Hello! Akemi Dawn Bowman is one of the authors that writes the most heartfelt contemporary novels. Her standalone releases–Starfish, Summer Bird Blue, and Harley in the Sky–each made me cry at least once. There was just so much heart in the books that made me feel greatly for the main characters. Here are my thoughts on those.
Navigate through this post with the titles below:
Starfish | Summer Bird Blue | Harley in the Sky
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Starfish by Akemi Dawn Bowman
Standalone
Published September 26th 2017 by Simon Pulse
Age Range: Young Adult
Genre: Contemporary, Romance
Representation: Mental Health, Japanese-American MC
Rating:
Synopsis:
Kiko Himura has always had a hard time saying exactly what she’s thinking. With a mother who makes her feel unremarkable and a half-Japanese heritage she doesn’t quite understand, Kiko prefers to keep her head down, certain that once she makes it into her dream art school, Prism, her real life will begin.
But then Kiko doesn’t get into Prism, at the same time her abusive uncle moves back in with her family. So when she receives an invitation from her childhood friend to leave her small town and tour art schools on the west coast, Kiko jumps at the opportunity in spite of the anxieties and fears that attempt to hold her back. And now that she is finally free to be her own person outside the constricting walls of her home life, Kiko learns life-changing truths about herself, her past, and how to be brave.
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trigger and content warnings:
- suicide attempt, racism, sexual abuse
trigger and content warnings:
- suicide attempt, racism, sexual abuse
Kiko started off an as insecure teenager. Her love for art was often diminished into nothing by her mother. Because of her upbringing, Kiko never felt she could like her Japanese half. Similarly, Kiko rarely believed in herself since she was never taught to love herself.
The first half angered me because Kiko was always talked down to and disregarded by the people around her. Her desire to make everything okay caused her to be meek and timid. Kiko was afraid of speaking her inner thoughts. Instead, chose the easy way out. She kept things to herself as she has learned that even if she spoke aloud, nobody would care to hear.
However, as she started to discover what it’s like to embrace all sides of herself. From that art-lover part, that part of her that is Japanese, to that part which she had things to say, Kiko blossomed into a wonderful, brilliant person. As she broke through that bubble that had always trapped her in a world her mother created, Kiko was beautiful and wholly herself. Every time she successfully expressed her true thoughts, it was a victory.
“We all have to dream our own dreams. We only get one life to live – live it for yourself, not anyone else. Because when you’re on your deathbed, you’re going to be wishing you had. When everyone else is on theirs, I guarantee they aren’t going to be thinking about your life.”
Jamie and Kiko’s friendship was precious. He opened her eyes and heart to more things and started the process of Kiko loving herself more than before. She needed that push and Jamie was there to help her without being pushy. Also, he was patient with her social anxiety, showing that it was okay. Jamie saw Kiko as who she is, deep down, even though she didn’t see it yet.
The entire book was well written. I loved the message behind the book. I’ve never had a problem with my own heritage but I’ve been living in a country where I wasn’t shunned or mocked about who I am. But, like Kiko, I did nitpick about my features, wanting more universally white facial structures. To some level, I easily related to her.
Akemi Dawn Bowman never failed to touch my heart. Her descriptive and easy-to-read writing style allowed vivid imagination of Kiko’s arts and the entire setting.
“But you can’t spend your life trying to make a starfish happy, because no matter what you do, it will never be enough. They will always find a way to make themselves the center of attention, because it’s the only way they know how to live.”
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The next review is for Akemi Dawn Bowman’s Summer Bird Blue, another standalone!
Navigate through this post with the titles below:
Starfish | Summer Bird Blue | Harley in the Sky
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Summer Bird Blue by Akemi Dawn Bowman
Standalone
Published September 11th 2018 by Simon Pulse
Age Range: Young Adult
Genre: Contemporary, Romance
Representation: Mental Health, Aro-Ace Japanese-American MC
Rating:
Synopsis:
Rumi Seto spends a lot of time worrying she doesn’t have the answers to everything. What to eat, where to go, whom to love. But there is one thing she is absolutely sure of—she wants to spend the rest of her life writing music with her younger sister, Lea.
Then Lea dies in a car accident, and her mother sends her away to live with her aunt in Hawaii while she deals with her own grief. Now thousands of miles from home, Rumi struggles to navigate the loss of her sister, being abandoned by her mother, and the absence of music in her life. With the help of the “boys next door”—a teenage surfer named Kai, who smiles too much and doesn’t take anything seriously, and an eighty-year-old named George Watanabe, who succumbed to his own grief years ago—Rumi attempts to find her way back to her music, to write the song she and Lea never had the chance to finish.
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Summer Bird Blue got me emotional. I was bawling because it made me imagine how utterly shattered and destroyed I would be if anything were to happen to my own sister. Akemi Dawn Bowman’s writing and her ability to craft this masterpiece blew me away. I couldn’t think of anything else after I finished the book. The author did a fantastic job of portraying Lea and Rumi’s relationship. There were good and bad times between the sisters. They fought and played; they cried and laughed. That’s how siblings are.
Rumi’s journey into healing and acceptance, through all the grief, was admirable. There was so much hurt, pain, agony, and suffering. After her sister’s death, Rumi was left all alone in Hawaii with her aunt. With time on her hand, Rumi started having doubts about whether she was a good sister or a best friend to Lea.
“Ghosts no stay here.” He waves at the ukulele, then at the piano. “Dey stay here.” He presses a finger to his heart.
Unfortunately, being left alone in a foreign place without her mother magnified Rumi’s survivor guilt. Maybe she should’ve been the one who died because, to her, everyone loved Lea the most. On top of her sadness, Rumi also feels angry at the world for taking her sister away. She’s pissed at her mother for her absence. She’s mad at the whole situation and at herself. As she slowly healed and listened to the people around her, like Mr. Watanabe and her aunt, her hatred for the world gradually disappeared.
Other than struggling with Lea’s death, Rumi has identity issues. For all her life, Remi has never experienced romantic feelings for others, and she finds kissing and dating unnecessary. She doesn’t understand what’s going on. All she knew is that her disinterest in romantic relationships isn’t typical and she was scared because it indicates that something is wrong with her. Rumi was able to explore and discover her sexuality without having the “romance cures all” scenario happening to her.
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The next review is for Akemi Dawn Bowman’s Harley in the Sky, another standalone!
Navigate through this post with the titles below:
Starfish | Summer Bird Blue | Harley in the Sky
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Harley in the Sky by Akemi Dawn Bowman
Standalone
Published March 10th 2020 by Ink Road
Age Range: Young Adult
Genre: Contemporary
Representation: Mental Health, Asian-American MC
Rating:
Synopsis:
Harley Milano has dreamed of being a trapeze artist for as long as she can remember. With parents who run a famous circus in Las Vegas, she spends almost every night in the big top watching their lead aerialist perform, wishing with all her soul that she could be up there herself one day.
After a huge fight with her parents, who continue to insist she go to school instead, Harley leaves home, betrays her family and joins the rival traveling circus Maison du Mystère. There, she is thrust into a world that is both brutal and beautiful, where she learns the value of hard work, passion and collaboration. But at the same time, Harley must come to terms with the truth of her family and her past—and reckon with the sacrifices she made and the people she hurt in order to follow her dreams.
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One thing that I noticed from Harley in the Sky is that it emphasized the complicated parent-child relationship and where the balance lies in that. Harley’s dream is to be a trapeze performer but her parents are adamant for her to enter college without letting her try to make this dream of hers happen. As a child, I understood how suffocating her parents’ stubbornness can be. However, I could see from their point of view. Oftentimes, children aren’t aware of their parents’ decision-making process, worries, and perspectives.
In the same vein, Harley in the Sky also talked about the extent of parenting. When is it the time to let the child fly free and how much of the string should they loosen? Should they leave the child to learn their own lesson and grow up independently or to coddle and shield them from the world?
This is a book about a girl doing anything to make sure her dreams of being an aerialist come true. At the same time, Harley is always trying to come to terms with her identity. Because she’s mixed, Harley never felt like so truly belonged. She may have an Italian last name but they only see her as Asian while the Asians don’t fully see her as Asian since she’s Americanised. Stuck in this limbo, Harley often felt lost. The only place she truly felt belonged is in the circus.
Harley was a likable character. I admired her desire to make her dreams come true. She has something she wanted to achieve and would do anything to get there. Unknowingly, Harley hurts the people around her whenever they say something that she didn’t believe is true or when she was called out for her behavior.
The carnival setting is interesting and magical as well. Harley’s yearning to be a trapeze artist was palpable. Akemi Dawn Bowman wonderfully drew out the enchanting element of the circus. This is probably the only contemporary novel that I’ve read that is set in a circus, the rest were fantasy. However, this doesn’t mean there’s a lack of whimsicality and magic. It’s, in fact, full of it. As Harley’s parents are part of a circus, they knew how hard it would be to undergo training and balance life. But for someone who grew up in that environment and has a dream yet fulfilled, Harley defies their expectations.
Overall, I had a wonderful time reading Harley in the Sky. Akemi Dawn Bowman never disappoints me and continuously surpasses all my expectations. Each and every book is a pleasure to read.
other books by akemi dawn bowman
thisbellereadstoo.wordpress.com 
i absolutely adore akemi dawn bowman’s novels! i haven’t read harley in the sky yet, but i hope to soon. lovely reviews <33
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thank you, prutha! started following akemi dawn bowman’s books since her second or third book. can’t wait to hear what you think about harley in the sky!
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