Where I Am Not Starfire got me was the mother daughter relationship. Mother daughter relationship stories are my favorite story lines. And add in a dash of superhero and finding our potential and I’m hooked. Keep reading this book review for my full thoughts.
Summary
Seventeen-year-old Mandy Koriand’r is not her mother. Daughter of Starfire and high school outcast, Mandy is constantly trying to get out from under the shadow of her bright, bubbly, scantily clad, and famous mother. Dyeing her bright orange hair black and sticking close to her best friend, Lincoln, Mandy spends her days at school avoiding Teen Titans superfans and trying to hide her feelings for the gorgeous, popular, and perfect Claire. And while Mandy usually avoids spending too much time with her alien mother, she’s been particularly quiet as she’s keeping one major secret from her: Mandy walked out of her S.A.T.
While Mandy continues to tell Lincoln her plans of moving to France to escape the family spotlight and not go to college, she secretly hides a fear of not knowing her identity outside of just being the daughter of a superhero and who she will become. But when she is partnered with Claire to work on a school project, their friendship develops into something more and a self-confidence unknown to Mandy begins to bloom. Claire seems to like Mandy for being Mandy, not the daughter of Starfire.
But when someone from Starfire’s past comes to disrupt Mandy’s future, Mandy must finally make a choice: give up before the battle has even begun, or step into the unknown and risk everything.
Review
(Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher. This has not impacted my review which is unbiased and honest.)
I’ve been loving the DC YA comics recently and seeing the mother daughter relationship made me eager for I Am Not Starfire. It’s a story about not seeing eye to eye with our parents. For that gap between words we never say and emotions we don’t know how to express. While the mother daughter relationship was the hook, I ended up enjoying Mandy’s character growth the best. How she feels so different than her mother and wondering how much people like her for who she is.
My only complaint was that I feel like the pacing, and specifically revelations, occurred really fast considering the rest of the story’s pacing. It felt little bit like whiplash even if it seemed to be in line with the amount of shock Mandy has. Overall, I enjoyed I Am Not Starfire and am now more intrigued in the rest of the Teen Titans (a group I really know nothing about). And Mandy’s character growth, along with the queer romance, were my main sources of enjoyment.
Find I Am Not Starfire on Goodreads, Amazon, Indiebound, Bookshop.org & The Book Depository.