Starfire

“Why doesn't everyone long to rip a hole in the sky the way I do—to leave this shell of a world behind, to swim out into the starlight of infinite possibilities? To be free?”

Naomi Hughes' Starfire is surprisingly (and successfully) ambitious for a modern YA novel, packed with action, introspection, and so much heart. Seventeen-year-old Peregrine Kent is afflicted not only with a particular subset of OCD, but also by the sudden onset of cosmic dreams and a deep longing to see the sky beyond the barrier that surrounds his home planet. He begins a quest to find the source of his visions, accompanied by reserved submarine captain Z, his ultra-capable adopted sister Anthem, and their family dog. With mythical star dragons finding their way through the planet's shield, Per must work through his mental illness and unravel the secretive motivations of those around him.

Starfire reminded me why I enjoy YA; teen protagonists can experience so much with a fresh worldview that often is not obscured by the generalizations and emotional rigidity that accompanies adulthood. Hughes delivers a satisfyingly diverse story that contains the twists and turns of navigating OCD and family loyalty, with a delightful queer romance that doesn't overshadow the novel's plot. It was surprising to discover that Starfire's main character doesn't just experience harm OCD (a type of obsessive-compulsive-disorder in which vivid intrusive thoughts make a person feel as though they might cause harm to others), but also guides the reader gracefully through daily life with this illness. I have personally struggled with harm OCD, so discovering this type of representation in YA fiction was delightful. I wish I had read this story when I was seventeen.

Hughes is obviously a talented author, but a few things stood out to me during this read. There were a lot of similes, sometimes several on a page, and it was a bit jarring. Why does everything have to be compared to something else? Also, characters often dumped descriptions of others' features at times when no one would be paying attention to “dark bronze skin, wavy black hair that could star in shampoo commercials, and dark brown eyes”. If these descriptions had occurred a bit more gradually, the first half of this novel would feel a lot less like a wattpad fic. Finally: the use of sentence fragments. There were only a few, but they briefly ripped my grammar-loving attention from the characters and plot.

Overall, Starfire was a delight to read, and has become one of my staple YA recommendations. I sincerely wish there were more stories like this out there.