The Icarus Girl

The audacious first novel from the award-winning and bestselling author of Boy, Snow, Bird and What Is Not Yours Is Not Yours - "Oyeyemi brilliantly conjures up the raw emotions and playground banter of childhood. . . . A masterly first novel."-The New York Times Book Review

"Remarkable. . . . As original as it is unsettling, The Icarus Girl runs straight at the heart of what it means to belong."- O, The Oprah Magazine

Jessamy "Jess" Harrison, age eight, is the child of an English father and a Nigerian mother. Possessed of an extraordinary imagination, she has a hard time fitting in at school. It is only when she visits Nigeria for the first time that she makes a friend who understands her: a ragged little girl named TillyTilly. But soon TillyTilly's visits become more disturbing, until Jess realizes she doesn't actually know who her friend is at all. Drawing on Nigerian mythology, Helen Oyeyemi presents a striking variation on the classic literary theme of doubles -- both real and spiritual -- in this lyrical and bold debut.

Binding Type: Paperback
Publisher: Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group
Published: 04/11/2006
ISBN: 9781400078752
Pages: 352
Weight: 0.80lbs
Size: 7.90h x 5.10w x 0.80d

Review Citations: New York Times 04/30/2006 pg. 24
Kliatt 09/01/2006 pg. 26

Accelerated Reader Quiz #/Name: 88696 / Icarus Girl
Reading Level: 6.3 / Interest Level: Upper Grade / Point Value: 15