My Sister, the Serial Killer

I loved this. It was such a page turner. Korede's fixation on cleanliness reminded me of Lady Macbeth. The sister dynamics reminded me of [b:We Have Always Lived in the Castle 89724 We Have Always Lived in the Castle Shirley Jackson https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1415357189s/89724.jpg 847007] and [b:Sadie 34810320 Sadie Courtney Summers https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1534431396s/34810320.jpg 56026767]. Men were blinded by their objectification of Ayoola; that reminded me of the movie Ex Machina. I loved all of it. If you have younger siblings, and especially if you are the oldest (like me), I think you'd get a lot out of this book. Korede shows up for Ayoola inevitably, and to her own detriment. As she cleans up Ayoola's messes, Ayoola sits to the side complaining about how Korede is bossy and mean. Every oldest sibling can relate to being treated like a prison guard while bailing their younger sibling(s) out. I like how Braithwaite had us consider the impact of this dynamic. Is it healthy for older siblings to sacrifice so much to keep their younger siblings safe and happy? If it's not, what older sibling would relinquish that dysfunction if their younger sibling may be hurt as a result? As Korede says, "Ayoola needs me more than I need untainted hands."Braithwaite also included fascinating points about Eurocentric beauty standards. What does Ayoola's beauty let her get away with? She has light skin. She's petite. Her facial features have different proportions than Korede. Men can't imagine someone so pleasing to look at capable of doing them harm. You hope Ayoola is weaponizing the power of pretty. You hope she's leveraging the attributes men leer at while never seeing her as fully human. You hope she is motivated by the realization that some men view girls and women as commodities, including Ayoola's own father. You want there to be a feminist spin to it all.But maybe, as Korede fears, Ayoola is like their father. Maybe Ayoola is simply someone who hurts others. A male character can be just that. Can't women be violent without that violence existing as a reaction to men's violence? Maybe Ayoola is just a serial killer. I'm not entirely sure what I'm saying anymore but the book is very good.