I definitely have quite a few mixed feelings about this book. I wanted to like it; the main character seemed interesting and the astrology involved had me intrigued in the premise of the story. However, though Lim has previously written a series that I enjoyed, The Astrologer's Daughter didn't hit the mark for me. 
 Before I get into this review, I just want to add that although this book is in the young adult genre, it primarily revolves around a mystery, and this is one of very few genres I can't ever seem to get into. I read only young adult books, whether fantasy, dystopian, contemporary, sci-fi or what-have-you, but young adult mystery has so far eluded me to be an enjoyable genre. I think the problem with mystery for me is that I am quite impatient, and since mystery novels (obviously) revolve around the mystery to the very end, I don't have the patience to find out what happens and clue together everything. A little bit of mystery in my novels is absolutely fine, but though they are meant to be intriguing and at times suspenseful, I mainly find these aspects boring nonetheless. Thus, I think it is fair to say I didn't like this book partially because it is a mystery and I don't normally find those sorts of stories interesting. However of course I did finish this book, so it had some redeeming qualities, hence the two and a half stars rating. 
 The good: 
 1. Character development. When I think about the character development in this novel, I think less about the characters themselves and more the arc they made from the beginning of the story to the end. Basically, I didn't necessarily like the characters but I admit that there was some nice character development for Avicenna (the main character) and Simon (who becomes her friend) by the end of the novel. 
 2. Conversations between Avicenna and Simon and Avicenna and Hugh. There was the occassional light banter between Avicenna and Simon which I enjoyed, especially with the more dark things Avicenna is going through (one of those being the disappearance of her mother, which sparks the main mystery in this novel/Avicenna also does not have many friends and lost her father when she was very young) in her life. I found Hugh to be a very interesting character, though he could come across as someone easy to dislike. (view spoiler)[Avicenna always feels this pull to him, though he is in his 20s while she is in her teens, and I never agreed with this. There is this one scene where they almost do something, and I felt it was forced and just included there by the author for God knows what reason. I felt Avicenna only 'liked' him because he was good-looking and perfect in every way except for a dark past that Avicenna could relate to. I don't know where these 'feelings' for Hugh came from, as I felt he was more of an acquaintance to Avicenna throughout the story and she is quite smart, independent and knows herself so I wouldn't think she would like someone like that. Anyway, it is nothing really, and the scene ends with some closure for the reader of how Avicenna is cutting out the people in her life she doesn't need and where she is going with her life, and with Simon. (hide spoiler)] 
 3. Diversity. Avicenna is half-Chinese, half-Caucasian which I appreciated. She also has a scar on her face, which she constantly calls/is portrayed as ugly etc. I believe it is quite visually unappealing and has damaged the look of one side of her face. I understand that Avicenna would feel quite insecure with the scar (though she was in the accident that caused the scar where her house burnt down - which is how her father died - several years previously) which would also be fueled by insecurity developed by the reputation of her mother, state of poverty she lives in (which is another topic I haven't read much about), etc. However, I felt that it was stated/described too many times, making it in my face too much (I mean, I get the point she doesn't like her face; but can we just move on with the story?) or brought me out of the story quite a few times. This book is also set in Melbourne. I don't live there but it's great to read more books set in Australia because all I read these days are stories set in America. 
 4. The ending. At first I had mixed feelings on this, but I suppose I saw it coming, and in all honesty, I think I was just relieved to have made it to the end. When I thought about it more, I started to like it more and more, and to feel satisfied with what is wrapped up and what isn't quite so much. (view spoiler)[ I liked how the mystery (you find out it isn't much of a one really at the end) is solved and yet isn't. We can kind of guess what happened to Avicenna's mother but it isn't disclosed since Avicenna doesn't know. And Avicenna could have in the end found out but she chose not to so the mystery for her isn't a mystery anymore. Everything that really matters is addressed, in a manner that follows the book's style. (hide spoiler)] All the same, I felt like the book ended a little anti-climatically, (though there is one cool scary scene beforehand, so that kind of made up for it), and felt it could have been drawn out more (but I was so done with the book by then, so maybe not). 
 The bad: 
 1. Pacing. The reason why it took me over two months to finish this book was because of the pacing. At times, especially in the middle section, I found the plot moving slowly and at an unexciting pace. This book revolves around Avicenna and what she finds out about herself following her mother's disappearance, etc. but for the most part she was going around everywhere trying to piece together clues of where her mother might be or even if she might be dead. And this happened for the whole entire book. She was always talking talking talking with someone, or running away (you don't know how much stalking was in this book; it was starting to get a little too unrealistic and a convenient plot device) or sulking on her own. Half the time I didn't know what was happening, how talking with a particular person ended up being useful and what relation it had with the story. Just a very very incredibly boring plot line. It started our fine, it ended (finally) ok, but the middle was absolutely flat and dull for me. 
 2. The premise. This seemed promising at first, but soon went down hill. The astrology was one of the aspects I was most interested in; I've read about psychics, fortune tellers, clairvoyants, what-have-you, but never astrologists. Avicenna's mother is a well-known astrologist who is paid to figure out her clients' futures: career, relationships, marriage, children; a huge range of things. And these things 
 always come true 
 . She isn't a fortune teller; she just uses the stars, planets, charts, important dates, etc. to figure out what significant things will happen in a particular person's life, things that to Avicenna seem pre-determined, if you will. Avicenna never wanted anything to do with astrology, she finds it creepy and a disturbing way to find out her future - something she (nor I for that matter!) wouldn't ever want. However, following her mother's disappearance, Avicenna picks up astrology to see if anything can help her find out what happened with her mother, and she finds out she also has the special talent that her mother has in astrology. Avicenna ends up doing quite a few horoscopes for clients who were previously her mother's, very interesting and weird clients who all have dark pasts and unfinished business. 
 The thing with the astrology was that it was extremely hard to decipher or understand. I suppose that's the way it works but even when it was being explained to the reader, and drawn in the book, I didn't get it. I was quite confused and the astrology was something I was really looking forward to learning about, so I was disappointed with the outcome that I got. 
 3. Characters. I already mentioned what I didn't particularly like about Avicenna above, but she was also a fairly likable character at other times. Simon was fine too, except for a few scenes where I felt he was quite insensitive, a bit at odds with his normally perceptive personality. (view spoiler)[Their (sort of?) romance was a great relationship for Avicenna because he was a good friend when she needed one and at the end it hints at more for the reader to speculate about her future and his future). (hide spoiler)] There were quite a few times though when he just disappeared out of the story (like many other characters) and was then reintroduced to the reader at a convenient time. That was why a lot of the time, Avicenna is doing things alone and being quite introspective. 
 To conclude, I would not recommend this book. It has mediocre characters, bad pacing and an ambiguous ending. Half the time I didn't know what was happening. It's done relatively well however, considering that there is really only one main character in the book, and the rest aren't important in the scheme of things. At one point, I just started not caring for the characters or the outcome, and that continued until the end. 
 2.5 stars