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saliwali's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
relaxing
sad
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
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Racism, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Abortion, Bullying, Dementia, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, and Classism
Moderate: Colonisation, Classism, Suicide, Police brutality, Violence, Fire/Fire injury, and Slavery
Minor: Drug use, Mental illness, Classism, Death of parent, Religious bigotry, Cultural appropriation, and Infertility
tlaynejones's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Dementia, Colonisation, Sexism, Sexual assault, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Homophobia and Violence
rgander's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
relaxing
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? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death, Suicide, Racism, Pregnancy, Infertility, Death, Adult/minor relationship, Dementia, and Sexual assault
rhodesmc's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
inspiring
reflective
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
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault and Violence
bandysbooks's review
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
sad
tense
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
Do you ever come across a book simply because the cover is so bright and lovely? Well, that's exactly how I came across Lucky Girl. While scanning the upcoming releases on Netgalley, I was really drawn in by the cover design. Then I read the summary and I knew this was a book that I'd enjoy.
Lucky Girl follows a young, sheltered Kenyan woman named Soila as she attends school in the US. She's mostly been raised by her very conservative mother and aunties. As she explores life in the US, she finds things are quite a bit different than she imagined. There is a bit of conflict between her new life and the one she left behind in Kenya.
Soila was great main character because she was relatable in a lot of ways. We see her dealing with the pressures of school, relationships, and family. It all makes sense with who she is supposed to be and where she is coming from. Her reactions to some of the trauma she's experienced were relatable as well.
I loved the inclusion of Kenyan culture. There were a couple parts that explained Maasai wedding traditions and how they differ from other cultures. I thought this was particularly interesting. And though I didn't always agree with her mother's desire to control things, I did think it was interesting to see what was expected of her as a daughter.
I also really liked that love and romance is a part of this story, but it isn't all rainbows and sunshine. We see difficulties because of cultural expectations on both sides of the relationship, but ultimately the two characters work through them. This struck me as really authentic.
All in all, if you are a fan of Maame by Jessica George, A Daughter In Exile by Bisi Adjabon, or American Street by Ibi Zoboi, you will likely enjoy this book too. It has similar themes and delves deeply into the struggles that come with immigration.
*Thank you to Netgalley, Irene Muchemi-Ndiritu, and Dial Press for the E-ARC of this book. This in no way affects the objectivity of my review.
Lucky Girl follows a young, sheltered Kenyan woman named Soila as she attends school in the US. She's mostly been raised by her very conservative mother and aunties. As she explores life in the US, she finds things are quite a bit different than she imagined. There is a bit of conflict between her new life and the one she left behind in Kenya.
Soila was great main character because she was relatable in a lot of ways. We see her dealing with the pressures of school, relationships, and family. It all makes sense with who she is supposed to be and where she is coming from. Her reactions to some of the trauma she's experienced were relatable as well.
I loved the inclusion of Kenyan culture. There were a couple parts that explained Maasai wedding traditions and how they differ from other cultures. I thought this was particularly interesting. And though I didn't always agree with her mother's desire to control things, I did think it was interesting to see what was expected of her as a daughter.
I also really liked that love and romance is a part of this story, but it isn't all rainbows and sunshine. We see difficulties because of cultural expectations on both sides of the relationship, but ultimately the two characters work through them. This struck me as really authentic.
All in all, if you are a fan of Maame by Jessica George, A Daughter In Exile by Bisi Adjabon, or American Street by Ibi Zoboi, you will likely enjoy this book too. It has similar themes and delves deeply into the struggles that come with immigration.
*Thank you to Netgalley, Irene Muchemi-Ndiritu, and Dial Press for the E-ARC of this book. This in no way affects the objectivity of my review.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual assault
katiemack's review
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).
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
Moderate: Pregnancy, Dementia, Abortion, and Sexual assault
Minor: Sexual content
mwetzel's review
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief and Abortion
Moderate: Sexual assault, Terminal illness, Dementia, Death of parent, and Racism
Minor: Suicide and Addiction
goatsrsexy's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
inspiring
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
5.0
Lucky girl is about Soila, who grows up very privileged but extremely sheltered in Kenya, and moves to America for school to get some freedom from her overbearing mother.
She struggles a lot at first to understand the African American experience and relationship to blackness and racism because it's so different from her own African experience. I really admired the way that although she had a hard time understanding where her friends were coming from, she quickly recognized that there were things she didn't understand and that she needed to put in effort to learn and view things through different lenses and let go of her own biases and misconceptions. She struggles with this throughout the book but you can also see her making huge progress with it. As a white Canadian, the difference between the African immigrant and African American experience isn't something I've ever given much thought to and it was super eye opening for me. I definitely feel that I gained a greater understanding of both cultures through Soila.
Soilas struggle with her mother's expectations was portrayed so well, it was so difficult for me to see her hurting herself and giving up things that were important to her in order to make her mother happy, but I was able to understand where she was coming from even though there was a lot I would have done differently. I loved the people in her life. Her aunts, grandma, friends and partners were all so loving and supportive and they all added so many different things to her life.
Lucky Girl deals with so many things in such a short book; racism and colourism, terrorism, sexual assault, grief, and a lot more than that too. It deals with a lot of heavy subjects and I definitely shed a few tears while reading, but it was also such a beautiful and hopeful story I honestly feel privileged to had read it. I can't believe this is the author's debut novel, I definitely can't wait to read more from her in the future. Thanks to Netgalley for the advanced copy!
She struggles a lot at first to understand the African American experience and relationship to blackness and racism because it's so different from her own African experience. I really admired the way that although she had a hard time understanding where her friends were coming from, she quickly recognized that there were things she didn't understand and that she needed to put in effort to learn and view things through different lenses and let go of her own biases and misconceptions. She struggles with this throughout the book but you can also see her making huge progress with it. As a white Canadian, the difference between the African immigrant and African American experience isn't something I've ever given much thought to and it was super eye opening for me. I definitely feel that I gained a greater understanding of both cultures through Soila.
Soilas struggle with her mother's expectations was portrayed so well, it was so difficult for me to see her hurting herself and giving up things that were important to her in order to make her mother happy, but I was able to understand where she was coming from even though there was a lot I would have done differently. I loved the people in her life. Her aunts, grandma, friends and partners were all so loving and supportive and they all added so many different things to her life.
Lucky Girl deals with so many things in such a short book; racism and colourism, terrorism, sexual assault, grief, and a lot more than that too. It deals with a lot of heavy subjects and I definitely shed a few tears while reading, but it was also such a beautiful and hopeful story I honestly feel privileged to had read it. I can't believe this is the author's debut novel, I definitely can't wait to read more from her in the future. Thanks to Netgalley for the advanced copy!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief
Moderate: Sexual assault and Racism
Minor: Suicide
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