The Icarus girl

Oyeyemi, born in Nigeria and now a 20-year-old Cambridge student, has written about what she knows while drawing on Nigerian folklore and a belief in the power of the mind to alter reality. Born of a Nigerian mother and a British father, Jessamy, a difficult child, feels somehow out of place in London. When she is eight, her mother decides a trip to Nigeria to meet her African relatives might define Jessamy's sense of identity and perhaps erase her sometimes violent tantrums. While there, Jessamy can't connect with her Nigerian cousins, but she meets a barefoot and strange new friend, TillyTilly, whom surprisingly no one else ever sees. After the family's return to London, nothing much has changed; Jessamy has no real friends, and she begins to experience periodic fevers. TillyTilly shows up and becomes an increasingly dominant figure in Jessamy's life, eventually revealing information that changes her perception of herself. Oyeyemi subtly weaves together Nigerian myth and a classic doppelganger tale to create a sensitive and precocious debut. --Deborah Donovan Copyright 2005 Booklist

The story of a troubled eight-year-old haunted and ultimately possessed by family secrets, this spooky debut novel from a 20-year-old Nigerian-born Cambridge student is sure to garner attention for its precocity and literary self-consciousness. The sensitive protagonist, Jessamy Harrison, born to a British father and Nigerian mother, writes haikus and reads Shakespeare, but regularly throws tantrums and avoids social interaction both at school and at home. As an intervention, her parents take her to stay with family in Nigeria for the summer. At her grandfather's compound, she encounters TillyTilly, a mysterious girl who seems to know everything about Jess and who, Jess realizes, is not visible to anyone else. In Nigeria with TillyTilly, Jess finds a sense of belonging and intimacy for the first time, but when Jess returns to England, TillyTilly becomes less comforting and more troublesome. In confident, heavily stylized prose, Oyeyemi illustrates Jess's cultural dislocation, using both Nigerian and Christian imagery to evoke a sense of her unreality. As sophisticated as she is, Jess's eight-year-old observations provide a limited lens, and at times, the novel's fantasy element veers into young adult suspense territory. Agent, Robin Wade. (June) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

Adult/High School-This first novel, completed before its author turned 20, uses elements of Yoruba and Western myths to create a tale of psychological horror with echoes of both Henry James and Stephen King. When British academic star Jessamy Harrison is skipped ahead a year in school (to the pride of her English father and Nigerian mother), the nervous eight-year-old finds the change difficult. Unable to make friends or to cope with teasing about her mixed-race status, she breaks down in screaming tantrums and is prey to odd, feverish illnesses. During a family trip to Nigeria, Jess is elated to make her first friend, a fey girl nicknamed TillyTilly who is devoted to her-and who may be invisible. Delight turns to anxiety when Tilly reveals a shocking secret, and then to horror as she demonstrates her capacity for cruel magic. Is Tilly real? A spirit? An extension of Jess's personality? The creepy ambiguity persists until and beyond the disturbing denouement. Related entirely from Jess's perspective, the book perfectly captures the fear and confusion of a child confronted by inexplicable circumstances, although thinly drawn other characters and a somewhat repetitive structure make it less than a total success. Still, Oyeyemi is a talent to watch.-Starr E. Smith, Fairfax County Public Library, VA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

It's intriguing enough that debut novelist Oyeyemi is a 19-year-old Cambridge student who just saw her first play produced, but the plot sounds good, too. The daughter of a British father and a Nigerian mother, little Jess isn't managing well in England, so she's sent off to relatives in Africa and acquires an invisible friend named Tilly Tilly. With a three-city tour. (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

A mixed-race eight-year-old girl is haunted by her imaginary friend, family secrets and the two cultures she inhabits. Oyeyemi's much-publicized debut, completed shortly before her 19th birthday, enters the troubled mind of Jessamy Harrison, the "half-and-half" daughter of a Nigerian mother and British father. Nervy and alienated, Jessamy finds the world too fast and expectant. Oyeyemi drip-feeds her problems: she has trouble eating in front of strangers, is bullied at school, takes refuge in cupboards and often resorts to screaming tantrums. On a first family visit to Nigeria she meets Titiola--or TillyTilly--a friend who has magic powers but forbids Jess to talk about her: "Can't you tell that I'm not supposed to be there." Back home, Jess is first ill, then in difficulties again at school, so is thrilled when TillyTilly reappears, an ally who seems able to sneak invisibly into the homes of her enemies. But who is TillyTilly? A figment of Jess's feverish brain, her alter ego, the expression of her angry or divided self? Even Jess begins to suspect her friend isn't real, leading to TillyTilly's revelation that Jess had a twin sister, Fern, who was stillborn. Oyeyemi ratchets up the horror as Jess begins to fear her jealous friend's powers of invasion and destruction. Her parents respond impulsively, sometimes angrily, to the developing mayhem, leading TillyTilly to "get" Jess's father, who falls into a depressive illness. A psychologist is brought in, but precocious Jess can see through his techniques, and TillyTilly wrecks the relationship by harming his daughter, Jess's new friend Shivs. Narrated from Jess's point-of-view, this ambitious psychodrama becomes repetitive in structure and can't always sustain the adult tone. A conclusion in Nigeria attempts to knit Jess's three worlds--the actual, the spiritual and the "Bush"--but doesn't wholly rescue or resolve a story rich in material yet technically imbalanced. Not enough consistent magic in this extended metaphor on cultural, social and psychological conflict. Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Oyeyemi, born in Nigeria and now a 20-year-old Cambridge student, has written about what she knows while drawing on Nigerian folklore and a belief in the power of the mind to alter reality. Born of a Nigerian mother and a British father, Jessamy, a difficult child, feels somehow out of place in London. When she is eight, her mother decides a trip to Nigeria to meet her African relatives might define Jessamy's sense of identity and perhaps erase her sometimes violent tantrums. While there, Jessamy can't connect with her Nigerian cousins, but she meets a "barefoot and strange" new friend, TillyTilly, whom surprisingly no one else ever sees. After the family's return to London, nothing much has changed; Jessamy has no real friends, and she begins to experience periodic fevers. TillyTilly shows up and becomes an increasingly dominant figure in Jessamy's life, eventually revealing information that changes her perception of herself. Oyeyemi subtly weaves together Nigerian myth and a classic doppelganger tale to create a sensitive and precocious debut. ((Reviewed May 1, 2005)) Copyright 2005 Booklist Reviews.

It's intriguing enough that debut novelist Oyeyemi is a 19-year-old Cambridge student who just saw her first play produced, but the plot sounds good, too. The daughter of a British father and a Nigerian mother, little Jess isn't managing well in England, so she's sent off to relatives in Africa and acquires an invisible friend named Tilly Tilly. With a three-city tour. Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.

Eight-year-old Jessamy has trouble making friends at home in England. Sensitive and brainy, she prefers reading during recess to going outside and playing games. She is also prone to throwing tantrums, much to the chagrin of her teachers and her Nigerian mother and British father, who simply don't know what to do to prevent these outbursts. In the hopes of boosting her self-confidence and helping her get along with others, her parents take her on a month-long vacation to Nigeria to spend time with her family. There, in addition to meeting her cousins, aunts, uncles, and grandfather, she makes an invisible friend, TillyTilly, who is likely a replacement for her stillborn twin sister. At first, TillyTilly proves a great companion, playmate, and protector. But when the family returns home, TillyTilly comes with them, this time turning Jessamy and her family's world upside down. Oyeyemi, who wrote this book at the tender age of 19, intertwines folk tales from different cultures to spin this mesmerizing and haunting story. Recommended for medium and larger public and academic libraries. [See Prepub Alert, LJ 2/1/05.]-Lisa Nussbaum, Dauphin Cty. Lib. Syst., Harrisburg, PA Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.

The story of a troubled eight-year-old haunted and ultimately possessed by family secrets, this spooky debut novel from a 20-year-old Nigerian-born Cambridge student is sure to garner attention for its precocity and literary self-consciousness. The sensitive protagonist, Jessamy Harrison, born to a British father and Nigerian mother, writes haikus and reads Shakespeare, but regularly throws tantrums and avoids social interaction both at school and at home. As an intervention, her parents take her to stay with family in Nigeria for the summer. At her grandfather's compound, she encounters TillyTilly, a mysterious girl who seems to know everything about Jess and who, Jess realizes, is not visible to anyone else. In Nigeria with TillyTilly, Jess finds a sense of belonging and intimacy for the first time, but when Jess returns to England, TillyTilly becomes less comforting and more troublesome. In confident, heavily stylized prose, Oyeyemi illustrates Jess's cultural dislocation, using both Nigerian and Christian imagery to evoke a sense of her unreality. As sophisticated as she is, Jess's eight-year-old observations provide a limited lens, and at times, the novel's fantasy element veers into young adult suspense territory. Agent, Robin Wade. (June) Copyright 2005 Reed Business Information.

Adult/High School -This first novel, completed before its author turned 20, uses elements of Yoruba and Western myths to create a tale of psychological horror with echoes of both Henry James and Stephen King. When British academic star Jessamy Harrison is skipped ahead a year in school (to the pride of her English father and Nigerian mother), the nervous eight-year-old finds the change difficult. Unable to make friends or to cope with teasing about her mixed-race status, she breaks down in screaming tantrums and is prey to odd, feverish illnesses. During a family trip to Nigeria, Jess is elated to make her first friend, a fey girl nicknamed TillyTilly who is devoted to her-and who may be invisible. Delight turns to anxiety when Tilly reveals a shocking secret, and then to horror as she demonstrates her capacity for cruel magic. Is Tilly real? A spirit? An extension of Jess's personality? The creepy ambiguity persists until and beyond the disturbing denouement. Related entirely from Jess's perspective, the book perfectly captures the fear and confusion of a child confronted by inexplicable circumstances, although thinly drawn other characters and a somewhat repetitive structure make it less than a total success. Still, Oyeyemi is a talent to watch.-Starr E. Smith, Fairfax County Public Library, VA