26a

Starred review from July 25, 2005
From the very beginning of Evan's first novel (winner of Britain's inaugural Orange Award for New Writers), readers know they're in for something rich and strange. Two small furry creatures scurry through the night to their deaths—and are reborn as twins Georgia and Bessi. The middle daughters of Aubrey Hunter and his Nigerian wife, Ida, they occupy the attic room at 26a Waifer Avenue in London. When the twins are eight, the family takes a three-year sojourn in Nigeria, where they live a relatively grander life ("We had servants," Bessi later brags), but where Georgia has a terrifying run-in with a "ju-ju man" that changes her. The novel meanders as the girls grow, pausing to explore an intricate weave of childhood fantasy, African religion, nightmare, pop mythology and the intense inner world of identical twins. All the Hunters are drawn with care: hard-working Ida, who misses her mother so desperately that she converses with her daily in her head; hard-drinking Aubrey, whom liquor transforms into a Mr. Hyde; older sister Bel, rushing into adult sexuality; little Kemy, in love with Michael Jackson; and the twins, with their jokes, adventures and plans for a flapjack empire. This is a funny, haunting, marvelous debut.

September 1, 2005
In her debut novel, already published in England to great acclaim, Evans draws deeply on her own experience as a twin. We first meet twins Bessi and Georgia Hunter -part Nigerian, part English -when they are two furry animals scrambling in a mythic prebirth forest. Crossing the road, they are hit by a car and so enter the world. Initially, this kind of mythopoetic vision feels odd, not so much esoteric as slightly contrived. But as it follows the twins throughout -as they discover boys and dream of building a flapjack empire -it becomes increasingly convincing, an effective means of conveying their unique bond. As they grow -together and apart -in their loft at 26a Waifer Avenue, London, a kind of nightmare creeps into their fairy-tale world; it is uncertain they will survive it. As Georgia comments to Bessi, "I don't think we were meant for this world." Evans's language can be uneven, veering toward the precious (two characters make "butterly love") or the strange, but she can also turn a haunting, perfect phrase. A promising debut from a young author with much yet to offer. [See Prepub Alert, "LJ" 5/15/05.] -Tania Barnes, "Library Journal"

Copyright 2005 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

January 1, 2006
Adult/High School -The four sisters at 26 Waifer Avenue, in a somewhat shabby London neighborhood, must deal with their alcoholic English father and their spirit-talking Nigerian mother. Twins Bessi and Georgia Hunter create their own world in their attic room. Although their older and younger siblings are allowed to share in it occasionally, the bond between Bessi and Georgia goes beyond typical sisterhood, and the two cannot always determine where one ends and the other begins. While they are growing up, this is not such an issue, but as they approach adulthood, the conflict between separate interests and loyalty to one another becomes more pronounced. Yet even as Bessi tries to forge a distinct identity, and a heartbreaking secret of Georgia's threatens to come between them, they find that they cannot easily escape the oneness of their relationship. Evans's first novel brims with lyricism and mysticism. The author deftly captures the voices of all six family members as each one struggles with questions of identity. Meeting the topics of depression and suicide head-on, Evans treats these issues with a respect and grace that underscore the eventual triumph of spirit within the Hunter family." -Kim Dare, Fairfax County Public Library System, VA"

Copyright 2006 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.