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Starfish, by Akemi Dawn Bowman, follows the story of teen artist Kiko Himura as she struggles to make sense of her life after being rejected from her dream school.

What I liked:

• In hindsight, I’m glad I read Summer Bird Blue before Starfish, as I think there’s a possibility the experience of reading Starfish may not have encouraged me to immediately read more of Bowman’s work. I did not dislike Starfish, per se, and feel it was very well written, but it was the type of story that reminded me why contemporary is not my favorite genre. That said, it is a credit to Bowman’s writing that I finished Starfish and I definitely agree with the many compliments of her writing style that I have seen online.
• The depiction of Kiko’s social anxiety was simultaneously extremely relatable and somewhat off-putting to me. To be clear, I do not fault Bowman for my reaction. If anything, I appreciate the opportunity to self-reflect on why I reacted the way I did to Kiko’s story.
• Although I do not often feel deeply invested one way or the other when it comes to endings for MCs in contemporary novels, I felt incredibly relieved when things worked out (more or less) for Kiko in the end. I hope Taro and Shoji get happy endings, too.

What I learned:

• I have extended family in the Midwest, including Nebraska. Although I do not consider my hometown a particularly JA-heavy part of the Bay Area, my experiences growing up undoubtedly included deeper and more nuanced interactions with Asian cultures, including Japanese culture, than someone like Kiko might be able to access. I wonder if my Midwest relatives would identify with Kiko, or if any of them have read Starfish.

Questions I had:

• How did mixed-race nikkei/JA readers react to Kiko? Do they find her relatable? Not being mixed-race myself, I can only say the depiction of Kiko’s emotions and thought processes came across as painstakingly realistic, which I assumed was due to Bowman drawing on her own experiences as a mixed-race nikkei person.
• Why did Bowman set this story in Nebraska? Does she have family there or some other personal connection?
• Is the Himura family’s history linked to WWII JA incarceration? I do not recall any references to JA incarceration in the book, but if the Himura family arrived in the US after the war, or were not originally on the West Coast, it is quite conceivable Kiko’s ancestors never spent time in a US government concentration camp.

Follow-up:

• None of Bowman’s currently released works jumps out at me as something I’d like to read, but I’m looking forward to her future books.