Starfish

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 as 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 transformative truths about herself, her past, and how to be brave.
A luminous, heartbreaking story of identity, family, and the beauty that emerges when we embrace our true selves.

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Akemi Dawn Bowman is the author of Starfish (Simon Pulse/Simon & Schuster) and Summer Bird Blue (Fall 2018). She’s a proud Ravenclaw and Star Wars enthusiast, who served in the US Navy for five years and has a BA in social sciences from UNLV. Originally from Las Vegas, she currently lives in England with her husband, two children, and their Pekingese mix. She is represented by Penny Moore of Empire Literary.


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My review

~I was sent a copy from the publishers-all opinions are my own~

I give it - 5/5

My review -  What a beautiful, heartbreaking beautiful book. This book deals with mental health really well and I'm just so glad this book exists. This book had me tearing up and I just love how beautifully Akemi writes. This book is one of the best I've read so far this year and I am really excited to see what she comes up with next. This book will grip you from the beginning and you won't be able to put it down, even through the tears.

Kiko is a wonderful main character. In this book we follow Kiko and her life. She doesn't have the best home life, dealing with severe anxiety, she loves her art and her friend Emery. Her uncle moves in with her family and that's when everything seems to get a little worse. Her mother doesn't make the best decisions (no lie, not a fan of the mother) things get too hard at home and when she gets the chance to escape she takes it and we follow Kiko as she leaves her terrible home and starts living a life she deserves. Follow Kiko as she leaves her home, terrified and starts to be more of herself and learn who se is outside of her family walls.

I really love this book. Kiko is a wonderful character who is dealing with a terrible family and really bad anxiety that gets her down and doing this makes her double guess everything and panic but, she knows she needs too and it was so wonderful reading her journey. 

I cannot wait to see what Akemi writes next!

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