Jessamy “Jess” Harrison, age eight, is the child of an English father and a Nigerian mother. Possessed of an extraordinary imagination,...
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Feb 08, 2009
karen
rated it: 
okay so the ending - who knows - but the rest of the book had a lot of enjoyable writing. its true it was predictable and there were some inconsistencies, but then i realized she was 17 when she wrote this, so i forgave the flaws.(so magnanimous, i) it would have been 4 stars, but that ending.... but i have her other novel so ill read that, and the new one is out soon and im sure that they will be more mature but still retaining the "good bits" from this first one.
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Feb 10, 2008
Raquel
rated it: 
I didn't go to sleep the night I finished this novel. I got into bed and attempted to read my chapter or two and ended up reading until I was done...at 5 o'clock in the morning! Every time I finished one chapter, I had to read the next and then the next. But nothing ever happened...other than extreme creepiness due to the main character, 8 year old Jess's evil-creepy alter ego/spirit/imaginary friend of the same age. I had way too many questions when this story was done. I mean, I like it when t
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(3 people liked it)
May 06, 2010
Lola
rated it: 
It has taken me way longer than it should to get through this 320 page book. I just couldn't do it. I lost interest 100 pages into it, not because it was boring but because it just wasn't engaging. I didn't form any attachments to the characters, I didn't look forward to picking it up in my free time to continue reading, and i'm not at all curious as to how the plot will pan out (Ok maybe just a little curious, but not enough). Although i do have to say that even though i wasn't so invested in i
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(3 people liked it)
Mar 21, 2011
Mely
rated it:
This has a pretty, literary cover and a pretty, literary title and so I thought it would be, at most, part of the Todorovan fantastic, maybe it is real and maybe it is imagined/insanity, which, honestly, I find one of the most boring conceits in all of literature most of the time. But no! There is an ACTUAL GHOST. Or perhaps not a ghost. But an actual supernatural being. Structurally, this is a very traditional ghost story. The prose is lovely, but my favorite thing is Jess and her reserve
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(1 person liked it)
Mar 16, 2009
Lauralee
rated it:
I wanted to love this book. The themes of duality, sisters/twins, and cultural identity were engaging, but it seemed like these were never fully explored, despite the length of the book. The author, Helen Oyeyemi, spends over 300 pages drawing readers into her story, inviting them to wonder what kind of entity is at play with the main character, Jess/Wuraola. Jess is the nine-year-old daughter of a Yoruba, Nigerian mother and an English father. Jess is an exceptionally clever child, but has not
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Jan 19, 2009
bookczuk
rated it: 
What a complex book-- I am still absorbing it, even though I finished it a week or so back. And the fact that it was written while the author was still in school. Egads! I am humbled and awed.
From the first minutes of meeting 8 year old Jessamy, who was hiding in the airing closet (we don't have those here, but I know what they are!) rather than play with other children her age, I was swept into the writing. Jess, is bright, precocious, unpopular and prone to screaming tantrums and i More...
From the first minutes of meeting 8 year old Jessamy, who was hiding in the airing closet (we don't have those here, but I know what they are!) rather than play with other children her age, I was swept into the writing. Jess, is bright, precocious, unpopular and prone to screaming tantrums and i More...
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(1 person liked it)
Nov 08, 2007
Rafe
rated it:
As an English teacher, I spend a lot of time being told to tell teenagers that the "only" important West African author is Chinua Achebe. Having long believed that Benjamin Oke and Sole Woyinka prove that wrong, I was delighted to find The Icarus Girl, and in it, a lovely, slightly scary story about a Nigerian/British girl. It is more Western than most "Africa" books; more African than most English books. In all, it is a delight, and I look forward to reading more from the
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Jan 17, 2012
Utami
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Salah satu buku yang saya perlu waktu yang lamaaa sekali untuk menyelesaikannya :D. Sebenernya bukan karena ceritanya tidak menarik, tapi ya… nyari waktunya itu. Dan buku ini beberapa kali tertinggal di ruangan kerja saya di kampus.
Jessamy, yang biasa dipanggil Jess, adalah seorang gadis kecil berusia 8 tahun dengan ibu dari Nigeria dan ayah dari Inggris. Jess tinggal bersama keluarganya di Inggris. Suatu waktu, Jess dan keluarganya berlibur ke Nigeria, kampung halaman ibunya. Dan di More...
Jessamy, yang biasa dipanggil Jess, adalah seorang gadis kecil berusia 8 tahun dengan ibu dari Nigeria dan ayah dari Inggris. Jess tinggal bersama keluarganya di Inggris. Suatu waktu, Jess dan keluarganya berlibur ke Nigeria, kampung halaman ibunya. Dan di More...
Nov 18, 2009
Tony
rated it:
While this debut novel is certainly an impressive achievement for an 18-year-old writer, it's hard to escape the conclusion that purely on its own merits as a book, it's rather flat. Apparently partially inspired by the author's own troubles as a child, the story centers on the psychological problems of 8-year-old Jessamy. The lonely only child of a Nigerian woman and English father, she lives in the suburbs of Kent, England, and we meet her for the first time as she hides in a linen closet. The
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Jan 06, 2011
Travis
rated it:
I really enjoyed this a lot. I took it with me the other day to my doctor's appointment and ended up reading two-thirds of it on the bus and while waiting. It was definitely a good choice for being stuck out for a long time with no other options. It sucked me in right away and I found it hard to put down.[return][return]Apparently the author wrote this while still at school, and it does show, but it's still overall really well-written. The biggest annoyance to me was POV slippage here and there
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Dec 16, 2009
Kalilah
rated it:
Considering the author wrote this while still in Secondary school, it's a pretty amazing achievement. However there are a number of areas where the author's age and inexperience show through to the detriment of the work as a whole. Overall I'd rate it soso, but a valiant first attempt from a promising young writer.
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Oct 24, 2011
Hope
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This is another one of my library finds, reason I picked it up is because of its title. But when I read the description it sounded very interesting so I thought I give it a go. I have to say this was very enjoyable read although somewhat creepy. But nothing overly creepy.
Jessamy or Jess, is eight years old girl who has very overactive imaginations, very much so that it interferes in her daily life. I liked Jess she was a sweet child, very smart, and interesting character. Although a More...
Jessamy or Jess, is eight years old girl who has very overactive imaginations, very much so that it interferes in her daily life. I liked Jess she was a sweet child, very smart, and interesting character. Although a More...
Dec 02, 2010
Zen
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This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers.
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Jan 13, 2011
Grace
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It took me FOREVER to get through this book. I wasn't captivated in the beginning (a fault of mine that I refuse to not finish a book that I've started -- sometimes it pays off but mostly it doesn't) and then was intrigued toward the middle.....but by the end, I was petrified! It was as if I was reading a horror movie -- which I don't even like horror movies, so I wasn't thrilled.
I appreciated the intent of the book and I am interested in the clash of cultures that results as the glob More...
I appreciated the intent of the book and I am interested in the clash of cultures that results as the glob More...
Dec 03, 2011
Isabel
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And when he'd gone, the ibeji statue[return](dull unbelieved-in wood)[return]guarded the corner for the little twin who needed its help[return]needed the forgiveness it brought[return]needed to win[return]more than ever.[return][return]This is the story of 8-year-old Jessamy Harrison, the troubled daughter of a Nigerian mother and an English father, and what happens when they go to Nigeria on holiday for the first time, to stay with her mother's family. I loved this wonderfully poetic book, and
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Nov 22, 2010
Emilie
rated it:
When I finished this book I felt breathless and haunted. I needed to do something to get back into myself as I was drowning in the feelings of dislocation and isolation and terror that the book captures so well.
Jessamy spends a lot of time in a liminal space hanging out with her doppelganger, trying to delineate her identity, which to her feels stretched and lost.
I think a central theme is the Imagination and how it’s this breathtaking beautiful and creative force and coping More...
Jessamy spends a lot of time in a liminal space hanging out with her doppelganger, trying to delineate her identity, which to her feels stretched and lost.
I think a central theme is the Imagination and how it’s this breathtaking beautiful and creative force and coping More...
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Jan 08, 2009
Endah
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Barangkali sebagian dari kita pernah memiliki teman khayalan saat kita masih kecil dahulu. Menurut ilmu psikologi, itu adalah gejala kejiwaan yang wajar terjadi dan hampir setiap anak mengalaminya. Saya sendiri tidak ingat, apakah saya pernah memilikinya. Namun, sekarang saya sering memerhatikan keponakan saya berumur lima tahun beberapa kali terlihat seperti sedang bercaka-cakap dengan seseorang yang tidak tampak. Entah, apakah ia tengah berada dalam fase "teman khayalan" itu?
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Mar 09, 2008
Jeanne
rated it:
I picked this book up when I was in London last summer for Jules' wedding. It's the first novel of a Nigerian-English author, and she was apparently in high school when she wrote it. With that in mind, it's an excellent book. It's the story of a Nigerian-English girl (hmm) who is quite young and precocious, and doesn't seem to cope well with the world; after she goes back to Nigeria with her parents, she starts seeing a ghost/twin/double who haunts her there and in England. It's never clear
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Jun 03, 2008
sisterimapoet
rated it:
I tried my best to put the authors age out of my mind while reading her book. Which isn't easy to do, because you can't help but wonder what kind of book you might have written when you were in your late teens. Any good parts encourage you to heap on extra praise, any weaknesses get glossed over for the same reason.
I really liked the first two thirds of this novel. I didn't follow with fellow reviewers criticisms that her portrayal of a young child was too knowing. Because all fi More...
I really liked the first two thirds of this novel. I didn't follow with fellow reviewers criticisms that her portrayal of a young child was too knowing. Because all fi More...
Dec 03, 2007
Rachel
rated it:
I was working in a bookstore when someone left this book on a table in the cafe. I picked it up on a whim. It is definitely not the kind of book I would normally read.
It took me months to finish this book. As I read, it continued to get progressively more tiresome and repetitious. I even read books in between this one. Once I ran out of things to read at home, I went back to this book. Once I finished, I was extremely dissapointed with the ending, and simply tossed the book aside.
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It took me months to finish this book. As I read, it continued to get progressively more tiresome and repetitious. I even read books in between this one. Once I ran out of things to read at home, I went back to this book. Once I finished, I was extremely dissapointed with the ending, and simply tossed the book aside.
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Nov 13, 2008
Indah
rated it:
Alih Bahasa : Esti Budihabsari
Foto Cover : Photolibrary
Desain Sampul : Eduard Iwan Mangopang
Diterbitkan pertama kali oleh Penerbit PT Gramedia Pustaka Utama, Jakarta, Juni 2006
392 hlm; 20 cm
Anak punya teman khayalan ? Tidak usah panik, menurut beberapa sumber, hal itu normal terjadi pada anak usia balita. Jika anak sudah sibuk dengan sekolahnya, punya banyak teman, dan mulai tertarik untuk melakukan permainan yang dapat dilakukan bersama-sama, maka ia akan lep More...
Foto Cover : Photolibrary
Desain Sampul : Eduard Iwan Mangopang
Diterbitkan pertama kali oleh Penerbit PT Gramedia Pustaka Utama, Jakarta, Juni 2006
392 hlm; 20 cm
Anak punya teman khayalan ? Tidak usah panik, menurut beberapa sumber, hal itu normal terjadi pada anak usia balita. Jika anak sudah sibuk dengan sekolahnya, punya banyak teman, dan mulai tertarik untuk melakukan permainan yang dapat dilakukan bersama-sama, maka ia akan lep More...
Aug 28, 2007
Veronika
rated it:
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 second see More...
The character of TillyTilly was absolutely fascinating, one second see More...
Jul 06, 2009
Izetta Autumn
rated it:
A good debut with some truly inspired writing, but it didn't carry me all the way through to the end. Recently, I've begun learning more about African art - with a specific focus on Yoruba art and culture. One of the things I've learned is the importance of twins in Yoruba culture - and that emphasis on the "doubled self" has helped me have a different understanding of The Icarus Girl .
Jessamy is an intelligent, highly imaginative biracial 8-year old. Her mother, a writer More...
Jessamy is an intelligent, highly imaginative biracial 8-year old. Her mother, a writer More...
Jan 01, 2009
Grace
rated it:
I have mixed emotions about this book. When I first read this book, I didn't realize that it was written by a high school student. From that perspective, this is amazing coming from a 16 year old! It is good in that it is heavy in African lore, however the last 1/3 of the book was difficult for me to absorb because I felt it became too mythical and magical for me. The ending was a bit weak and it left me wanting more. It's not a bad book, just could have been better in the end...
Jan 12, 2010
Abbi
rated it:
I absolutely adored this debut. Telling the story of a clever but confused little girl caught in an internal conflict between Nigerian myths and English reality, Oyeyemi carries the reader from genuine terror to breath-catching sorrow with steady, lyrical prose. Although you could say the second half is a bit unordered and nonsensical, for me that just emphasised Jessamy's unravelling mental stability. Incredible, especially for such a young writer.
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Dec 16, 2009
Linda
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The first novel by young author Helen Oyeyemi, this is a book that takes us into the imagination of a precocious 8-year-old girl with an English father and Nigerian mother, who grows up in London. Oyeyemi uses the child to present issues of tension between different cultures, while also exploring the child's sensibilities. While the first half of the book is more successful than the second, the book is well worth reading. This is an author to watch.
Nov 21, 2011
Amanda
rated it:
Helen Oyeyemi's first novel, but i read Mr. Fox first, so i can say that Oyeyemi continues to fascinate me with her blend of supernatural psychologics. it's a gift to be able to write characters that readers can feel compassionate about. i felt empathy for Jessamy, the protagonist of the Icarus Girl. with the Icarus Girl Oyeyemi reminds us all what it is like to be a child caught up in the conflict & secrets of one's family, caught up in one's own imagination and psychosis. frightening, imaginat
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Jan 06, 2008
Colleen
rated it:
The story of a precocious 8 year-old girl seemingly unable to cope with the pressures of skipping a grade, The Icarus Girl opened strong and certainly captured my interest. Told from the perspective of the main character Jess, the story unfolds in an appropriately disjointed fashion as she moves between England and Nigeria. Her internalization of Nigerian folk-tales as she attempts to process emerging family secrets is well-drawn, and I certainly felt her pain as her world fractures around her.
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Jan 29, 2012
Senny89
rated it:
Iniziato anni fa, lasciato fino a pochi mesi fa, quando lo ripresi in mano per rileggerlo, finirlo e archiviarlo per sempre.
Una storia dai toni cupi e inquietanti che non ho apprezzato per alcune inngeuità messe lì solo per suscitare paura e altri passaggi incomprensibili nella trama.
Un'altalena di emozioni in un crescendo e decrescendo di claustrofobia, fino alla fine scarsa e banale, piattaissima.
L'unica nota di merito è la psicologia dei personaggi, che non ho trovato i soliti pezzi di carton More...
Una storia dai toni cupi e inquietanti che non ho apprezzato per alcune inngeuità messe lì solo per suscitare paura e altri passaggi incomprensibili nella trama.
Un'altalena di emozioni in un crescendo e decrescendo di claustrofobia, fino alla fine scarsa e banale, piattaissima.
L'unica nota di merito è la psicologia dei personaggi, che non ho trovato i soliti pezzi di carton More...
Oct 26, 2009
Ditto
rated it:
pas gw lihat cover buku ini, gw pikir akan mendapatkan bacaan tentang kehidupan anak-anak..sedikit menggugah..sedikit ceria..ternyata eh ternyata..udah lama gw gak membaca buku yang menakutkan..seperti nonton Orphan, gw merasa takut dengan tindakan TillyTilly berikutnya yang mungkin menyakiti Jess..
penulisnya menulis ini saat berusia, brp, 14 tahun? emangnya dia tumbuh di lingkungan seperti apa sih, kok serem amat karyanya..
penulisnya menulis ini saat berusia, brp, 14 tahun? emangnya dia tumbuh di lingkungan seperti apa sih, kok serem amat karyanya..
