Star Fruit is a vibrant, heartfelt story that explores identity, culture, and the sweetness of first love. Kamryn Kingsberry’s lyrical prose and richly drawn characters make this a beautiful, unforgettable read that celebrates the power of connection.

This group of kids worked so hard for what they believed in and the parents are supportive. I really loved this and how good it felt to read this.

This was a fun read with very vibrant characters and lots of diversity in a variety of ways.

This is a book that many of the young people I teach would love - it's engaging and discusses gender and sexuality in real, affirming ways alongside the navigation of honest, teenage years and high school politics.

The multiple POV were a lot to content with at times, especially remembering who was related to whom and who used which nickname, but your favourite characters called to you regardless.

One I would definitely recommend for complex teen explorations and relationships - fun with lots of serious undercurrents.

Huge thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!

This book had all the ingredients for something special—queer joy, a theater backdrop, a swoony romance, and conversations that matter. It promised so much heart… but unfortunately, it left me wanting more.

So many scenes started strong, building tension or emotion—and then just stopped. Time and time again, just when something big was about to hit, the moment would fade out or skip ahead. It felt like we were brushing past the story’s most meaningful beats instead of sinking into them.

The romance between Ari and Taylor, while full of potential, didn’t quite land. We're told they’re each other’s “dream girls,” completely head-over-heels—but it was hard to feel that spark on the page. There weren’t enough of those grounding, intimate moments that show why they connected. I wanted to root for them, but I didn’t fully understand what brought them together beyond surface-level attraction.

The theater aspect, which could’ve added so much texture, felt more like a background setting than a living, breathing part of the story. The actual process of putting on a production—the teamwork, the messiness, the passion—was mostly missing. It was mentioned, but not really felt.

There were powerful themes at play—transphobia, homophobia, and the complexity of allyship—and I appreciated the effort to include them. But these moments often stayed on the surface. The story leaned heavily into Ya’s journey of becoming a better ally, which sometimes seemed to overshadow the voices and experiences of the queer characters themselves.

At just 249 pages, the book felt a little rushed. It had big things to say, but not enough room to fully say them. Still, the foundation is there. The heart is there. With more space to breathe and more time spent developing its core relationships and themes, this could’ve been something really memorable.

There’s promise in this author’s voice, and I’m definitely curious to see what they do next.

This follows three kids in school - Atlas, his cousin Sonya and their friend, Ari. Each of them had their own POV, as they fight to put on their play that bigots have planned to fight against.

I loved the representation here. Atlas goes through his experiences as a trans boy, Ari as a lesbian and autistic, and Sonya trying to be a good ally to them both and support them. I believe all three are Black, as well.

What I loved most was their messiness. Teenagers in general are expected to reach standards that most adults are unable to achieve, but those standards are even higher when they are queer and racialised. Atlas has feelings for Ari and he doesn’t handle them in the best way, Ari has her struggles being autistic and navigating her friendship with Atlas and her blooming romance with Taylor, and Sonya is trying to be a better ally to her friends and do what she can to support them.

I also loved the flashback scenes to their childhood and how their friendship has evolved through the years, and the mistakes they have made and forgiven each other for. Love was at the root of everything they did, it was very wholesome and lovely.

It had a subplot of parents attacking the school and the children for being openly queer and wanting to put on a play. It wasn’t wrapped up in a way I felt was satisfying, but I thought this was realistic, although not the most hopeful.

I was never one, but this was such a love letter to misfit theatre kids. I hope this gets all the attention and hype it deserves.

Unfortunately I found this lacking. Every time a scene would start and something big was about to happen the scene just ended...unresolved. I felt like I was missing big chunks of moments that didn't feel realistic to me for those scenes. I was frustrated more often than not with the characters, not believing the romance especially between Ari and Taylor as we kept being told they're crazy for each other and they're each other's "dream girls" but I was confused as to why? I never saw any actual moments of bonding before they were already together to understand why either would have a crush on the other besides their looks. It felt like this book had a lot to say but no time to do it in with only 249 pages, this could have easily been another 100 more that would have better fleshed out the issues. Not even to begin on the theater side of things, because as a theater kid myself, like where was that? Producing a play takes so much more involvement and time and it felt like none of the actual steps to play production were there other than "raising funds" when there's nothing happening in between except a brief mention of building sets (which how do you do when you don't have any funds?????) there were just a lot of plot holes and moments I couldn't suspend disbelief long enough to let myself enjoy the rest of the story.

The topics on transphobia and homophobia were important but again, just felt surface level and not anything really new. It honestly felt most like Ya's story with struggling to be a good ally took more of the forefront of the story than the actual queer narratives. I just am disappointed overall for something I was really looking forward to.

Overall I really enjoyed this book! I think that narrating the events from the different perspectives of Ari, Atlas, and Ya helped to flesh out the story more fully. I also appreciated the representation of a character with autism as I feel like that isn’t well represented in YA. I also liked how each of the characters had things that they struggled with throughout the book, and we got to see how that affected their relationships with others in the story. I would definitely recommend this to a friend!

I'd like to first thank the publisher and NetGalley for the e-ARC to this book.

Unfortunately, I DNFed it at 37%.

The blurb to this book really drew me in because I love YA about queer friend groups and it was especially interesting to me for the POC autistic representation, as someone who's also autistic and Black.

Unfortunately, there were a few things that put me at discomfort during the read. One of the most major is the use of the puzzle symbol, which has extremely negative connotations and history and is not used nor appreciated by the ASD community. I'm a firm believer in the fact that authors writing about marginalized communities — whether they share this identity or not — need to do good research about those communities. Information about the harmful ideas associated with the puzzle symbol have been widely shared in ASD communities for a long time and I worry that the inclusion of it here is a sign that there hasn't been sufficient research done. The purpose of the robots Ari's parent are building also made me a little bit uncomfortable but that might be more personal than anything.

I'm also really annoyed at Atlas's thoughts towards Ari. I understand attraction isn't always something we can control but we can at the very least respect and honor someone's identity without feeling entitled to a certain kind of their attention just because we have feelings for them. Yes, being a teenager can be messy like that but it really just makes the read tough to go through for me.

The writing is also not quite to my tastes, there's too much dialogue, a lot of "tell" instead of "showing" and it's also often very buzzword-y in a way that feels a bit too caricatural of the teenagers it wants to portray.

However, I believe most of these things can be fixed through editing. The story itself has the potential to be fun and interesting, I also really like Ari and Taylor, they're so sweet and adorable.

This is one to watch out for, truly. Encompassing a diverse friend group from a wide range of ethnic and cultural backgrounds as well as individuals of different sexual and gender identities. One of our lead characters Ari is actually autistic and i fell in love with the representation we got with her as the struggles with overstimulation were so realistic for those who experience this ourselves.

While most of our friend group is queer or transgender, we do have one character who goes by Ya, who is a cis straight female ally. It confronts how when allyship is done poorly it can present as more of a saviour complex and risk doing more harm than good regardless of intentions.

The way it subtly normalises neurodivergence and queerness is so powerful and we need more books like this to be published. It's the perfect read for theatre kids as it revolves around fundraising to put on one of our characters scripts, a powerful and diverse performance and the struggles experienced doing so from homophobic trolls online to hateful parent groups on campus. It leaves a message about how important it is to establish equal rights and how fighting for change can leave a lasting legacy for the next generation.

LGBTQIA+ Rep
BIPOC
Cast
Healing
Acceptance
Friendship
I dont know where to begin! I enjoyed this so much and I love how it reads. You follow each character’s POV and it’s realistic to how high school seniors are. From how they talk to what they may be up to after school. The representation was amazing! Trans! Lesbian! Austistic! Queer culture in general! It shows the possible (and very real) realities of being part of the LGBTQIA+ community. It also hits on the difference between being a savior and being an ally. You also walk through each character’s issues that have to be worked out. Highly recommend to YA readers and those wanting to see LGBTQIA+ rep.

My first ARC review! I absolutely adored this book. the writing was incredible, I loved each character so much and I could feel the love and care put into writing it in every word I read. This amount of character development in such a short book was amazing. Every conversation between Atlas, Ari and Ya where they had conflicts with one another felt so genuine and relatable but I found myself still rooting for everyone involved even when they were being hostile. I could tell the characters would learn from their mistakes throughout the book and it led to an incredibly sweet and satisfying story. I cant wait to get a physical copy of this when it's released on 1st June!

I thoroughly enjoyed Star Fruit. All three Main Characters brought their own perspective and a deeper dimension to their individual personalities and core friendship.

Ari (Arielle), is the quieter of the 3 friends and she's the most artistic/creative. Ya (Sonya), is the most head strong and she loves and fights for those she loves with all her being. Atlas, is the most selfless and the most sensitive is all the best ways. A lesbian, an ally and a young transman all three so different yet fit together like the best puzzle.

I love how all 3 of them ae on their own individual journeys of self discovery while also being there for each other in the ways they know how. Ari learns to speak up for herself and defend the things she is passionate about. She also puts on an amazing production and faces her fears a lot of her fears in dating and in going for what she wants. Ya learns that she doesn't need to fix everything for everyone and sometimes its okay to let people take of her and of themselves. Her parents leaving her in the states left her with some abandonment issues which I was happy to see her acknowledge and work through. Atlas learns that there is no right way to be a man but to be the man he wants to be. He has the most supportive parents and I'm glad he finally realized other people see him for all he is and accept him.

I loved the themes in this book. I loved that it captured teenagers going through teenage issues. The communication with all characters was beautiful to read. The parents and other adult figures that showed up and showed out for these kids was amazing I felt like I was at he parents talent show. Loved it

Star fruit is a joyous story about fighting for what you want but also what it means to be an "ally". This story is told from the point of views of Ari, Atlas, and Ya.

I thornily enjoyed this book! the plot lines, the main characters, the messages seen throughout the novel. I will definitely be requesting this book through my library, and getting a copy of my own. This book was so important to read. And each of the characters individually dealing with their own things, seeing them work with that, I loved it!

okay so this was really cute! i really liked the nuance that this book contained and i think it's totally realistic for teenagers to speak and act like atlas, ari and ya do. i really enjoyed the exploration of masculinity and the patriarchy through atlas, ya's struggle to be a "good ally", and ari's experience of autism. the representation within this book is all really authentic and accessible. the romance subplots were all really sweet too.

my only two gripes are that the puzzle piece as a symbol for autism was referenced in a neutral/positive light (despite it not being accepted as appropriate by most of the asd community) and that some of the flashback dialogue sections didn't seem realistic to the ages that the characters were meant to be (e.g. 5 or in second grade).

While I did find some of the transitions between scenes a little abrupt, and wish we'd spent a little more time on the resolution, this was overall quite enjoyable. I found the characters believable and (mostly) relatable even when they were messy and making mistakes. Atlas in particular had a few scenes where I wanted to shake him, but I still felt that his behavior, while out of line, was in keeping with the chaos that is being a teenager.

The book hits a lot of the typical teen/YA stuff, but the parent hate group---a thinly veiled spin on Moms for Liberty---had my hackles up. For me, that storyline had the least resolution, though it's also something that's unresolved in the real-world present, so I'm not sure how thoroughly that could have been resolved without some handwaving and wish fulfillment.

In general, I found this to be a solid YA read about three longtime friends who are navigating some revelations and life changes. The story features a) a transmasc character who is out the whole time and who is never deadnamed, though he does experience bigotry from other students and parents; b) a sapphic & autistic character who is still coming into her own; and c) a go-getter who loves her friends and wants to support them, and worries about being the odd one out. Where are a number of memorable side characters as well, who felt fully developed even when they had minor roles to play in the story.

Thank you to NetGalley and the author for the ARC.

Thank you Kamryn Kingsberry and netgally for letting me read this book early in exchange for an honest review.

Holy shit I loved this book. It’s so unapologetically queer, these are the kinds of books I needed when I was younger. I love the dynamic the friendgroup has, it’s kinda messy but that’s life. They talk about how they feel and how they can support each other. Sure not everything goes right, ya does her best to help them in the way she knows how but ends up learning that’s not the best way and changes at the end of the book.

I loved Ari and Taylor’s relationship. I really felt that Ari was so into Taylor that she forgot how atlas must have felt about it. That sort of thing just happens to you, especially in your first queer relationship.

Atlas getting over Ari also gave me all the feelings. It was very hard situation and I understood his bittersweet feeling about it. Because it’s great Ari doesn’t like him like that because he’s a guy and she’s a lesbian. She really sees him for who he is. But that also must really hurt to know the girl you like will never like you back because she sees who you really are.

And my god I love the title and how that came back in the book, that was beautiful!

The only thing I liked less in the book was the use of the word “bruh” but I might just be getting to old for that lol.

Kamryn Kingsberry’s Star Fruit is a vibrant, heartfelt, and urgently necessary novel that celebrates Black LGBTQIA+ joy, resilience, and the power of community. Set in Baldwin Hills, Los Angeles—often referred to as the “Black Beverly Hills”—this story follows three high school seniors as they navigate self-acceptance, unrequited love, and the challenges of queerphobia within their school and the broader African Diaspora.

At the centre of the story are Ari, a gay autistic teen with a passion for writing; Atlas, a young trans man grappling with self-acceptance; and Ya, their fiercely loyal cishet ally and best friend. When Ari’s queer PGM (people of the global majority) scripts are repeatedly rejected by the student theatre committee, Ya takes matters into her own hands, convincing their principal to greenlight the production on the condition that they fund it themselves. What follows is a race against time to bring Ari’s vision to life, all while navigating the complexities of friendship, identity, and the backlash from a queerphobic parent organization.

Kingsberry’s writing is authentic and deeply empathetic, capturing the nuances of queer identity and the intersections of race, gender, and neurodivergence. The alternating perspectives of Ari, Atlas, and Ya provide a rich, multifaceted view of their experiences, allowing readers to connect with each character on a profound level. Ari’s journey of standing up for herself while navigating her autism, Atlas’s struggle to fully embrace his identity, and Ya’s exploration of what it means to be a true ally are all portrayed with sensitivity and depth.

The novel doesn’t shy away from the harsh realities of queerphobia, including online hate, protests, and violence, but it also shines a light on the resilience and joy of the LGBTQIA+ community. The friendships at the heart of the story are beautifully rendered, showcasing the strength and vulnerability of these characters as they support one another through adversity. The themes of self-acceptance, allyship, and the importance of representation are woven seamlessly into the narrative, making Star Fruit both a compelling story and a powerful call to action.

Perfect for fans of The Black Flamingo by Dean Atta or Felix Ever After by Kacen Callender.

I am going to reserve my final star rating for when the book is published as at this point there is a bunch of formatting as well and developmental editing that needs to be done to make the story fluid and understandable. (Since I don’t have the option to keep it blank on Netgally I put it right in the middle for now and will update)

That being said, I went into this book blind. I snatched it up when I read the, queer, BIPOC and autistic in the same space.
The story itself was endearing and important to have available for young folks to be able to consume.

It is a bit heavy on the “tell” over “show” and uses a lot of buzz words and current hot button topics sprinkled throughout the book. It can sound a bit too much, especially to a young reader. The content is YA but it does read a bit more like a middle grade or very young YA.

2 majors plot issues I had was describing actions that were not age appropriate at all from a developmental stance. Without spoiling things. There is a point where the chapter is recounting when Arielle, a queer autistic cis female, was 5 years old. The issue is the story attached is not at all believable for 5 year olds. She continues on to chapters with Sonya and how she came to be in her living situation, again at 5 years old but the conversations with her parents are not at all what a child of that age could have.

The other plot point surrounds Atlas, the transgender male character. This can be hard to write when you are writing flashbacks type scenes to before the decision to transition was made. However, while a character made an earlier comment that she some how reframed all her pre transition memories of her friend Atlas to remember them as if they were a male, several chapters later it makes for confusing prose for their meeting at 5 years old.


Now for the positive. I love that the author is putting out a story that gives the opportunity for learning as well as for young people to see themselves in the pages. The story of friendships and beyond as they tackle their last year in high school and racking part of the coming of age process.
Also kudos for making them theater kids and not the typical focus on actors. While this high school would be very different from most kids in the US’s experience, they do exist where the theatre arts are taken more seriously and allow for original plays.

I’m going to recommend this book as I’m sure by the final published version it’ll be something that young adults and teachers would lucky to pick up.


I am thankful to have gotten the ARC for free from the author through NetGalley to read which gave me the opportunity to voluntarily leave a review.

I got this as an arc on Netgalley and it will come out in June. The world needs more Black queer ya and I'm so happy this exists because this was very good! I ended up reading over half in one day. The book really gets into the current climate but because it centers queer joy, it feels like a protest in its own right.

Star Fruit was a sweet, diverse read centering around the joyful exploits of three teenagers and their theatre department.

As a reader and a secondary school English teacher, I'm always looking for queer YA books that show more than tragedy and unhappiness to recommend to my LGBTQIA+ club. Star Fruit delivered this in spades. The friendship between the three MCs and their approach to tackling both racism and queerphobia was refreshing, and I found myself smiling frequently from the unabashed queer joy sparkling from every page.

I did find some lines jarring, mostly around Ya's allyship - early on in the novel, she thinks about how she might be 'overstepping her LGBTQIA+ allyship status', for instance - and I have to be honest, I've never once encountered a teenager with that kind of eloquence or self awareness when they're passionate about something. These moments are fleeting however, and by the end of the book this feels much more natural. Otherwise, the characters are well developed and interesting, and the relationship between Ari and Atlus was a particular high point. The friendships are lovely.

Overall, I will be recommending this book to my students on release and getting a copy for my classroom. I loved this book!

4.5 stars.