Hello everyone! I’m so excited for my first Hear Our Voices Book Tours. I’m one of the co-founders and really love getting to put #ownvoices novels in the hands of #ownvoices reviewers!
I advocated for Star Daughter as one of our tours and here we are!! I’m so happy to see #ownvoices reviewers reading the book. I’m so grateful for everyone who has signed up and helped along this journey. You’re all so amazing!
If you want to follow along with the tour check out the schedule, here.
Author: Shveta Thakrar
Publisher: HarperTeen
Release Date: August 11th, 2020
This gorgeously imagined YA debut blends shades of Neil Gaiman’s Stardust and a breathtaking landscape of Hindu mythology into a radiant contemporary fantasy.
The daughter of a star and a mortal, Sheetal is used to keeping secrets. Pretending to be “normal.” But when an accidental flare of her starfire puts her human father in the hospital, Sheetal needs a full star’s help to heal him. A star like her mother, who returned to the sky long ago.
Sheetal’s quest to save her father will take her to a celestial court of shining wonders and dark shadows, where she must take the stage as her family’s champion in a competition to decide the next ruling house of the heavens–and win, or risk never returning to Earth at all.
Brimming with celestial intrigue, this sparkling YA debut is perfect for fans of Roshani Chokshi and Laini Taylor
Disclaimer: I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book. All thoughts and opinions are my own. Thank you to Hear Our Voices Book Tours, and Roaring BrookPress for this free copy.
Star Daughter is an absolutely magical book! It’s magical in every aspect the writing, the plot and the characters.
Sheetal our main character is a half star/half human and her life takes a turn a few days before her 17th birthday when she burns her father with her star flame. She then decides to go on a quest to save her father by visiting her mother in her starry court, but what she doesn’t know is that she will get wrapped up in a celestial competition.
The writing is so rich and vivid. The words come alive in your mind. There’s so much detail that it’s hard not to get swept in this world. I immediately noticed the vivid descriptions and I really loved that aspect of it. I felt as if I was in the Night Market and in the Starry Court myself. I’m a huge fan of lush writing and Star Daughter definitely appealed to that interest.
The plot as I mentioned above in the brief synopsis involves a competition. When I think of the word competition usually sports come to mind, anything that involves physical activity. I was curious to see how a competition would unfold for a Star society. Did they think the same? The answer is no. This competition is unlike any I have ever read about. It is one that the reader wouldn’t think would work in a book, but because of the detailed writing it just works so well.
The characters were amazing as well. My favorites were Sheetal and Minal because I loved how their relationship was explored. They are best friends who uplift each other and get to embark in this quest together. It was refreshing to see a pair of friends as such. No competition just love and respect. I loved Minal so much and wouldn’t mind reading a book just about her.
Sheetal’s growth into herself was inspiring. She is a half star, but also half human and I enjoyed how that part of her wasn’t forgotten. She is still a teenage girl regardless of being half celestial.
I loved reading about the lore of the Stars and their history. I also learned about an aspect of a culture I wasn’t familiar with. It really made me think about how most of the mythology we read about is Greek or Roman, but what about others? Star Daughter takes inspiration from Hindu mythology and it was such a delight to read and learn more about it.
Star Daughter transports the reader to the Starry court fully and explores themes of self-worth, compassion, friendship, and family. All of this executed in some of the most beautiful writing I’ve encountered. So if you want to read about Brown girls going on fantastical quests this is the book for you! Oh, and how could I forget about all the delicious food throughout the book?!
[…] set in the world or exploring more of the lore. The writing is so detailed and rich I reviewed it in this post, you know if you’re curious about all my […]