Starfish - Akemi Dawn Bowman

My copy of Starfish

 Conclusion: Worth It

I picked this book up because an agent I really like highly recommended it, and I just fell in love with the character, Kiko. She has true anxiety--most likely brought on due to living with her narcissist mother. A lot of young adult books feature anxiety, but they portray it as kind of funny and very relatable. That is not what it is like for Kiko. It is not fun, and it impacts her life in a million different unfortunate ways.

This was the first time I'd read a book where I thought, "This person gets it. This person knows what it's like to live with that kind of debilitating anxiety." If you follow Bowman on Twitter, you'll see just how true that is. She's pretty honest about how anxiety looks like for her. And I LOVE that about her.

But while the book deals with some heavy subjects, it doesn't feel weighty or sad. One of the things that really lifts it is Kiko's art. She's an amazing artist who thinks in colors and paintings. It's a wonderful contrast: Kiko struggles to express herself out loud, but with a paintbrush (or a pencil, or a piece of clay), she can put words to how she feels.

Bowman uses this wonderfully throughout the book. Whenever we need to know how Kiko is feeling, Bowman shows that emotion in a piece of art. And it is incredible. It is worth reading just for the descriptions of art. But the rest of the book is beautiful, and really touching. We're dealing with a dysfunctional family--a classic narcissist mom, and how her three children cope with her. So what is Kiko supposed to do? How is she supposed to find her voice when her mom (intentionally or unintentionally) has taken her voice from her?

Seriously, it's beautiful. Go read it. Like, right now.

- Alana

This Book Reminds Us Of...

I'll Give You the Sun is another young adult book that heavily relies on art to relay emotion. Like Starfish, it is incredibly well done. And it ends well! So...go read that book, too.

Bowman has a new book out, too! It's called Summer Bird Blue.






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