When moving locations, your entire environment changes. Your surroundings are unfamiliar but you eventually adapt to it. In Starfish by Akemi Dawn Bowman, the main character, Kiko, moves from Nebraska to California hoping for a new change due to her home issues. Setting plays a massive role in which characters, events, and relationships, affect the story.

When changing states, you of course, see a variety of different people. Kiko unites with her childhood friend, Jamie, at a party. He visits Nebraska for a short while and soon had to head back to California. Kiko decided to go with Jamie. With the setting changing, Jamie stays active in the story. ‘“At least I’d know someone in California’”, (Starfish, Dawn Bowman page 159) says Kiko. New characters show up, for example, Jamie’s parents. Kiko also meets, “Hiroshi Matsumoto from the magazine”, at an art show. With different characters appearing, they each contribute to the story.

Setting affects the events in the story. Since Kiko is away from home, she does  not know what is happening in Nebraska. With Kiko being gone, her younger brother, tries to commit suicide.“Shoji is in the hospital”. (Starfish, Akemi Dawn Bowman page 307)  Kiko goes back to Nebraska as an effect to that, and more events happens, such as discovering secrets and intense fights. This makes the story take a turn. A character’s setting causes a particular event to happen at the previous setting and that event changes the story dramatically.

The setting changes the story’s relationships as well. Relationships affects the actions of characters and their actions develops the story. With Kiko traveling far, her mom makes phone calls to hear from her. Their relationships was not good in the beginning, but it gradually became even worse when Kiko’s mom kept calling. All of their calls resulted in fights. It came to the point when Kiko shouts, ‘“I HATE YOU’”, (Starfish Akemi Dawn Bowman page 330) to her mom. Being in California causes Kiko and Jamie to bond more and understand how much they need each other. ‘“I’m choosing California because having Jamie there feels safer than being alone’” (Starfish, Akemi Dawn Bowman, page 160) . The setting made relationships better but also worse.

Throughout Starfish, setting greatly impacts the story. It changes which characters show up, like new ones. The setting affected the events which contribute to the plot. It also changes relationships which lead to many other things, This shows how much setting and change the story.