The Attic Child
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- Create Date：2023-01-20 05:51:39
- Update Date：2025-09-06
- Status：finish
- Author：Lola Jaye
- ISBN：1529064589
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
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Summary
Two children trapped in the same attic， almost a century apart， bound by a secret。
1907: Twelve-year-old Celestine spends most of his time locked in an attic room of a large house by the sea。 Taken from his homeland and treated as an unpaid servant， he dreams of his family in Africa even if， as the years pass， he struggles to remember his mother’s face， and sometimes his real name 。 。 。
Decades later， Lowra， a young orphan girl born into wealth and privilege， will find herself banished to the same attic。 Lying under the floorboards of the room is an old porcelain doll， an unusual beaded claw necklace and， most curiously， a sentence etched on the wall behind an old cupboard， written in an unidentifiable language。 Artefacts that will offer her a strange kind of comfort， and lead her to believe that she was not the first child to be imprisoned there 。 。 。
Lola Jaye has created a hauntingly powerful， emotionally charged and unique dual-narrative novel about family secrets， love and loss， identity and belonging， seen through the lens of Black British History in The Attic Child。
1907: Twelve-year-old Celestine spends most of his time locked in an attic room of a large house by the sea。 Taken from his homeland and treated as an unpaid servant， he dreams of his family in Africa even if， as the years pass， he struggles to remember his mother’s face， and sometimes his real name 。 。 。
Decades later， Lowra， a young orphan girl born into wealth and privilege， will find herself banished to the same attic。 Lying under the floorboards of the room is an old porcelain doll， an unusual beaded claw necklace and， most curiously， a sentence etched on the wall behind an old cupboard， written in an unidentifiable language。 Artefacts that will offer her a strange kind of comfort， and lead her to believe that she was not the first child to be imprisoned there 。 。 。
Lola Jaye has created a hauntingly powerful， emotionally charged and unique dual-narrative novel about family secrets， love and loss， identity and belonging， seen through the lens of Black British History in The Attic Child。
Reviews
Monica Garcia
，
What a powerful and emotional read。 The life cruelty as a child and going into adulthood just trying to survive。
Carly Lederer
，
I love when you can feel an author's passion for a topic jumping out of their story。 I thought throughout this entire book that it was obvious how much effort Lola Jaye put into getting the historical part of her fiction right。 It was a clearly a labor of love and was definitely worth the time she put in。 The Attic Child told 3 stories from 3 different time periods， and while it definitely took quite a while to get where it was going - I was never not fully invested in how all of it ended。 I was I love when you can feel an author's passion for a topic jumping out of their story。 I thought throughout this entire book that it was obvious how much effort Lola Jaye put into getting the historical part of her fiction right。 It was a clearly a labor of love and was definitely worth the time she put in。 The Attic Child told 3 stories from 3 different time periods， and while it definitely took quite a while to get where it was going - I was never not fully invested in how all of it ended。 I was absolutely eyes-wide engrossed when the 3 stories were finally coming together towards the end and chest-sobbed when they finally did。 Where is Reese on these actual bangers？ 。。。more
Sarah
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3。5 ⭐️ Good story。 Heartbreaking and beautiful but I kind of felt like it was a little dull。。？ Something was missing and I can’t quite put a finger on it。 I don’t love Lowra… she’s annoying and kind of petty。。 and I get her life situation was horrific and she’s the victim but she’s not a victim to EVERYTHING in her life。 Dikembe is a beautiful character and the way he handled different situations life threw at him is awe inspiring butttt also not really realistic 😬 anyway， it was a good story bu 3。5 ⭐️ Good story。 Heartbreaking and beautiful but I kind of felt like it was a little dull。。？ Something was missing and I can’t quite put a finger on it。 I don’t love Lowra… she’s annoying and kind of petty。。 and I get her life situation was horrific and she’s the victim but she’s not a victim to EVERYTHING in her life。 Dikembe is a beautiful character and the way he handled different situations life threw at him is awe inspiring butttt also not really realistic 😬 anyway， it was a good story but I felt like something is missing。 。。。more
Melissa Silva
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Wow。。。this one was a good one。 👏 👏 👏
Taylor Shockey
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The changing perspective is awesome and really tells the two separate stories concurrently。 It is a touching coming into into your life story as well as shows historical background into how black people were treated years ago as well as how skin color still affects how people are treated and seen in the world。
Jenilee Houghtailing
，
I finally found a book that is just as great as "The Yellow Wife"！！！So many unexpected twists & connections & such an incredible story。 Could not put it down。 Highly recommend！ I finally found a book that is just as great as "The Yellow Wife"！！！So many unexpected twists & connections & such an incredible story。 Could not put it down。 Highly recommend！ 。。。more
Donna Schoening
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When I read an amazing book & then read the author’s note at the end that feels so emotional to me， I can’t give this book less than 5 stars。 The two children in the story， present time Lowra and past time Dikembe， have a century old connection that’s just so sad & yet hopeful。 It was horrifying to read about how terrible Black children were treated in Britain （or anywhere else for that matter） during the early 1900’s。 And yet we must read these types of books to learn & not make the same mistak When I read an amazing book & then read the author’s note at the end that feels so emotional to me， I can’t give this book less than 5 stars。 The two children in the story， present time Lowra and past time Dikembe， have a century old connection that’s just so sad & yet hopeful。 It was horrifying to read about how terrible Black children were treated in Britain （or anywhere else for that matter） during the early 1900’s。 And yet we must read these types of books to learn & not make the same mistakes again。 This was just a fabulous read from front to back！ 。。。more
Carrie Mangan
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Sooo good （and so very devastating） - I could not put this down！！ Especially towards the end， it felt like there were a lot of revelations that I didn’t expect。 The authors note on the historical person that she based it off of made me tear up - I just love historical fiction like this。
Debra Aubuchon
，
At times this book was difficult to read due to some of the most horrific experiences human beings have been subject to in our history。 Yet， in the end what shines through is human resilience， beautiful relationships and joy for lives worth living。 If you can handle difficult and heavy topics， then I highly recommend this book！
Holly Shouse
，
3。5…。 This one caught my attention at the beginning… kind of lost me in the middle… but then the ending had me back again and I couldn’t put the book down。
Mazie
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I was captivated by this story and I learned pieces of history I didn’t know about。 I didn’t enjoy the narration of Lowra; overall she seemed too young and some of the writing was too simple and conversational for me。 But overall a really enjoyable and satisfying book。
Margaret Carmel
，
This is such a heartwarming， yet informative， story about colonialism。 And yes， I know how hard that is to pull off。 The Attic Child is a duel perspective historical fiction story about two children， one in the 1970s and the other at the turn of the century， locked in the same attic of a grand home along the English seaside。 Dikembe is the first of the children， a Congolese boy who is sold to a renowned English explorer and removed from his village at a young age。 He then becomes the explorer's This is such a heartwarming， yet informative， story about colonialism。 And yes， I know how hard that is to pull off。 The Attic Child is a duel perspective historical fiction story about two children， one in the 1970s and the other at the turn of the century， locked in the same attic of a grand home along the English seaside。 Dikembe is the first of the children， a Congolese boy who is sold to a renowned English explorer and removed from his village at a young age。 He then becomes the explorer's son， sort of， and attends school， serves as his companion and is generally a curiosity with his rich friends。 It's uncomfortable for him， but becomes even more so when the explorer dies and he's stuck as a servant for the couple who inherit the house。 The other child is Lowra， who comes to find herself locked in the same attic Dikembe was during his servitude by her abusive stepmother。 There she finds artifacts of Dikembe's and writings he etched in the wall， which eventually led her to search for him and discover so much more about herself， her trauma， her family and the legacy of colonialism and how we choose to memorialize colonizers。 With the timelines switching back and forth and the stories meshing together， the story moves quickly and keeps you guessing as to how it will conclude。 And despite the tough subject matter， it earns a big AWWWE as an ending。 Something that works really well in this book is how it reckons with history and how people and actions are remembered， and how racism is often complex and pushed under the rug。 Watching Dikembe struggle through how he was treated in England as a Black man was fascinating， but watching Lowra wrestle with what her country did to Dikembe and how it honors his child trafficker added a whole other layer。 It speaks to the importance of learning hidden history， confronting your trauma and your country's own role in evil。 This is a great book and I'm surprised it hasn't gotten more hype。 。。。more
Stacey Trussoni
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Started out slow and took me a bit to get into it， as the author was building the story and they didn’t tie together let。 Really interesting once it got going。
Roxie
，
This book introduced me to an excellent story line。 It was sad， propelling， and at the same time invigorating！ I found myself at times not wanting to put the book down！ Some of the characters in the book I loved and some I absolutely despised。 I would have given this book 5 stars but the story was so long that it started to drag。 The voice of one of the characters was somewhat boring and their story not as interesting。 Overall it was a good book。
Brenda Scott
，
3。5 I thought the overall story was good but it dragged in places and way too long and wordy。
Sam Yager
，
I read 11 5/5 star books in a row before this one， so I’m pretty mad at it for ruining my streak。 But honestly the execution of this is an insult to the topics it tried to cover。 On the surface it’s a story of racism， colonialism， and child abide， that is written so simplistically that you never get to see the depth of the themes。 Lowra’s chapters were the worst。 You know those books that try to create mystery and intrigue by ending every chapter with something like “and then I saw HER” or “and I read 11 5/5 star books in a row before this one， so I’m pretty mad at it for ruining my streak。 But honestly the execution of this is an insult to the topics it tried to cover。 On the surface it’s a story of racism， colonialism， and child abide， that is written so simplistically that you never get to see the depth of the themes。 Lowra’s chapters were the worst。 You know those books that try to create mystery and intrigue by ending every chapter with something like “and then I saw HER” or “and that’s when I remembered it。 The thing from my childhood”？ The ones that reference some person or being without explaining who it is to try and get you to want to keep reading to find out？ I can’t even count how many times Lowra’s chapters did something like this。 Nor can I describe to you how cringey it is。 Words don’t do the cringe justice。 It genuinely felt like Lowra’s chapters were just describing a different character or setting than Dikembe’s chapters， but that they were written by an entirely different person。 There was no cohesion between the two stories and I was constantly wondering why her story even needing to be included。 Dikembe’s chapters are fine， but still not written well enough to do the story justice。 It’s a good concept with bad execution。 。。。more
Liz Vick Ryan
，
4。5 stars
Ciera
，
Good book。 About half way through the book got really good but there is a lot of build up story that for me was drawn out a little too long。 Overall good story though。
Julie
，
This took me a long time to read。 I felt like I couldn't make it move。 Great idea for a story， but the attic hardly seemed to play a role。 It was more a premise to drive a plot。 The scope was already huge， so I needed the story to move more or include less。 I also noticed that 3 times someone would send Lowra and Monty away and then call them right back。 I think it was to create suspense or make the reader worry that the investigation was at a deadend， but I started to expect it。 There were a lo This took me a long time to read。 I felt like I couldn't make it move。 Great idea for a story， but the attic hardly seemed to play a role。 It was more a premise to drive a plot。 The scope was already huge， so I needed the story to move more or include less。 I also noticed that 3 times someone would send Lowra and Monty away and then call them right back。 I think it was to create suspense or make the reader worry that the investigation was at a deadend， but I started to expect it。 There were a lot of things like this that took me out of the story， and it all comes together a bit too neatly。 I am torn， because I wanted to root for these characters。 I did feel some connection to Celestine， so it was interesting to hear that the author wrote this based on an actual picture she saw。 Lowra's story seemed thrown in to create a plot。 I guess overall， I struggled with this book， but it was okay and sometimes good。 。。。more
Tammye
，
Loved every minute of this book。 Adding author to my favorites list。
Kristen
，
Explorers？ Hunters would be more accurate。 The true history or colonization was not taught in US schools in the 80's， and I doubt it is today。 Through historical fiction such as The Attic Child， I have learned so much about the ugly truth。 This book is a must read！ I thoroughly enjoyed how the two stories， so many years apart， were weaved together。 The ending is very tidy， but this is fiction， after all， so that is ok by me。 I found the author's note to be fascinating， infuriating and sad。 Explorers？ Hunters would be more accurate。 The true history or colonization was not taught in US schools in the 80's， and I doubt it is today。 Through historical fiction such as The Attic Child， I have learned so much about the ugly truth。 This book is a must read！ I thoroughly enjoyed how the two stories， so many years apart， were weaved together。 The ending is very tidy， but this is fiction， after all， so that is ok by me。 I found the author's note to be fascinating， infuriating and sad。 。。。more
Maria
，
“Until the lions have their own historians， the history of the hunt will always glorify the hunter。”
Jacqueline
，
4。5 stars。 After a slowish start this picked up and by the halfway point I was really into this。 It reminded me of one of my favourite books， ‘Possession’ by AS Byatt with the narration switching between two time periods and the protagonists from now try to piece together the story from then using the limited information available to them。 Completely different time periods and circumstances， but a similar approach to storytelling that made the story move along at some pace， I was picking this up 4。5 stars。 After a slowish start this picked up and by the halfway point I was really into this。 It reminded me of one of my favourite books， ‘Possession’ by AS Byatt with the narration switching between two time periods and the protagonists from now try to piece together the story from then using the limited information available to them。 Completely different time periods and circumstances， but a similar approach to storytelling that made the story move along at some pace， I was picking this up any time I could。I know very little about colonialism （to my shame） so this was a horribly enlightening account of that period in our history。 I read Heart of Darkness years ago that dealt with this period， but this was far more accessible。 I could see this story being brought to life in a film。My main criticism is of the young Dkambe’s narrative- his thoughts， insights and impressions were too mature and just didn’t feel authentic as coming from a child so that pulled me out of the story a few times。 I was concerned how this was all going to end but I enjoyed the ending。 A cleverly plotted and enlightening read， recommended。 I listened to the audiobook。 。。。more
Becky Hunter
，
Occasionally found myself a bit bored with Lowra’s parts， especially in the beginning， but the rest was compelling。This didn’t affect my rating， but I was surprised by the number of typos。 Not sure if our library just got a weird edition or what， but occasionally they actually interfered with legibility。 There seemed to be some sort of error with the quotation marks。
LORI JEAN ROONEY
，
Beautifully written。 So many emotions
Amy Roebuck
，
By no means an easy read， emotionally， but well worth it。
Bernadette Spina
，
Love this book！ Couldn’t put it down and didn’t want it to end。
Jobie
，
4。5
Katie Keller
，
Favorite book quote:“Like humans， trees tell a story。 In 9 months， they go from nakedness， to half dressed， to fully flourishing bloom。 Then they repeat the process all over again。”
Ashton Tidwell
，
When I finish stories like this one， I feel the need to pause and soak in the gratefulness I feel。 The Attic Child is such a beautiful example of how books expand our love for humankind， bringing exposure， empathy， and some semblance of understanding of what people have and continue to endure。 The Attic Child is as a story of two people， decades apart， who are torn from their families and are forced to live in isolation。 This book sheds light on England’s invasion of Africa and its people， and I When I finish stories like this one， I feel the need to pause and soak in the gratefulness I feel。 The Attic Child is such a beautiful example of how books expand our love for humankind， bringing exposure， empathy， and some semblance of understanding of what people have and continue to endure。 The Attic Child is as a story of two people， decades apart， who are torn from their families and are forced to live in isolation。 This book sheds light on England’s invasion of Africa and its people， and I continue to find myself in awe of the strength and tenacity of the people who were ripped from their homes or who watched their home be destroyed right in front of them for the monetary gain of a white man。 I continue to pray that I learn to let these stories infiltrate my heart and allow more grace to flow from me。 。。。more
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=The Attic Child
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=The Attic Child&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft
The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,The Attic Child&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0