Little Girls
Nicholas Aflleje, Sarah DeLaine, Ashley Lanni-Hoye & Adam Wollet
Image Comics, 2019
Review by Nikki Holmes
Little Girls is a standalone horror graphic novel from the creative team of Nicholas Aflleje (writer), Sarah DeLaine (illustrator), Ashley Lanni-Hoye (colourist), and Adam Wollet (letterer). Released on April 24, 2019, this original graphic novel is about two new friends—Sam and Lielet—who discover a legendary, brain-eating monster from Kenyan folklore in 2004 Harar, Ethiopia. Sam is an American living with her father while Lielet was born and raised in the country. What connects these two characters together is that they’re both outsiders: Sam has never connected with anyone because she moves a lot and is a foreigner, while Lielet is a tomboy who gets picked on by some of the older girls. On the way home from school one day, Sam comes across Lielet and an older girl arguing. Sam manages to get the older girl to back off and Lielet asks if she’d like to go with her to find the culprit of the recent livestock killings, which left the animals with only their brains eaten. After an unsuccessful attempt at finding the culprit and later on being chased through the streets by the monster, Sam and Lielet devise a plan to defeat it and end the killings.
As someone who doesn’t often read the horror genre, I didn’t know what to expect. What really caught my attention was the use of repeating panels throughout the story, which built up the suspense when necessary. I was eager to know how things were going to unfold. As Sarah DeLaine herself said in a Q&A about the graphic novel, “Suspense is found in the quiet moments, not in the action.” There’s a scene when Sam and Lielet first go looking for the culprit and after getting spooked, they run off. While walking back home, there are five panels that show nearly identical images. The first three show Sam and Lielet walking, while the last two show nothing but grass, shrubs, and trees. I found myself searching for small differences in the background and I believe this is what the illustrator was going for—to make the reader wonder if something or someone was following Sam and Lielet.
The artwork itself matches the tone of the story and it’s pretty detailed—especially the natural landscapes and animals. The colours that were used help to situate the book in a rural location with its earthy tones and neutral colours, and the monster itself is as terrifying as the characters find it. It gave me goosebumps every time it appeared with its white eyes and jagged teeth.
There were moments that captured Harari culture such as hyena feeding—which still goes on today—and the traditional wall decorations seen inside Lielet’s home. There were also small moments of some characters speaking in Amharic and/or Oromo, which added a bit more realism. Besides that, it’s easy to forget that this story takes place in Ethiopia. I would’ve liked to have seen more Ethiopian/Harari culture in the narrative or at least in the background of panels, to help ground the story’s setting and learn about the culture as well. It would’ve been interesting to see part of the stone wall and more of people’s way of life in rural Harar.
The writing was easy to understand, and Nicholas managed to capture the voices of adolescent girls very well. From their casual conversations about starting a band to their favourite slasher movies, it reminded me about the types of conversations I had with friends at that age. For example, there’s a scene of Sam and Lielet randomly breaking into song while walking home and laughing about it afterwards. It’s also shown what the girls get up to during the week and they’re having sleepovers, watching a horror film, and reading a book on Tokyo fashion. I remember during my pre-teen years my friends and I would fawn over the dresses in bridal magazines in a similar way.
The narrative fell short for me on several points and there were some issues with regard to clarity when it came to the overarching story. It was unclear to me why this monster exists, where it came from, or what it wanted. I was left with more questions than answers and I wasn’t sure what to make of the ending as it felt rushed and dissatisfying. What is known in the story as the Harari Animal War, a war between hyenas and lions, comes to an end and the monster is defeated. Towards the end, the narrator mentions, “Although the region did not know the details, they were still left with the aftermath.” Other than dead lions and hyenas, we’re not shown how the aftermath of this animal war affected those in the village since it didn’t seem like the monster posed a real threat to the community. The narrator continues, “Everyone had their theories. Some say it was an echo of the Eritrean-Ethiopian war.” It’s possible that Nicholas was trying to allude that this story was a metaphor for that war but I don’t think many would pick up on that unless they knew about that conflict beforehand.
Moreover, I felt that Sam and Lielet lacked agency. Soon after meeting, Sam agrees to follow Lielet to find the culprit of the recent killings. There’s no pushback or hesitation, and both girls are ready to do anything without giving a second thought. Even after coming into contact with the monster, their motivation to end the killings isn’t clear. In fact, the general public weren’t too concerned for their own safety, and Sam and Lielet weren’t in any real danger. When it seemed like one of the girls died, there wasn’t much emotional pull for me to feel that sense of defeat.
On a more positive note, these shortcomings don’t detract from the relatability of their conversations and traits, and the detailed artwork of the animals and landscapes. I think Sam and Lielet are relatable in the sense that they’re both outsiders. Like Sam, I moved to a different country at a young age and found it hard to fit in or connect with my classmates. Like Lielet, I’m a tomboy at heart but that isn’t my defining characteristic. If read through the lens of a kid, Sam and Lielet are definitely average young people doing what kids usually do. Their budding friendship helps shape both girls and we can see that Sam—someone who found it hard to connect—has finally made a friend and opened up. Nicholas shows us that at the end of the day, humans are all trying to find a way to connect to others. We long for relatability and forging strong bonds.
Nikki Holmes hails from Toronto, Canada, and enjoys the fantastical side of fiction. She graduated from the University of Toronto Scarborough, where she studied English Literature and Creative Writing. She is currently working on her debut novel and during her free time, studies French and rewatches episodes of The Office. You can find her on Twitter at @jeveuxharibo.