Star Daughter

At times fascinating and at other times frustrating, this was one of the more culturally interesting books I have read recently. Star Daughter pretty much does what it says on the tin - it is the story of the daughter of a star, where the star came to Earth to act as a muse for someone, fell in love and had a child. The cultural interest came from the Indian cultural nods that pervade this story - this is no western YA fantasy. I really have not read much in the way of Indian fantasy and myth, and this story certainly throws you in the deep end with some of it. It is definitely refreshing to read something outside of ones cultural norms, so for that reason alone I would have been glad to have read this story.

The frustration comes from some of the inanity of the characters. The lead character somehow decides that breaking into other peoples rooms to prove her innocence of something that noone is exactly challenging her on seems like a stupendously bad idea. Somehow, that stupendously bad idea leads to nothing and that plot line almost peters out. I am also slightly disturbed by her obsession with feeding someone blood (and how slow she is to realise that her own blood will do, once she has completed her transformation). The whole competition at the center of the plot is also a bit bizarre - it all just seems very contrived.

The cultural interest here is good and I do appreciate being exposed to different cultural references, but the plot and the characters are a bit lazy and tropey