Reviews

Star Daughter, by Shveta Thakrar

ninasimone's review against another edition

3.75

This book is brilliant, especially as it is Thakrar's debut. The writing style is magical and decadent, the Hindu mythology and all its denizens seem to jump off the page. Sheetal is a lovely protagonist to follow and I truly connected with her familial struggles and the search for herself and her place. I'm really looking forward to reading more from this author. 

rabhya07's review against another edition

4.0

This book is quite magical and beautiful. The star aspect was very cool and I really loved the world built up around the stars concept. The friendship aspect between Sheetal and Minal is just awesome. the bond of friendship and trust brought power to the story. But, the pace of this book is not stable and this bothered me. Other than that, the writing is beautiful and the Hindu mythology with a blend of desi writing is so cool!

evilegg's review against another edition

Very weak writing.
Unrelatable teenie-ness, weak space formation, lack of descriptions and originality.
I skipped forward to see where things go, but I couldn't care. 

debz57a52's review against another edition

3.0

I don't think I would have read this book if it weren't for OwlCrate.  Thakrar thanks Neil Gaiman in the acknowledgements for his inspiration for the story, via Stardust, but I also recently read Star Mother by Charlie Holmberg and found some parallels.  I've also read a lot of books lately about the microcultures that are southeast Asian families. So the basic plot elements didn't seem particularly fresh and new, but what was new to me was the Indian mythology woven into the story, and I enjoyed so much of that.

I'm not sure I liked it enough to recommend it to too many people, but I enjoyed it well enough.

alyb_batgirl's review against another edition

emotional inspiring reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

twistedriver's review against another edition

adventurous emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

dreadawn1988's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious sad slow-paced

I bought Star Daughter when it first came out but didn't read it right away.  It's been sitting on my shelf staring at me for a few years now.  I finally decided to pick it up and read. While it was interesting I had a hard time getting into the story. Although it did get better about half way through.

victoriaahoskins's review against another edition

3.0

Beautiful cover, great synopsis, and great mythology included! It had me at first with the mystery of Shateel’s parentage and what it means to be half-star. I enjoyed reading the mythology the author includes and how it relates to the stars!
It lost me when she finally went to the heavens and was put into this competition. I was thrown for a loop when I found out the competition was for artistry. For some that would seem appealing but I guess I was hoping for something more action packed? The love interest was well written I thought though. I finished it cause I already invested so much time into it but it’s not my cup of tea.

therese_nook68's review against another edition

adventurous reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

3/5 stars 

I did enjoy this novel, I thought it was fun and I loved the South Asian representation, but it wasn’t a standout like I wanted it to be. 

I thought there was too much going on within the plot — the instance with the stolen puppets, the manipulation, etc — while also not enough happening. Most of the story is slow going, which is fine, but then within those slow moments, we didn’t get a lot of development with the plot, what was actually going on, or even developed the side characters. Everything also wrapped up too quickly within the competition, which left me feeling a little dissatisfied with the ending. 

james_reads2000's review against another edition

adventurous emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

3.0