How You Grow Wings

Starred review from June 27, 2022
Onoseta’s devastatingly vulnerable debut, told nonlinearly in two teen Nigerian girls’ dual perspectives, portrays a tempestuous sisterhood amid colorism, familial trauma, and financial precarity. Cheta and Zam’s antithetical personalities have always put them at odds while navigating their verbally and physically abusive mother and emotionally withholding father. Confident and stubborn Cheta receives the brunt of their mother’s ire, and is increasingly resentful of her younger sister Zam, who avoids confrontation at all costs. When only Zam is invited to live with wealthy family members in Abuja, the promise of freedom and comfort for only one sister widens the rift between them. As the siblings traverse their own paths—Zam in Abuja and Cheta, who fled following Zam’s departure to live with friends, in Benin City—they each reflect on and reconcile with the hurt, loneliness, and uncertainty they were forced to live through. Onoseta uses visceral prose to sensitively depict Zam and Cheta’s home life and the abuse they endured. The teens’ complicated familial relationships, further ravaged by wealth disparities and societal presumptions, presents an arresting look at two girls embarking on diverging futures in a character-driven story that promises—and delivers—hope for a brighter tomorrow. Ages 14–up. Agent: Kari Sutherland, Bradford Literary.

Starred review from June 15, 2022
Two sisters escape their toxic home lives and go on to have markedly different experiences. Growing up in rural Nigeria with an abusive Mama and a silent Papa, sisters Cheta and Zam use opposing strategies to survive. Older sister Cheta deliberately baits their mother and doesn't hide her emotions. Zam hides in plain sight, avoiding conflict, staying quiet, and remaining dutiful. This results in the sisters having a contentious relationship that borders on hatred due to Mama's preference for Zam. Narrated in alternating first-person points of view, the novel tells each sister's story in ways that are moving and show how understandable the decisions they make are, even when they can't empathize with one another. When their rich Aunty Sophie and Uncle Emeke invite Zam to move to Abuja with them, Zam suddenly experiences wealth like she never before imagined. Cheta, on the other hand, is left behind: Hurt, jealous, and exhausted, she flees to Benin City to crash with a friend and try to make ends meet. When the sisters return home for the Christmas holiday, it is clear they are on divergent paths. Onoseta explores a range of social issues, including class, colorism, intergenerational trauma, and colonization, through a masterfully crafted and diverse cast of characters. This nonlinear narrative presents a universal story: girls striving to find their way in a patriarchal society. A stunning and emotional debut. (Fiction. 14-18)

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Starred review from September 1, 2022

Gr 9 Up-Teenage sisters Cheta and Zam resent each other intensely. Long the target of their mother's violent physical abuse, 17-year-old Cheta has developed into a self-centered survivor with an iron will, intent on leaving the village of Alihame, Nigeria, behind and never looking back. But when a wealthy aunt and uncle invite one of the girls to move in with them, they pick compliant, passive Zam instead. In Aunty Sophie and Uncle Emeke's over-the-top Abuja mansion, Zam feels out of place as she navigates tensions within the household and her own struggles with anxiety. Unwilling to remain stuck in Alihame, Cheta moves to Benin City and begins selling drugs as darker options present themselves-like following in the footsteps of a classmate whose middle-aged sugar daddy bankrolls her lavish lifestyle. Told in Zam and Cheta's alternating perspectives, debut author Onoseta's novel offers exceptionally rich character development, slowly unraveling the history of the sisters' relationship until it becomes as easy to empathize with each of them as it is to understand why they hate each other. Parallel plots drive towards a surprising, powerful moment of intersection. Modern social and political issues are masterfully woven into the narrative, including the erosion of Nigerian languages and religion in the postcolonial era, class divides, colorism, and sexual exploitation of underage girls. VERDICT An unforgettable, character-driven exploration of sisterhood, survival, and self-advocacy perfect for fans of Elizabeth Acevedo or Ibi Zoboi.-Elizabeth Giles

Copyright 2022 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

November 1, 2022
Nigerian sisters Cheta and Zam could not be more different. Fiery, outspoken Cheta takes the brunt of their mother's severe physical and mental abuse, while quiet, withdrawn Zam attempts to keep her head down to avoid them both. The sisters' life paths diverge when Zam is welcomed into their wealthy aunt and uncle's mansion in Abuja and Cheta is left behind at their parents' rural home. Eventually, Cheta leaves and finds herself trying to survive in desperate circumstances as a result, while Zam deals with the aftermath of a frightening incident in the family. In her riveting debut novel, Onoseta draws readers into a story of a contemporary family grappling with myriad issues in a variety of ways. The compelling tale, with alternating narration by the two sisters, boasts a complex, multifaceted cast. The rich cultural, linguistic, and social customs of Nigerian life are on full display, transporting readers into diverse lives and homes. While the difficult themes of abuse, familial dysfunction, classism, and colorism, among others, are front and center, the sisters' stories take readers on a rewarding journey from brokenness toward wholeness and healing. Monique Harris

(Copyright 2022 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

July 1, 2022
Nigerian sisters Cheta and Zam could not be more different. Fiery, outspoken Cheta takes the brunt of their mother's severe physical and mental abuse, while quiet, withdrawn Zam attempts to keep her head down to avoid them both. The sisters' life paths diverge when Zam is welcomed into their wealthy aunt and uncle's mansion in Abuja and Cheta is left behind at their parents' rural home. Eventually, Cheta leaves and finds herself trying to survive in desperate circumstances as a result, while Zam deals with the aftermath of a frightening incident in the family. In her riveting debut novel, Onoseta draws readers into a story of a contemporary family grappling with myriad issues in a variety of ways. The compelling tale, with alternating narration by the two sisters, boasts a complex, multifaceted cast. The rich cultural, linguistic, and social customs of Nigerian life are on full display, transporting readers into diverse lives and homes. While the difficult themes of abuse, familial dysfunction, classism, and colorism, among others, are front and center, the sisters' stories take readers on a rewarding journey from brokenness toward wholeness and healing.

(Copyright 2022 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)