The Icarus Girl

Jessamy Harrison, also called Jess, or Jessy by TillyTilly, is the protagonist of the novel. She is also sometimes referred to by her Nigerian name, Wuraola. Jess is an eight-year-old girl living in England. She is part English and part Nigerian. Jess is a smart but introverted child who loves to read books and has trouble making friends at school. After returning from a visit to Nigeria, her behavior in school worsens. Jess often throws tantrums in class or cries for reasons she can’t explain.

After returning from Nigeria, Jess is frequently visited by her friend TillyTilly. It is unclear whether TillyTilly is real or a figment of Jess’s imagination. Dr. McKenzie believes that Jess may have an alter-ego or a personality disorder that could explain TillyTilly. However, it is revealed that Jess was born with a twin sister, Fern, who died as an infant. In Nigerian folklore, twins are believed to live in three worlds: the real world, the spirit world, and the Bush, “a sort of wilderness of the mind” (200). The novel is ambiguous about whether the death of Jess’s twin sister causes her to somehow have an unusual connection to the supernatural, or whether she is simply a troubled child with an overactive imagination.