The Icarus Girl by Helen Oyeyemi

Title: The Icarus Girl
Author: Helen Oyeyemi
Genre: African/Dark Fantasy/Reality
# of Pages: 352 pgs.
Grade: B+

Summary:
Jessamy “Jess” Harrison is eight years old. Sensitive, whimsical, possessed of an extraordinary and powerful imagination, she spends hours writing haiku, reading Shakespeare, or simply hiding in the dark warmth of the airing cupboard. As the child of an English father and a Nigerian mother, Jess just can’t shake off the feeling of being alone wherever she goes, and the other kids in her class are wary of her tendency to succumb to terrified fits of screaming. Believing that a change from her English environment might be the perfect antidote to Jess’s alarming mood swings, her parents whisk her off to Nigeria for the first time where she meets her mother’s family—including her formidable grandfather.

Jess’s adjustment to Nigeria is only beginning when she encounters Titiola, or TillyTilly, a ragged little girl her own age. To Jess, it seems that, at last, she has found someone who will understand her. But gradually, TillyTilly’s visits become more disturbing, making Jess start to realize that she doesn’t know who TillyTilly is at all.

My Thoughts
The first time this book caught my eye was when I heard that the author, Helen Oyeyemi, was only 17 years old at the start of this book. Being only 16, this of course sparked my interest, then I heard what the book was actually about and I knew I had to read it. Being an obsessor of fairy tales and where the line is drawn between good and bad, I could have sworn this book was written for me. I was not disappointed.

The character of TillyTilly was absolutely fascinating, one secnd seeming as an apparant savior for poor Jess the next second it seemed that TillyTilly was a demon sent from another world to torture Jess. I especially loved how easily the lines blurred between dreams and reality, and how I was totally caught up in trying to figure the mystery out. I have very little knowledge of any tribal beliefs from anywhere so the twist was a major twist for me and was something I did not see coming.

Of course there were a few minor things, parts that could have been executed a bit better and so on and so forth but all in all a great debut from a new author