Review: Starfish

Starfish by Akemi Dawn Bowman
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Kiko Himura struggles with self-esteem, speaking up for herself, and feeling reponsible for her narcissistic mother's unhappiness. She is shy, withdrawn, and socially awkward, and finds it very difficult to be around other people, besides her best friend Emery. Her mother has little interest in her, and frequently belittles her Japanese heritage and features. When her mother insists on letting the uncle who sexually abused her as a child move in like nothing ever happened, Kiko finally finds the strength to leave and find a new life, with the help of her old childhood friend and crush, Jamie.

This book was a Morris finalist, and I can see why. Though it is sometimes painful to watch Kiko put up with her mother's abuse and selfishness, and her mother is a character everyone will love to hate, it is very satisfying to see Kiko slowly develop the strength to stand up to her mother and gradually realize that it is her mother who is the problem, not her. I love that while Kiko initially needed Jamie's support, she realized that she had to stop using him as a crutch and learn to be independant and find her own inner strength on her own, without him.

This could be very helpful for teens dealing with similarly unhealthy relationships with nacissistic people.


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