mysticwarden's review
4.0
It's a great story about a British-Nigerian child and her imaginary friend with a wicked supernatural twist. The setting is modern Nigeria with a good heaping of West African mythology thrown in.
If you want to learn a bit about Nigeria's traditional beliefs, you should definitely give this book a go. I'm envious that Oyeyemi wrote this book when she was just in high school. It's pretty good for something written by a teen.
If you want to learn a bit about Nigeria's traditional beliefs, you should definitely give this book a go. I'm envious that Oyeyemi wrote this book when she was just in high school. It's pretty good for something written by a teen.
erin_oriordan_is_reading_again's review
3.0
The story of a 7-year-old British girl haunted by the spirit of her twin who died at birth is a good enough one, but Oyeyemi fails to impress me with her writing style. I'm willing to give her a break, though, because she was only 18 when she wrote this. I'll read her again.
misspalah's review
4.0
Siobhan was struck by how cold she felt, but it was a constantly moving coldness, sometimes giving way to normal air, as if it was expanding all around her. She feared that it might tighten, and she longed to rub her arms, but didn't dare drop them in case she saw Tilly Tilly. She didn't want to see her at all: from the moment that Tilly had come into the room, Shivs had felt a . .. badness. It was the only way to describe it: it was like being sick and hearing rattling in your ears that wasn't really there; it was slow, bottomless, soundless, creeping ... and it wasn't just inside her stomach, but inside her head as well, slowly building in pressure. She'd had to make sure that she wasn't imagining it, she'd needed the security of Jess's touch to ensure that she wasn't alone in the room with this ... thing. This was not another girl. This was not the kind of imaginary friend that you'd mistakenly sit on. She was a cycle of glacial ice. "She's walking around me in a circle," Shivs whispered slowly, trying not to let her arms tremble. She heard Jess let out a little cry of amazement and was seized with a sudden, irrational fear that this thing would stop moving and dart out a sly, fleeting touch that would take her away forever and ever. She almost shouted out, almost. But she didn't she was tougher than that, and anyway, she realised with a breathtaking suddenness, this was not her fear to hold but Jess's. This thing meant to harm Jess, punish her in a bad way, the worst way, maybe. Siobhan was scared that Jess was going to die. She had to tell her. "Jess, this- Jess moved forward towards Siobhan, who was fighting the quivering of her own lips to speak. She wanted to touch her, but Tilly Tilly, still unsmiling, put up a cautionary finger indicating that she should go no nearer. She had now stopped directly in front of Shivs, close enough to touch her.
- The Icarus Girl by Helen Oyeyemi
.
.
Why was this book is not being marketed or at least labelled as a horror novel? I concurred with Zen Cho’s review in Goodreads - Failing to market it properly is doing such disservice towards this book. Its been a while since i’ve read any horror stories but reading this book felt very creepy and it left that unsettling feeling churning in my stomach. The only comparison i can give is if you have read ‘the girl and the ghost by Hanna Alkaf’ but imagine the ghost is more sinister, wicked and gaslighting the shit out of main character. As for the Main Character, at least Suraya in ‘the girl and the ghost’ knew that once people started to get hurt that ‘Pink - the ghost’ was not a company you should keep around. It was really a jaw dropping moment despite Mrs Patel has been driven to Insanity and admitted to hospital, Her Mother’s computer were being thrashed and even when the ghost accidentally forced her to swap places, Jess / Jessamy still befriending her. The only reason I can guess right away who is Titiola / TillyTilly the moment Jess / Jessamy encountered her. What started as a sweet and innocent friendship turned into a predatory and horrifying relationship. It is important to note that African and Asian usually has a fair of mythology / spirits / folktales whereby we dont play around whenever demon / ghosts were rumored to be wandering away around the area. We maybe superstitious but it is better to be safe than sorry. I wished someone looked out for Jessamy when she decided to venture around the old quarters nearby his grandfather house in Nigeria. Once she returned to England, things started to get really weird. Jessamy has been lone soul and did not have any close friend. She was bullied and being a mixed race child also put her under scrutiny of which identity she belonged to. When Jessamy saw Tillytilly again in England and genuinely believe that Tillytilly believe moved from Nigeria to England, they have become best friends. The problem here is none of Jessamy’s family members and friends can see Tillytilly. This is just a usual tactic of vengeful spirit preying on a weak child knowing that she will be alone , thirst for affection and company and will do everything to be good so that they can be friends. Funny how i was under the impression that Tillytilly was genuine until she started to get crazy jealous with anyone that are friendly with Jess / Jessamy and appeared anytime she likes , disturbing Jess / Jessamy life, - i kept on mumbling to myself asking Jess to tell her mother the truth. This whole thing ‘Kena Rasuk + Ada Benda ikut balik’ was so triggering because ive seen this happened in Malaysia as well. Overall, this is a fantastic book. I love how Helen Oyeyemi paid tribute to her culture in highlighting the belief - the twins God & the sacrifices. She also ventured into the identity domain - what its like being ‘Half/Half’ as what Nigerian called when one of your parents are not from Nigeria. I actually expected half of the book setting to be in Nigeria as i love the scenes of Jess / Jessamy with Her Maternal Grandpa and the portrayal of big family nucleus that was common in African countries but was so rare where she was born and coming from. Of course, another points i would like to raise is clashes of parenting Idea between Jess / Jessamy’s parents (one is European and another is African) - beating / not beating the child, sending the kid to psychologist or insisting that kid is not crazy and all kids act the same at that age and the boundaries between parents and their children. The only thing that stopping me from giving this 5 stars is the ending. I was let down by it. I wanted it to be detailed but i was denied of it.
.
- The Icarus Girl by Helen Oyeyemi
.
.
Why was this book is not being marketed or at least labelled as a horror novel? I concurred with Zen Cho’s review in Goodreads - Failing to market it properly is doing such disservice towards this book. Its been a while since i’ve read any horror stories but reading this book felt very creepy and it left that unsettling feeling churning in my stomach. The only comparison i can give is if you have read ‘the girl and the ghost by Hanna Alkaf’ but imagine the ghost is more sinister, wicked and gaslighting the shit out of main character. As for the Main Character, at least Suraya in ‘the girl and the ghost’ knew that once people started to get hurt that ‘Pink - the ghost’ was not a company you should keep around. It was really a jaw dropping moment despite Mrs Patel has been driven to Insanity and admitted to hospital, Her Mother’s computer were being thrashed and even when the ghost accidentally forced her to swap places, Jess / Jessamy still befriending her. The only reason I can guess right away who is Titiola / TillyTilly the moment Jess / Jessamy encountered her. What started as a sweet and innocent friendship turned into a predatory and horrifying relationship. It is important to note that African and Asian usually has a fair of mythology / spirits / folktales whereby we dont play around whenever demon / ghosts were rumored to be wandering away around the area. We maybe superstitious but it is better to be safe than sorry. I wished someone looked out for Jessamy when she decided to venture around the old quarters nearby his grandfather house in Nigeria. Once she returned to England, things started to get really weird. Jessamy has been lone soul and did not have any close friend. She was bullied and being a mixed race child also put her under scrutiny of which identity she belonged to. When Jessamy saw Tillytilly again in England and genuinely believe that Tillytilly believe moved from Nigeria to England, they have become best friends. The problem here is none of Jessamy’s family members and friends can see Tillytilly. This is just a usual tactic of vengeful spirit preying on a weak child knowing that she will be alone , thirst for affection and company and will do everything to be good so that they can be friends. Funny how i was under the impression that Tillytilly was genuine until she started to get crazy jealous with anyone that are friendly with Jess / Jessamy and appeared anytime she likes , disturbing Jess / Jessamy life, - i kept on mumbling to myself asking Jess to tell her mother the truth. This whole thing ‘Kena Rasuk + Ada Benda ikut balik’ was so triggering because ive seen this happened in Malaysia as well. Overall, this is a fantastic book. I love how Helen Oyeyemi paid tribute to her culture in highlighting the belief - the twins God & the sacrifices. She also ventured into the identity domain - what its like being ‘Half/Half’ as what Nigerian called when one of your parents are not from Nigeria. I actually expected half of the book setting to be in Nigeria as i love the scenes of Jess / Jessamy with Her Maternal Grandpa and the portrayal of big family nucleus that was common in African countries but was so rare where she was born and coming from. Of course, another points i would like to raise is clashes of parenting Idea between Jess / Jessamy’s parents (one is European and another is African) - beating / not beating the child, sending the kid to psychologist or insisting that kid is not crazy and all kids act the same at that age and the boundaries between parents and their children. The only thing that stopping me from giving this 5 stars is the ending. I was let down by it. I wanted it to be detailed but i was denied of it.
.
thefeministthumb's review
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
amberimagines's review
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
4.0
I don't really know what to make of this book, but I enjoyed it. It was incredibly unsettling but so well written. I wish the ending had a little more clarity but maybe I'm just too dumb to understand 🤣
riverjengu's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
allieandro's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
hailsyoung's review
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
gravedavis's review
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0