Saturday, July 12, 2008

The Icarus Girl by Helen Oyeyemi


I think this book made it to my wishlist after a mention in either (the now defunct) Pages or Bookmarks. I always find it interesting to begin books that have been on my wishlist for a long time, because in most cases I've completely forgotten what it was about them that grabbed my attention in the first place. Such was the case with The Icarus Girl.

Jessamy Harrison was born in England, but her mother is Nigerian and her father British. Jess has always been a moody, quiet child, but when she meets Titiola (Jess calls her TillyTilly because she can't pronounce Titiola) while visiting family in Nigeria things start to get weird.

Overall, I really liked this book. However, the end left me a little mystified. Honestly, I'm not sure how it actually ended. So I had to knock half a star off my rating, giving it 3.5 stars instead of 4. Also, Jess is supposed to be an 8-year-old little girl, and she is much too wise and articulate for a girl of that age, in my opinion. Oyeyemi was only 18 when she wrote The Icarus Girl, which I find very impressive!

This fills the "I" title spot in the A-Z challenge.

1 comment:

Debi said...

Hmmm...not sure I could pronounce Titiola either. :) You said just enough to really peak my curiousity. Think I'll have to see if the library has this one.