Reviews

Lucky Girl by Irene Muchemi-Ndiritu

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zire_'s review against another edition

informative reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I loved the story and I think many African readers from Conservative homes will relate to Soila and will fall for Akhenaten, because he is a vision of everything Africa is, is not and fights to both be and not be. However, Soila is also very childish in her thinking and never seems to outgrow her thoughts despite her mature actions in caring for her mother and being a filial daughter.

tillyj92's review

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challenging emotional hopeful slow-paced

4.0

A nuanced coming of age story of a wealthy young Kenyan woman moving to America for university and discovering all of the privilege and challenges she had been unconsciously carrying. The concise and quietly impactful writing style drew me in from the start; Irene Muchemi-Ndiritu’s debut novel is thought-provoking and heartbreaking.

The story begins in the 1990s, and we follow teenage Soila, whose mother is an enterprising Nairobi millionaire and a formidable young matriarch. Soila grows up surrounded by aunts and her grandmother, attending private school and being sheltered by her overbearing mother. When she gets older and begins to chafe under her mother’s many rules, Soila discovers a passion for photography and decides to go to university in America. Before leaving, she experiences a traumatic assault from a trusted family friend, and though she struggles with her self-worth, she knows she must leave her home to find herself.

In New York, Soila excels in school but is pressured by her mother into a soulless finance job. She makes friends, but soon realizes she has no reference point for the experience of being Black in America. She falls in love, but knows her mother will never accept her romantic choices. When disaster strikes, again and again Soila must choose how she wants to live her own life.

While this novel presented many thoughtful and unique perspectives, I found that sometimes the dialogue felt impersonal in its debates of polarizing issues like abortion, religion, and cultural differences. Our main character Soila went through an almost unimaginable amount of trauma and sadness, and though there were moments of happiness, I felt that each happy moment was just the calm before the storm.

Overall, this is a strong debut novel from an author with an assured voice, and I found myself confronting many of my own ideas about privilege while reading. “Lucky Girl” is undoubtedly a powerful read, and I’m sure I will be thinking about it for a long time.

Thanks to Random House - Dial Press and NetGalley for providing me with an e-ARC in exchange for an honest review!

lacers526's review against another edition

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reflective slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

This book isn’t bad by any means, but I just found it so boring. We are just following Soila as she lives her day to day and acclimates to moving to the United States while still trying to please her family in Kenya. I can see this really appealing to many, especially if you enjoy literary fiction (which I don’t; I need plot). It felt very meandering to me, and I didn’t connect to any of the characters or the story.

Overall, for what it was, it was written well. I am sure it was a pacing/lack of plot problem and completely personal. I did enjoy some of her interpersonal relationships, but some also felt so glossed over. Some areas left me wanting more while others had me wondering when we were going to move forward. I was honestly surprised when I finished this and found out it was under 350 pages. It felt closer to 500.

There is a clever romance that I enjoyed, but did also contain a decent amount of lecturing on race and culture.

I think if it sounds good to you and you enjoy a literary coming of age type story, then you may enjoy this.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

chymerra's review

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adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

4.0

Solia was raised by her stern and conservative mother, grandmother, and aunts after her father died in 1980s Kenya. Chafing against her mother’s restrictions, Solia finally was able to wear her down to attend college in New York City. After an assault by a family friend, Solia vowed never to return to Kenya. America, to her, was the land of opportunity, and she was determined to make it. But, after making friends with an African American girl on campus, Solia slowly realizes that America isn’t as wonderful as she thought. The legacy of slavery and racism in America is apparent every time she goes to a store or hears stories from her friends about how they were treated by the police or other citizens of the country. Her Kenyan upbringing made her blind to slavery and how brown/black people in America are treated. Then she falls in love with an artist, and Solia needs to make choices. Does she honor the wishes of her mother? Does she embrace her Kenyan background? Or does she continue to live in America and make her way? Is there a way to do all three?

Like most books I see floating around the blogosphere, Lucky Girl caught my attention when I saw a couple of reviews. I liked what I read and immediately added it as want to read on Goodreads (gotta love Goodreads shelves). I didn’t think I would read this book until Random House had it up as a wish on NetGalley. I hit that button and promptly forgot about it (because that’s how I am). So, imagine my surprise when I got the email that the publisher granted my wish. I am glad I got my wish granted because this book was great to read. It lived up to the reviews I read.

There are triggers in Lucky Girl. They are:

Racism: Racism is a big part of this book. Solia never experienced racism while living in Kenya. She lived in an insulated bubble. She came across as a little ignorant during discussions about race with her friends. I liked how her friends gently (and in one very memorable scene, not so gently) explained racism in America.
Suicide: Solia’s father committed suicide before the book started. Solia was kept in the dark by it until she was ten years old when her mother told her about that day. It was very graphic for a ten-year-old. It was graphic for me to read, and I am almost 46!!
Spousal Abuse: Solia’s grandmother was beaten by her grandfather daily. The abuse happened off-page and was nongraphic when Solia recounted it.
Child Abuse: Solia was verbally, emotionally, and mentally abused by her mother throughout the book.
Miscarriages: Solia’s grandmother miscarried several times due to being beaten. Nothing was graphic; it was stated as a fact.
Maiming after a bombing: Solia’s favorite aunt (Tanei) was horrifically burned in maimed in the Nairobi embassy bombing in 1998.
Sexual Assault: Solia is sexually assaulted by a priest. The priest, a close family friend, tells Solia he could sway her mother to let Solia attend college in America if she did one thing. He then assaulted her with his fingers.
Abortion: Solia gets an abortion in the late 1990s/early 2000s. The author doesn’t go into the procedure itself, but she does explore the feelings Solia experienced before, during, and after.
Grief: Solia experiences grief several times during the book.
PTSD: Solia experiences PTSD after being in one of the Twin Towers during 9-11.
Early-on set Alzehimers: Solia’s mother develops early onset Alzehimers disease towards the end of the book. It is graphic with how confused she was and how Solia struggled with the decision to take care of her.

If any of these trigger you, I recommend not reading the book.

Lucky Girl was a wonderfully written book that took critical issues in America and showed them through another set of eyes. Solia was a naive Kenyan who lived in an insulated bubble at home. When she arrived in America, she realized how insulated she was. Reading about Solia’s journey as she discovered herself was terrific. Her journey wasn’t easy and, at times, was full of pain and self-doubt. But Solia learned essential life lessons from each challenge she overcame.

There is so much about this book that I could focus on, but I will talk about two points that stood out to me the most. Solia’s naivety to racism and her job on Wall Street. I knew she would be in for a rude awakening when she arrived in America. But I wasn’t expecting her to almost look down on African Americans or think less about their plight in this country. It was hard to read her explanations for why she felt the way she did, but it was even harder to read Letitca’s comebacks. Racism was (and still is) a huge problem in this country. I am glad that the author chose to address it in Lucky Girl.

As for her job on Wall Street, I didn’t understand it. Maybe it’s just me, but why would you want to stay in a position that made you work to the point you felt numb? And why would you stay in a job that you hated? In Solia’s case, it was because her mother expected her to. I felt awful for Solia during that part of her life. She wasn’t living; she was existing, and just existing doesn’t make you happy.

There is so much more that I could write in this review, but I would end up giving away some spoilers. So, I am going to end the review here. I will say that I wasn’t surprised with how the book ended. I was surprised by where Solia ended up and who she was with.

I would recommend Lucky Girl to anyone over 21. There are language, violence, and sexual situations. Also, see my trigger warnings.

Many thanks to Random House Publishing Group -Random House, Dial Press Trade Paperback, NetGalley, and Irene Muchemi-Ndiritu for allowing me to read and review Lucky Girl. All opinions stated in this review are mine.

kimberlykesq's review against another edition

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emotional slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

katiemack's review against another edition

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emotional inspiring sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I received an eARC of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

This is an excellent coming-of-age story and debut novel. Some of the beliefs the characters state (i.e., Soila's discussions of her upbringing in Kenya and African cultures vs. other characters' experiences growing up as Black folks living in America) feel prescriptive--lots of telling rather than showing--but it's an effective technique to outline issues that should be considered more (especially by white folks). The scenes with Soila's mom are infuriating and tragic, but again, these difficult circumstances are necessary to showcase. The ending is surprisingly heartwarming (in the best possible way).

Content Warnings

lenny9987's review against another edition

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emotional reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

At this point I don’t really remember if Irene Muchemi-Ndiritu’s upcoming novel, Lucky Girl was one that I was invited to preview or if the description caught my attention and I requested it myself. It also doesn’t really matter because I’m glad I got the chance to read it either way. Exploring themes of family and race across cultures, Lucky Girl packs a number of well-paced emotional punches that reinforce the tension of being caught between two worlds. This novel beautifully captures the kinds of nuance that can only be truly understood through lived experience, allowing for a deeper examination of Muchemi-Ndiritu’s central themes.

Soila always knew growing up that her mother was protective of her. As she becomes a teenager, the line between protective and controlling begins to blur and Soila begins to chafe under the weight of her mother’s expectations. Gratitude and a sense of duty swirl together and battle with Soila’s desire to find her own way, to live a life that makes her happy without disappointing her mother. Escaping to New York for college is a start, but there are times when the shadow her mother casts from back home in Kenya proves large enough to reach into the corners of her life in the US. It’s more than just her mother that has her reflecting on her life in both places. Soila discovers just how little she understands of American racism when her experience of being Black brushes against those of her closest friends. Ultimately, Soila is forced to decide how and where she wants to live and what (or rather, who) will that decision cost her.

For my complete review, please visit my blog: https://wp.me/pUEx4-1hF

emmasbookishself's review against another edition

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challenging emotional reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

An incredible coming-of-age story about a Kenyan woman, Soila who travels to the USA for school. While in school she is confronted by the vast differences when it comes to poverty, racism, culture, and how her own beliefs have the potential to be prejudiced.
I liked how being in America did open Soila’s eyes to these differences and helped her to connect with her half sister.
This was a very eyeopening read when it comes to such topics, while also taking on other important topics such as: predators, religion, abortion and Alzheimer’s.

mwetzel's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring medium-paced

4.5

Content Warnings

ramblinhamlin's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

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