Starfish

Starfish is by Akemi Dawn Bowman.

Kiko Himura has always had a hard time saying exactly what she’s thinking. With a mother who makes her feel unremarkable and a half-Japanese heritage she doesn’t quite understand, Kiko prefers to keep her head down, certain that once she makes it into her dream art school, Prism, her real life will begin.

But then Kiko doesn’t get into Prism, at the same time her abusive uncle moves back in with her family. So when she receives an invitation from her childhood friend to leave her small town and tour art schools on the west coast, Kiko jumps at the opportunity in spite of the anxieties and fears that attempt to hold her back. And now that she is finally free to be her own person outside the constricting walls of her home life, Kiko learns life-changing truths about herself, her past, and how to be brave.

The Breakdown:
1. This book deals with some very heavy subject matters including sexual assault and an emotionally abusive parent.   If you can deal with the heavy subject matter, this is a beautifully written book.  I liked the story and the character development amazing.

2.   Kiko has one best character journeys.  She is the target of much of her mother's abuse and as a young girl was sexually assaulted by her uncle, which her mother refuses to believe.   I am so proud of her when she gets herself free from her mother.  I also like that while she likes a boy, she is determined to make  her own life without him to know that she can rely on herself.

3.   I pretty much adore Kiko's mentor in California.  He is what her parents should have been for her. 

4. I know this has nothing to do with the story, but I am disturbed by the fact that the book is Starfish, and the cover has a jellyfish.

To Read or Not to Read:
Read