Suicide Gyal

Suicide Gyal is an original, insightful and well thought out novel with strong diverse characters who each have their own unique voices that add to the story. It's a very relevant read.

THIS BOOK!!! I cannot even begin to explain how much I was pulled into this story! I couldn't put it down!

Essentially this book is a mystery, but it is also so much more than that! It’s a story of mental health that explores an alternative way to view a “mental illness” which usually has such negative connotations that schizophrenia seems to have. It explores the afterlife and a plain of existence that not everyone can see, but some people can. Racial profiling and racism in everyday life is touched on, as well as being gay and Black and also being Gay in regards to different religious beliefs and the way it can affect relationships. Gentrification and social cleansing are also important themes for discussion. So, so many important and interesting topics are explored that are very relevant in today's societies.

Sharon is a character that has so much depth! She has been diagnosed with schizophrenia, but you are offered and alternative view to this “mental illness” that you would not usually experience. Growing up on a housing estate, she is used to and exposed to situations and experiences that some people would never have experienced in their life. Sharon is strong and you can see this throughout the book, despite mental illness usually depicting people as weak, Sharon is more than her mental illness it seems, she is unique. She can see another plane of existence, in which she experiences visits from people who have passed and one who needs her help in order to move on. In this case April, a girl who was murdered on her estate when she was younger and was found in the canal, but no one was ever charged with her murder.

I love the diverse voices in this book. Diversity is also another important exploration within this story and is very relevant right now. It is mentioned that one of the characters is Gay and Black and he is often seen as one of the school's poster boys to promote diversity within the school, along with a disabled boy. Attending a BLM protest over the weekend a young woman spoke about her personal experience in school and being put on the school website, just because of the colour of her skin, in order to make the school look diverse and more favourable in the eyes of investors, the school board and future applicants. But the thing is people want and deserve to be on the website for their achievements, not just because they are different or a minority, because that doesn’t show real diversity in your schools, if you have to stage a diverse photo. This book really has covered a lot of topics that I personally haven’t read in other books but have seen and heard about in real life. This book feels real and so do the characters.

This truly is a gripping mystery and I couldn’t put it down. The journey you go on with Sharon is so cleverly written. I am truly glad I was able to have the opportunity to read this book.

This book was such a good read! It definitely kept me on the edge of my seat, wanting to read more and so I read this book in under one day!!! There are so many twists and turns and in all honesty, I never saw the ending of the book coming, or other parts that happened either. There is so much in relation to culture and race and religion which was such an honest thing to read being a white person, it really opened my eyes to the other sides of people of colour live. It was especially touching reading this as of the current stand for black lives, which made the read even closer to my heart in understanding. The story was really easy to follow and I enjoyed all the different aspects that were included. It touched on many different topics that other writers may be scared to speak about but it made the story feel more relatable at moments. Many trigger warning for this book but past that it was a story I really enjoyed!

I really loved this book! I was hooked from the start, and as it is quite short I read it in one go. Highly recommend

Socrates once said of the youth in his day, “they have bad manners, contempt for authority; they show disrespect for elders and love chatter in place of exercise.” Some might say not much has changed since the days of ancient Greece. However, the novel, Suicide Gyal, by M.Y. Antrobus lives in the world of today’s teens who have so often been betrayed by the adults charged with their education and protection. These youth might tell Socrates to, “walk a mile in our shoes and then STFU!”

Suicide Gyal follows Sharon, a British student of Nigerian descent, who is growing up in Hackney, an underprivileged area of East London. Due to an accident and several emotionally damaging losses, Sharon is now haunted by several ghosts and suffers from recurring nightmares. One of the ghosts is April, a girl from her neighborhood who was murdered. Sharon thinks she knows who the killer is, but because so many adults in her life have let her down, she doesn’t know who she can trust. The ghosts warn her that if she doesn’t do something about it her older sister may be the next to die.

In her self-published novel, Antrobus explores the issues of displacement and disillusionment in the idea of home. There is little safety in Sharon’s world. She and her friends are surrounded by danger, and they suffer losses in their ranks from suicide, kidnapping, and murder. Since the adults won’t help, and in many cases perpetuate the danger, Sharon fears her only option is to kill or be killed. Antrobus displays Sharon’s world through the lens of the Nigerian immigrant’s experience. They only bring trouble upon themselves if they speak to the police. As a daughter, Sharon sees that women can possess strength and power, yet tradition still favors men.

With the doggedness of a film noir detective, Sharon skulks, Marlow-like, through her neighborhood on her bicycle observing and questioning. Antrobus also peppers in the Nigerian view of the supernatural. The visitations are terrifying, frustratingly elusive, yet they provide help when most needed. Suicide Gyal has many suspenseful scenes where the pages just fly past, however, the pace of the novel is tripped up at times by extraneous details and long passages of wandering introspection.

Socrates may have been in a bad mood the day he disparaged the young, so better to turn to Mandela who encouraged the youth of today to, “be the scriptwriters of your destiny and feature yourselves as stars that showed the way towards a brighter future.” Antrobus may send her characters through darkness and horror, but she gives them the strength to fight their battles despite adults who want to bring them down.

I was absolutely captivated by this story from page one! The voice that this story is written with is so vulnerable and authentic, the story is original, the characters are well developed and the voices are diverse. It is such a gripping and addictive book that is a quick read! I'd say it's perfect for a rainy weekend in. I can't wait to reread this in the future.

this was a really interesting read, the characters were great and I really enjoyed how the author handled hard topics. I look forward to more from the author.

This book was right up my alley and I devoured it. I love the premise, the way the story is told, and how gritty and real it all felt. This story is very triggering, but it was so so amazing! I honestly couldn't read it fast enough while also telling myself I needed to slow down and enjoy it. I cried, I screamed and I loved every moment of reading this book.