A Whirlwind of Emotions - Starfish

“We all have to dream our own dreams. We only get one life to live—live it for yourself, not anyone else.”

Hey guys! It's finally October! I absolutely love this month! Halloween! Pumpkin Pie! Candles! But, you have to admit that we all miss summer... With the blue waves, blue skies, blue everything! So, since I just couldn't let it run away so quickly, I decided to read one last Summer-y book. "Starfish" by Akemi Dawn Bowman was the perfect candidate. Another wonderfully made novel, just like her other young adult book "Summer Bird Blue". Make sure to check out this book if you enjoyed reading "We Are Okay" by Nina LaCour, as it has the same lyrical, emotional feel to it, or if you were a fan of "The First Time She Drowned" by Mary Cosola, as the characters have many similar traits and upbringings!

Written by Akemi Dawn Bowman, the author of "Summer Bird Blue", "Starfish", and "Harley in the Sky" (Coming out 2020), it is a contemporary novel directed towards a young adult audience and set in Nebraska and California. The story follows 17-year-old Kiko Himura, an aspiring biracial artist with lots of potential who just got rejected from the elite art college in New York City, Prism. Kiko is the middle child in a family with divorced parents, a narcissist mother, estranged siblings, and a sexually abusive uncle, she is left with insecurity of her Asian heritage, and a constant anxiety. Her best friend, Jamie, had moved away to California several years ago, when Kiko was eleven. The book was poetic and emotional, bringing tears to my eyes at one point, and making me laugh out loud at another.

The story basically centers around what Kiko does now that her dreams of going to art school are crushed, and how she copes with the anxiety she has after a traumatic event from her childhood. A story that goes deep into the main characters, and explores important subjects like sexual abuse and toxic relationships.

After she gets rejected from the art school, Kiko believes that there is no hope for her. Until Jamie reappears at an end-of-the-year party, as the story goes on, he offers her the chance to go back to the West Coast with him to see if she can find any good art schools over there.

“Don't live to please the starfish, especially when their happiness is at the expense of yours. That is not love. That is narcissism. There's an entire ocean out there, Kiko--swim in it.”

After she gets to California, Kiko ends up meeting another artist with Asian heritage, who helps her find herself through art and accept her unique personality and traits.

With a strong theme of acceptance and finding oneself, "Starfish" shows us that we can be anyone we want, as long as we believe we can.