HOW YOU GROW WINGS

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.