Recently I read the YA fantasy book “Star Daughter” by Shveta Thakrar, and this book certainly stood out to me. As anyone who has met me knows, I am quite the avid reader. Reading is one of my favorite hobbies to engage in, it helps me to unwind and relax after a long day. Due to this habit of mine, I often read so many books that they all seem to blend into one another. This book most certainly did not blend in.

Not only did Shveta Thakrar have beautiful descriptive language, but her character development and plot certainly caught my attention. While I do not want to give away too much of the plot (you’ll have to read it to find out!), there were several things that made this book a star out of some of my more recent reads.

Star Daughter is a book that features main character Sheetal, a daughter of a mortal man and a star. She has grown up in the mortal world with her father ever since her mother left to return to the sky. She has been forced to keep her identity secret, out of fear of being hunted by humans. Then, just before her seventeenth birthday, she begins to hear the call of the stars and her half-star identity becomes harder to hide. Even worse, as the call of the stars grows stronger, so do her powers. Having never learned to control her magic, one day it explodes from her and she burns her father. Now her only hope to save him is to go to the sky and seek help from the Stars, whose blood is rumored to have healing abilities. 

I cannot describe much more without giving this book away, however I would like you to know that this book has the perfect blend of friendship, discovering family, overcoming prejudice, and, of course, some romance.

Now, as many of you know, just about every single Young Adult book contains a strong element of romance. What made this book stand out to me was the fact that the romance in this book, while being important, wasn’t a central motivator to Sheetal’s character development or drive. This book focused more on Sheetal as her own person, one discovering her family and seeking a place to belong. I think many teens can relate to this issue, as we are all seeking a place where we feel we can be ourselves and we can often feel caught in between two worlds. 

Overall, I would certainly recommend this book if you are someone who loves fantasy as well as the story of someone discovering where they can belong.