
What Is Not Yours Is Not Yours
From the award-winning author of Boy, Snow, Bird and Mr. Fox comes an enchanting collection of intertwined stories. Playful, ambitious, and exquisitely imagined, What Is Not Yours Is Not Yours is cleverly built around the idea of keys, literal and metaphorical. The key to a house, the key to a heart, the key to a secret--Oyeyemi's keys not only unlock elements of her characters' lives, they promise further labyrinths on the other side. In "Books and Roses" one special key opens a library, a garden, and clues to at least two lovers' fates. In "Is Your Blood as Red as This?" an unlikely key opens the heart of a student at a puppeteering school. "'Sorry' Doesn't Sweeten Her Tea" involves a "house of locks," where doors can be closed only with a key--with surprising, unobservable developments. And in "If a Book Is Locked There's Probably a Good Reason for That Don't You Think," a key keeps a mystical diary locked (for good reason). Oyeyemi's creative vision and storytelling are effervescent, wise, and insightful, and her tales span multiple times and landscapes as they tease boundaries between coexisting realities. Is a key a gate, a gift, or an invitation? What Is Not Yours Is Not Yours captivates as it explores the many possible answers.
Reviews

azliana aziz@heartinidleness

Ron Bronson@ron

Eugenia G@eugenia

Melody Izard@mizard

Cheryl Hedlund@cappuccino136

Kathryn@kizay

Zoe Stanford@zoettastanford

via@holdmyhand

Molly M@molsmcq

katrina montgomery@katlillie

vive@vive

Dennis Jacob Rosenfeld@rosenfeld

Aubrey Hicks@aubreyhi

Jeremy Wang@stratified_jeremy

Cat Josephson@themorrigan12

renee badenoch@restingbookface

Juliet@solesgirando

aem@anaees

Olivia Holmes@oliviabh

Francesca@regularsizedhorse

Lis@seagull

Mark Wadley@markplasma

Anna Campbell@ajcampbell

Jenni Pertuset@pertuset