It quickly becomes clear, though, that the stars - even her mother - hide things and only tell Sheetal half the story. If Sheetal wins the contest, her grandmother will give her the blood her father needs to recover. She strikes a bargain with her star grandmother to perform in a contest that will determine the next house to rule over all the stars. She decides to go up into the sky to meet her star family at last, knowing that they can give her their blood, which has the power to heal her father.

She doesn't know how to control her powers, though, and accidentally puts her father in the hospital, barely clinging to life. Sheetal has always had to hide what she truly is for her own safety, but as her 17th birthday draws near, she begins to transform and to experience star powers she never knew she had. STAR DAUGHTER tells the story of Sheetal, whose mother is a star who descended from the sky, fell in love, and married a human man. Overall messages are positive about learning from mistakes, moving on from the past, finding ways to be your best self, and encouraging people to be and do better by learning compassion from the arts. Strong ties of friendship and family are stressed. Teens of age in the fantasy world drink 'frostberry' wine and nectar, but not to excess. A character becomes addicted to drinking the blood of magical beings. Profanity is limited to 'crap' and 's-tty,' once each. There are a few kisses, flirting, and affectionate behavior. Pain from a magical transformation is described in detail. Other violence is in the fantasy realm or in the past and includes cutting a magical being to sell its blood, a stabbing, child abandonment and death, and a child murdered in the past. There are some depictions of self-harm from a character picking at a fingernail until it bleeds and reopening the wound several times, including brief descriptions of the distraction or relief she finds in the pain. Parents need to know that Star Daughter is a fantasy based on Hindu mythology and astrology.

Star Daughter by Shveta Thakrar