I Am Not Starfire

Illustrated by Yoshi Yoshitani
Paperback
$16.99 US
| $22.99 CAN
On sale Jul 27, 2021 | 184 Pages | 9781779501264
Age 13 and up | Grades 8-12
From New York Times bestselling author Mariko Tamaki (Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up with Me, Harley Quinn: Breaking Glass) and artist Yoshi Yoshitani (Zatanna and the House of Secrets) comes a story about Mandy, the daughter of super-famous superhero Starfire.

Seventeen-year-old Mandy, daughter of Starfire, is NOT like her mother. Starfire is gorgeous, tall, sparkly, and a hero. Mandy is NOT a sparkly superhero. Mandy has no powers, is a kid who dyes her hair black and hates everyone but her best friend Lincoln. To Starfire, who is from another planet, Mandy seems like an alien, like some distant angry light years away moon.

And it's possible Mandy is even more distant lately, ever since she walked out on her S.A.T.s. Which, yeah, her mom doesn't know.

Everyone thinks Mandy needs to go to college and become whoever you become at college, but Mandy has other plans. Mandy's big plan is that she's going to move to France and...do whatever people do in France. But then everything changes when she gets partnered with Claire for a school project. Mandy likes Claire (even if she denies it, heartily and intensely). A lot.

How do you become the person you're supposed to be when you don't know what that is? How do you become the person you're supposed to be when the only thing you're sure of is what you're not?

When someone from Starfire's past arrives, Mandy must make a choice: give up before the battle has even begun, or step into the unknown and risk everything to save her mom. I am Not Starfire is a story about teenagers and/as aliens; about knowing where you come from and where you are going; and about mothers.
Mariko Tamaki is an award-winning Canadian writer living in Oakland, California. Tamaki is the winner of the 2020 Eisner Award for Best Writer, her graphic novels have received Ignatz, Eisner, Printz and Caldecott Honors. She is the co-creator, with Jillian Tamaki, of This One Summer, and Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up with Me, with Rosemary Valero-O'Connell. Her growing slate of critically acclaimed comics includes Adventure Time, She-Hulk, Lumberjanes, X-23, Supergirl: Being Super, Wonder Woman, and Harley Quinn: Breaking Glass (with Steve Pugh).

Yoshi Yoshitani is a California-based artist whose vibrant illustrations draw on inspiration from across the globe, with a particular focus on multicultural identity. Past clients include Disney, DC Comics, Valiant, Image, Dreamworks, and Netflix. Yoshi spends time researching world mythologies, listening to audiobooks, creating fashion inspiration boards, and attending comics conventions and art expos across the country.

About

From New York Times bestselling author Mariko Tamaki (Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up with Me, Harley Quinn: Breaking Glass) and artist Yoshi Yoshitani (Zatanna and the House of Secrets) comes a story about Mandy, the daughter of super-famous superhero Starfire.

Seventeen-year-old Mandy, daughter of Starfire, is NOT like her mother. Starfire is gorgeous, tall, sparkly, and a hero. Mandy is NOT a sparkly superhero. Mandy has no powers, is a kid who dyes her hair black and hates everyone but her best friend Lincoln. To Starfire, who is from another planet, Mandy seems like an alien, like some distant angry light years away moon.

And it's possible Mandy is even more distant lately, ever since she walked out on her S.A.T.s. Which, yeah, her mom doesn't know.

Everyone thinks Mandy needs to go to college and become whoever you become at college, but Mandy has other plans. Mandy's big plan is that she's going to move to France and...do whatever people do in France. But then everything changes when she gets partnered with Claire for a school project. Mandy likes Claire (even if she denies it, heartily and intensely). A lot.

How do you become the person you're supposed to be when you don't know what that is? How do you become the person you're supposed to be when the only thing you're sure of is what you're not?

When someone from Starfire's past arrives, Mandy must make a choice: give up before the battle has even begun, or step into the unknown and risk everything to save her mom. I am Not Starfire is a story about teenagers and/as aliens; about knowing where you come from and where you are going; and about mothers.

Author

Mariko Tamaki is an award-winning Canadian writer living in Oakland, California. Tamaki is the winner of the 2020 Eisner Award for Best Writer, her graphic novels have received Ignatz, Eisner, Printz and Caldecott Honors. She is the co-creator, with Jillian Tamaki, of This One Summer, and Laura Dean Keeps Breaking Up with Me, with Rosemary Valero-O'Connell. Her growing slate of critically acclaimed comics includes Adventure Time, She-Hulk, Lumberjanes, X-23, Supergirl: Being Super, Wonder Woman, and Harley Quinn: Breaking Glass (with Steve Pugh).

Yoshi Yoshitani is a California-based artist whose vibrant illustrations draw on inspiration from across the globe, with a particular focus on multicultural identity. Past clients include Disney, DC Comics, Valiant, Image, Dreamworks, and Netflix. Yoshi spends time researching world mythologies, listening to audiobooks, creating fashion inspiration boards, and attending comics conventions and art expos across the country.