From the Publisher
"Take a journey to the heavenly courts in this luscious, shimmering fantasy, so dripping with beauty and imagination you’ll want to eat it with a spoon.” — New York Times bestselling author Laini Taylor
"My favorite tales are the ones that sneakily draw you out of one world and slip you into the next. This is one of those. I emerged from Star Daughter dusted with constellations and wonder. Thakrar's imagination is a feast for the senses." — Roshani Chokshi, New York Times bestselling author of The Star-Touched Queen and The Gilded Wolves
“Nothing short of dazzling.” — Booklist
"Absolutely magical and captivatingly lyrical." — Sandhya Menon, New York Times bestselling author of When Dimple Met Rishi
“Shveta Thakrar's prose is as beautiful as starlight.” — Holly Black, New York Times bestselling author
“An enchanting story about love, family, finding your voice, and searching for home. Thakrar’s sparkling command of language weaves magic on every page. This book is a joy, and will speak to anyone who yearns to belong.” — Claire Legrand, New York Times bestselling author of Furyborn and Kingsbane
“A magical debut full of wonder, wit, myths, and adventure. Reading Thakrar's words is like swimming through the most beautiful imagination—every page is a delight." — Natasha Ngan, New York Times bestselling author of Girls of Paper and Fire
"A gorgeously written tale of magic and family, of finding and fighting for your place, Star Daughter has a heart that shines as brilliantly as its celestial court." — S. A. Chakraborty, author of the bestselling Daevabad Trilogy
“Full of wonder and enchantment. Thakrar has crafted an excellent story about the power of the younger generations to carve their own path amidst the traditions and expectations of their elders.” — Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books
"Shveta Thakrar’s writing shines as bright as any star." — Laura Sebastian, New York Times bestselling author of the Ash Princess series
“Luminously beautiful, with a mythic heart.” — Tasha Suri, author of Empire of Sand
“Absolutely magical. Thakrar weaves her words so tightly around you that you are completely immersed in her world, a victim of its lyrical starsong.” — Ellen Oh, author of the Prophecy series and editor of A Thousand Beginnings and Endings
“Radiant. Readers will be enchanted by Sheetal and the starry court.” — Kristen Ciccarelli, internationally bestselling author of The Last Namsara
“A wondrous delight, Shveta Thakrar’s debut is a feast for the senses.” — Cindy Pon, author of Want and Serpentine
“Star Daughter is a love letter to every desi girl wanting to believe in her own magic.” — Tanaz Bhathena, author of A Girl Like That and Hunted by the Sky
“A dreamy, diasporic, diverse fantasy. A story about stars, yes—and about family, friends, falling in love, and finding your voice, your place. Places. A shimmering debut.” — Tanuja Desai Hidier, author of Born Confused and sequel Bombay Blues
“A luminous debut. Star Daughter’s sparkling coming-of-age tale of transformation and love is among the best kinds of fantasy: one that reminds us to reach for the stars while keeping our feet firmly on the ground.” — Fran Wilde, Nebula Award-winning author of The Bone Universe series and Riverland
“A stunning tale of self-acceptance, family, and liminal spaces.”
— Jacqueline Koyanagi
New York Times bestselling author Laini Taylor
"Take a journey to the heavenly courts in this luscious, shimmering fantasy, so dripping with beauty and imagination you’ll want to eat it with a spoon.
Claire Legrand
An enchanting story about love, family, finding your voice, and searching for home. Thakrar’s sparkling command of language weaves magic on every page. This book is a joy, and will speak to anyone who yearns to belong.
S. A. Chakraborty
"A gorgeously written tale of magic and family, of finding and fighting for your place, Star Daughter has a heart that shines as brilliantly as its celestial court."
Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books
Full of wonder and enchantment. Thakrar has crafted an excellent story about the power of the younger generations to carve their own path amidst the traditions and expectations of their elders.”
Natasha Ngan
A magical debut full of wonder, wit, myths, and adventure. Reading Thakrar's words is like swimming through the most beautiful imagination—every page is a delight."
Booklist
Nothing short of dazzling.
Holly Black
Shveta Thakrar's prose is as beautiful as starlight.
Laura Sebastian
"Shveta Thakrar’s writing shines as bright as any star."
Roshani Chokshi
"My favorite tales are the ones that sneakily draw you out of one world and slip you into the next. This is one of those. I emerged from Star Daughter dusted with constellations and wonder. Thakrar's imagination is a feast for the senses."
Sandhya Menon
"Absolutely magical and captivatingly lyrical."
Kristen Ciccarelli
Radiant. Readers will be enchanted by Sheetal and the starry court.
Fran Wilde
A luminous debut. Star Daughter’s sparkling coming-of-age tale of transformation and love is among the best kinds of fantasy: one that reminds us to reach for the stars while keeping our feet firmly on the ground.
Jacqueline Koyanagi
A stunning tale of self-acceptance, family, and liminal spaces.”
Tanaz Bhathena
Star Daughter is a love letter to every desi girl wanting to believe in her own magic.
Ellen Oh
Absolutely magical. Thakrar weaves her words so tightly around you that you are completely immersed in her world, a victim of its lyrical starsong.
Cindy Pon
A wondrous delight, Shveta Thakrar’s debut is a feast for the senses.
Tanuja Desai Hidier
A dreamy, diasporic, diverse fantasy. A story about stars, yes—and about family, friends, falling in love, and finding your voice, your place. Places. A shimmering debut.
Tasha Suri
Luminously beautiful, with a mythic heart.
Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
Full of wonder and enchantment. Thakrar has crafted an excellent story about the power of the younger generations to carve their own path amidst the traditions and expectations of their elders.”
Booklist
Nothing short of dazzling.
Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books
Full of wonder and enchantment. Thakrar has crafted an excellent story about the power of the younger generations to carve their own path amidst the traditions and expectations of their elders.”
Kirkus Reviews
2020-05-16
When half-star/half-human Sheetal Mistry accidently injures her father, she needs to ascend to Svargalok, the abode of the stars, to find him a cure.
Just shy of 17, Sheetal has brown skin like her human father, Gautam, and silver hair like her star mother, Charumati, but she has never truly known what it means to be a star. Her human, Gujarati family in New Jersey insists she hide her star heredity, as stars were once hunted by mortals for their silver blood, which has healing properties. As a result, Sheetal knows very little of her ancestry or what she is truly capable of. Following the accident that puts her father in the hospital, Sheetal and her best friend, Minal, go in search of Charumati for a drop of star’s blood to cure her father. Unfortunately for her, Nana and Nani—the Esteemed Patriarch and Matriarch of their constellation, Pushya, and Sheetal’s maternal grandparents—agree to save her father only if she wins a competition that will allow their family to rule over the other constellations. Loosely inspired by Neil Gaiman’s Stardust (1997) and Hindu mythology, Thakrar’s debut covers the lives of stars, an unnecessarily complicated romance, and a half-star’s journey toward self-discovery. Refreshingly, all the characters are Indian or of Indian origin. Despite the fascinating premise, however, several characters lack the luster and conviction which would have otherwise added much-needed depth and heart to the novel.
Great worldbuilding but not entirely satisfying. (Fantasy. 14-18)
