Star Daughter
Like the night sky, Sheetal Mistry has a secret: she is part star, thanks to her mother, who returned to her home in the constellation Pushya when Sheetal was a child. Since then, she’s been forced to hide her true self. Just before her seventeenth birthday, the pull from the sky grows so strong that Sheetal loses control, and the only way to save her father is to get her celestial family’s help. They have called her for a reason, though: to act as their human champion in a competition to decide the next ruling house of heavens. Desperate to save her father, Sheetal agrees. But nothing could have prepared Sheetal to face the stars' dark history—or the forces that are working to shut the gate between the realms for good.
Shveta Thakrar’s Star Daughter is a brilliant book. I was initially drawn to the stunning cover, but once I read the concept of the story, I knew I had to read it. Thakrar did an amazing job conveying how torn Sheetal felt between two worlds. She wanted to embrace her uniqueness, but her human family did everything they could to protect her, including dying her silver hair and forcing her to hide her talents, like her singing. Yet she felt so isolated from her celestial family, too. She felt abandoned by her mother and barely knew anything about the stars. She had so much to learn about them, and her history, in such a short period of time.
I imagine Thakrar wanted readers who are of two nationalities to feel some commonality with Sheetal, and if so I’d say it was done successfully. As a reader, you could see how much Sheetal wanted to be the bridge for both sides of her family. Although Sheetal did become a full star, at the end of the book she did still live on earth, and was actively looking for a way to bring the celestial world and the human one together again, as it was many centuries ago. I have no doubt Sheetal will find a way. She’s an exceptional girl.
Star Daughter is a breathtaking book that paints the picture of a young girl torn between two worlds, determined to do whatever it takes to bring them together.
Star Daughter Rating: ★★★★★
Shveta Thakrar’s Star Daughter is a brilliant book. I was initially drawn to the stunning cover, but once I read the concept of the story, I knew I had to read it. Thakrar did an amazing job conveying how torn Sheetal felt between two worlds. She wanted to embrace her uniqueness, but her human family did everything they could to protect her, including dying her silver hair and forcing her to hide her talents, like her singing. Yet she felt so isolated from her celestial family, too. She felt abandoned by her mother and barely knew anything about the stars. She had so much to learn about them, and her history, in such a short period of time.
I imagine Thakrar wanted readers who are of two nationalities to feel some commonality with Sheetal, and if so I’d say it was done successfully. As a reader, you could see how much Sheetal wanted to be the bridge for both sides of her family. Although Sheetal did become a full star, at the end of the book she did still live on earth, and was actively looking for a way to bring the celestial world and the human one together again, as it was many centuries ago. I have no doubt Sheetal will find a way. She’s an exceptional girl.
Star Daughter is a breathtaking book that paints the picture of a young girl torn between two worlds, determined to do whatever it takes to bring them together.
Star Daughter Rating: ★★★★★