this incident left her traumatized for the rest of her life. Reading about sexual abuse was so disheartening and to look how one bad incident can affect you for rest of your life.
++ Oh, another wonderful OTP – Kiko and Jamie! Well, the main focus of the book was not on the romance (which I appreciate) but rather on the journey of Kiko. But I really loved the friendship between Jamie and Kiko.
++ it was interesting to read about growing up as a mixed-race. She always felt that she doesn’t “belong” to the society. Her mother hadn’t raised her with Japenese culture but it was interesting to see how she found out more about her roots and actually enjoyed those moments.
++ I appreciate the #ownvoices thing in this book. [a:Akemi Dawn Bowman|15068129|Akemi Dawn Bowman|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1514475391p2/15068129.jpg] is a Japanese-American with social anxiety herself, just as Kiko. It was interesting and heartfelt to see her own journey and her thoughts.
++ Wow, all the art stuff showcased was really interesting. Both Kiko and Jamie were into arts. While Kiko loved drawing and painting, Jamie was into photography. I really liked all that art stuff shown.
++ This story has the perfect ending. I really liked how Kiko was transforming towards the end, but at the same time, she wasn’t completely cured.
++ The writing style of Akemi is just awesome. I really enjoyed reading this book. Her writing style made the story fast-paced and emotional.
The only thing that I wanted to have was a little side story of Kiko’s brothers. Besides Kiko’s feelings, I also wanted to know what her brothers were feeling at the same time and how difficult it was even for them, to handle their terrible mother. But I guess, since the story was from Kiko’s POV, there wasn’t a room for it 🙂
This book has all the ingredients for a perfect read. I loved everything about the book, the plot, the issues, the characters. It conveyed so many emotions and was relatable. It was sad and funny at parts. This book was about friendship, love, family and more than that, is about discovering yourself. This book gives you hope that actually you can fulfill your dreams and can overcome your fear and struggles.
If you are dealing with anxiety, then you should definitely read this. Even if you love a YA contemporary having a #ownvoices rep, you need this book in your life.
Blog | Facebook | Twitter | Instagram | Pinterest | Amazon