Status
Available
Call number
Collections
Publication
HarperTeen (2020), 448 pages
Description
Sheetal Mistry, a rising high school junior who is half-star, half-human, must win a competition in the starry court to save her human father.
User reviews
LibraryThing member jmchshannon
Shveta Thakrar’s Star Daughter should be a dream story. It has everything I crave in novels these days – diversity, creativity, a hint of romance, and a strong female lead. Except, I found myself rather bored. After all, no amount of creativity and diversity can change the fact that Star
There are two aspects of Star Daughter I thoroughly enjoyed. One is this idea of Sheetal being half-star and visiting her star family. I am still not certain exactly what being a star means when it comes to where they live versus the constellations. After all, Sheetal’s best friend is able to get to this star location by hopping on clouds, so it is not like they live in space. Still, stars are not a fantasy creature you normally see, and the novelty of it was intriguing.
I also found Sheetal’s Desi background fascinating since it is so far removed from my own. Everything from the food to the clothes to the familial interactions was fresh and new in my eyes, no matter how often I read a story set in Eastern Asia or with an Eastern Asian main character/family. In fact, Star Daughter served as a great reminder that I still have room for improvement when it comes to diversifying my reading.
Still, Star Daughter is an oft-told tale of a teenager on the cusp of adulthood who must navigate the chaos of family and growing up. This chaos includes everything from family secrets, hidden agendas, ambition, power struggles, loyalty, and first love. No matter how exotic or unfamiliar its setting, there is nothing truly novel about Sheetal’s story.
Looking back on my recent reviews, I realize that I have not really loved the last four books read. I don’t think I am being too picky. There are plenty of novels I am currently reading or have read that give me that reader thrill we seek when reading. Instinctually, I know the coming-of-age story is a classic plotline that remains popular. I think my problem is the fact that these novels are too predictable.
Authors will continue to use this plotline because everyone can relate to it. However, I want them to make it fresh and exciting so that it feels like I am experiencing it for the very first time. This ability to make the old new again is what distinguishes a good author from an excellent one. Excellent authors don’t rely on window dressings to make their novels different, which is where I feel Ms. Thakrar goes wrong. She spends so much time establishing her star and Desi lifestyle that her characters suffer from one-dimensionality, resulting in a story that feels stale.
Star Daughter shows hints of something special. Unfortunately, this only compounds my frustration at its predictability and familiarity. I want more information about life as a star as well as the powers one has as a star or a half-star. Instead, I got a story that briefly touched on those powers but spent most of its time rehashing the age-old questions of “Who am I?” and “What is most important to me?” with answers that I could predict after the first two chapters. In other words, it is yet another frustratingly predictable read.
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Daughter is simply another coming-of-age/identity story, even if it happens to take place among the stars.There are two aspects of Star Daughter I thoroughly enjoyed. One is this idea of Sheetal being half-star and visiting her star family. I am still not certain exactly what being a star means when it comes to where they live versus the constellations. After all, Sheetal’s best friend is able to get to this star location by hopping on clouds, so it is not like they live in space. Still, stars are not a fantasy creature you normally see, and the novelty of it was intriguing.
I also found Sheetal’s Desi background fascinating since it is so far removed from my own. Everything from the food to the clothes to the familial interactions was fresh and new in my eyes, no matter how often I read a story set in Eastern Asia or with an Eastern Asian main character/family. In fact, Star Daughter served as a great reminder that I still have room for improvement when it comes to diversifying my reading.
Still, Star Daughter is an oft-told tale of a teenager on the cusp of adulthood who must navigate the chaos of family and growing up. This chaos includes everything from family secrets, hidden agendas, ambition, power struggles, loyalty, and first love. No matter how exotic or unfamiliar its setting, there is nothing truly novel about Sheetal’s story.
Looking back on my recent reviews, I realize that I have not really loved the last four books read. I don’t think I am being too picky. There are plenty of novels I am currently reading or have read that give me that reader thrill we seek when reading. Instinctually, I know the coming-of-age story is a classic plotline that remains popular. I think my problem is the fact that these novels are too predictable.
Authors will continue to use this plotline because everyone can relate to it. However, I want them to make it fresh and exciting so that it feels like I am experiencing it for the very first time. This ability to make the old new again is what distinguishes a good author from an excellent one. Excellent authors don’t rely on window dressings to make their novels different, which is where I feel Ms. Thakrar goes wrong. She spends so much time establishing her star and Desi lifestyle that her characters suffer from one-dimensionality, resulting in a story that feels stale.
Star Daughter shows hints of something special. Unfortunately, this only compounds my frustration at its predictability and familiarity. I want more information about life as a star as well as the powers one has as a star or a half-star. Instead, I got a story that briefly touched on those powers but spent most of its time rehashing the age-old questions of “Who am I?” and “What is most important to me?” with answers that I could predict after the first two chapters. In other words, it is yet another frustratingly predictable read.
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LibraryThing member krau0098
Series Info/Source: This is a stand alone book. I got this book in one of my Owlcrates.
Story (3/5): This whole story is about Sheetal losing her ability to hide that she is half-star and accidentally hurting her father with her star abilities. As a result she is forced to hunt down her mother and
Characters (3/5): I never really engaged with Sheetal or any of the other characters in this book. They were hard to get to know and fairly one dimensional. Sheetal seems very naive and somewhat selfish, as do all of the adult characters in this novel. Sheetal’s crush is just very fan-girlish and I didn’t see a lot of actual affection between her and her boyfriend. All the characters were just kind of “blah”.
Setting (3/5): The setting was okay. Pretty typical YA setting the first part of the book and then Sheetal journeys to the star realm. There is some nice magical description of the star realm but despite this I still had a really hard time picturing the setting. It was okay but nothing exciting.
Writing Style (3/5): This whole book was pretty mediocre and somewhat disappointing for me. I loved the aspects of desi culture and the idea of a character that was half-star. However, the whole story is very immature. The main character is immature, the whole plotline around Sheetal having to win a talent competition is really immature, and the writing was immature. There wasn’t really anything here technically awful, but nothing that piqued my interest and made me want to read more by this author either. I should also mention there is a ton of desi terminology in here I did not know, which made the book even harder to read. It would have been nice to have a glossary of these terms in the back of the book.
My Summary (3/5): Overall this was an okay book, the best part by far was the beautiful cover design. There are some promising elements in here around desi culture and mythology. I also love the idea of having a character that is half-star struggling with her human vs celestial side. However, the execution was severely lacking. The whole thing is immature and unengaging. There was a lot of potential for an amazing story here but it just wasn’t realized.
Story (3/5): This whole story is about Sheetal losing her ability to hide that she is half-star and accidentally hurting her father with her star abilities. As a result she is forced to hunt down her mother and
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the other stars, for help saving her father. The story was a bit all over the place. There are parts of the story I enjoyed, like the magical market and some of the mythology included. However, I ended up mostly just skimming the last 25% of the book because I found the story boring and poorly constructed.Characters (3/5): I never really engaged with Sheetal or any of the other characters in this book. They were hard to get to know and fairly one dimensional. Sheetal seems very naive and somewhat selfish, as do all of the adult characters in this novel. Sheetal’s crush is just very fan-girlish and I didn’t see a lot of actual affection between her and her boyfriend. All the characters were just kind of “blah”.
Setting (3/5): The setting was okay. Pretty typical YA setting the first part of the book and then Sheetal journeys to the star realm. There is some nice magical description of the star realm but despite this I still had a really hard time picturing the setting. It was okay but nothing exciting.
Writing Style (3/5): This whole book was pretty mediocre and somewhat disappointing for me. I loved the aspects of desi culture and the idea of a character that was half-star. However, the whole story is very immature. The main character is immature, the whole plotline around Sheetal having to win a talent competition is really immature, and the writing was immature. There wasn’t really anything here technically awful, but nothing that piqued my interest and made me want to read more by this author either. I should also mention there is a ton of desi terminology in here I did not know, which made the book even harder to read. It would have been nice to have a glossary of these terms in the back of the book.
My Summary (3/5): Overall this was an okay book, the best part by far was the beautiful cover design. There are some promising elements in here around desi culture and mythology. I also love the idea of having a character that is half-star struggling with her human vs celestial side. However, the execution was severely lacking. The whole thing is immature and unengaging. There was a lot of potential for an amazing story here but it just wasn’t realized.
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LibraryThing member BethYacoub
I listened to this audiobook over the course of a few days and I was completely enamored. Star Daughter was an interesting foray into a bit of Hindu mythology that was both rich and intoxicating! The world building was robust and extremely ethereal. The writing was expressed in prose both subtle
Overall:
I guess I am the outlier here because I really enjoyed this book. I am convinced that every time I think of the constellations or a burgeoning star, I will think of Sheetal and her protégé boyfriend Dev.
Bottom line: This book got mixed reviews on GoodReads and I'm a bit stumped. I usually use those ratings as a gage for whether or not I should add a book to my TBR . It might sound snobby but I don't usually go for books with ratings below 4 stars. BUT in this instance I happened to pick up Star Daughter when it was first released and took a shot in the dark and gave it a chance. I'm glad I did because I ended up disagreeing with its low rating. Was this book amazingly, mind-blowingly awesome? No. Will it expand your mind in significant ways? Also No BUT it will expose you to a piece of another culture's mythos while coaxing you to dwell in the realm of the Fantastical for a bit. I say, if you're on the fence about picking this one up, go for it... you'll have a good time.
~ Enjoy
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and divine. The narration was eloquent. Soneela Nankani narrated and she was very adept at conveying which character in the pantheon of personas was speaking at any given moment. Her subtle inflections made listening to her voice, for hours on end, extremely enjoyable. She managed to vocally paint the unique cast in vibrant hues allowing them to shine brilliantly through her words. She also showcased their flaws in gradients of beautiful gray making it worth every stolen moment I had with this (audio)book.To be honest, the names were a bit confusing to remember at first but some have wormed their way into my brain and are now living there... permanently. It is almost 2 weeks since I experienced Star Daughter's radiance and still those unique names remain. I believe this book will have that same affect on a variety of genre loving audio/bibliophiles... yes, that means you too... unless you don't like Fantasy... then you're in the wrong place.Overall:
I guess I am the outlier here because I really enjoyed this book. I am convinced that every time I think of the constellations or a burgeoning star, I will think of Sheetal and her protégé boyfriend Dev.
Bottom line: This book got mixed reviews on GoodReads and I'm a bit stumped. I usually use those ratings as a gage for whether or not I should add a book to my TBR . It might sound snobby but I don't usually go for books with ratings below 4 stars. BUT in this instance I happened to pick up Star Daughter when it was first released and took a shot in the dark and gave it a chance. I'm glad I did because I ended up disagreeing with its low rating. Was this book amazingly, mind-blowingly awesome? No. Will it expand your mind in significant ways? Also No BUT it will expose you to a piece of another culture's mythos while coaxing you to dwell in the realm of the Fantastical for a bit. I say, if you're on the fence about picking this one up, go for it... you'll have a good time.
~ Enjoy
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LibraryThing member ladycato
I read this as part of my Norton Award finalist packet.
This is a fun YA read that draws from Indian culture and mythology to bring a new spin to the familiar teen-forced-into-competition trope. The book follows Sheetal, a teen planning to take the PSAT while trying to hide her heritage as a star.
The cultural and mythological aspects of the book were fantastic. The first chapters hooked me right away with the desi family drama, and the drama among her mother's family brings in higher stakes for sure. The whole trope of a teen-forced-into-competition is wearing thin for me, though. I also was frustrated by how many plot points dragged on simply because people couldn't TALK. Yeah, people really do that, but it wears thin in reality, too. Still, it's a fun read and I can definitely see why it made the Norton ballot.
This is a fun YA read that draws from Indian culture and mythology to bring a new spin to the familiar teen-forced-into-competition trope. The book follows Sheetal, a teen planning to take the PSAT while trying to hide her heritage as a star.
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Her celestial mother abandoned the family years before, leaving Sheetal with her dad--who she loves dearly, even as they clash as teenagers and parents do. With her 17th birthday days away, though, her usual black dye won't stay in her hair, she finds out her boyfriend knew she was a star and was literally using her as a muse (she is not happy), and then in a flare of anger, her star powers surge and she almost kills her dad. Now she needs to ascend to the sky to find out how to cure him before it's too late.The cultural and mythological aspects of the book were fantastic. The first chapters hooked me right away with the desi family drama, and the drama among her mother's family brings in higher stakes for sure. The whole trope of a teen-forced-into-competition is wearing thin for me, though. I also was frustrated by how many plot points dragged on simply because people couldn't TALK. Yeah, people really do that, but it wears thin in reality, too. Still, it's a fun read and I can definitely see why it made the Norton ballot.
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Awards
Andre Norton Nebula Award for Middle Grade and Young Adult Fiction (Finalist — 2020)
Language
Original publication date
2020-08-11
Local notes
As her seventeenth birthday draws near, half-celestial Sheetal loses control of her powers, and a flare of starfire burns her human father—an injury only a full star's blood can heal.
Sheetal has no choice but to answer the starsong and ascend to the sky. But her celestial family has summoned her for a reason: to act as their human champion in a competition to decide the next ruling house of heavens.
Sheetal has no choice but to answer the starsong and ascend to the sky. But her celestial family has summoned her for a reason: to act as their human champion in a competition to decide the next ruling house of heavens.