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A review by aurigae
Lucky Girl by Irene Muchemi-Ndiritu
4.0
Lucky Girl was a thoughtful and poignant story. Although the world of the novel, which begins in Kenya in the 1980s, was unfamiliar to me, I quickly felt immersed in the narrator, Soila's, emotional life. The story held my attention through her childhood and adolescence and into the meat of the novel, the collision of her values and outlook with her college and adult life in New York, and especially the experiences of her Black American friends.
Unfortunately, the story faltered somewhat in this middle section, with long dialogues on what it means to be Black in America and the differing experiences of Africans, African Americans, and others. This is certainly an important topic, but I would have appreciated a more direct tie-in with Soila's - the first person narrator's - experiences and related emotions; in their absence, the discussion was interesting but not affecting.
In its final chapters, as the plot built toward its climax, the book's questions of race and culture are inverted, and I found this section to be the most interesting and moving part of the book. For all her years in New York, Soila still struggles to reconcile her mother's traditional expectations with her own desires. As she meets with a series of events that challenge the fragile peace between her worlds, Soila must examine whether her new friends can truly support her, and whether they, as Black Americans, can understand what it means to be African.
[I received a complimentary ARC from NetGalley and the publishers. Opinions are my own.]
Unfortunately, the story faltered somewhat in this middle section, with long dialogues on what it means to be Black in America and the differing experiences of Africans, African Americans, and others. This is certainly an important topic, but I would have appreciated a more direct tie-in with Soila's - the first person narrator's - experiences and related emotions; in their absence, the discussion was interesting but not affecting.
In its final chapters, as the plot built toward its climax, the book's questions of race and culture are inverted, and I found this section to be the most interesting and moving part of the book. For all her years in New York, Soila still struggles to reconcile her mother's traditional expectations with her own desires. As she meets with a series of events that challenge the fragile peace between her worlds, Soila must examine whether her new friends can truly support her, and whether they, as Black Americans, can understand what it means to be African.
[I received a complimentary ARC from NetGalley and the publishers. Opinions are my own.]