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A review by bookofcinz
Lucky Girl by Irene Muchemi-Ndiritu
4.0
So many thoughts and feelings about this book…
In Lucky Girl we meet Soila who was born and raised in Kenya. On her fifth birthday her dad mysteriously dies and no one speaks about it, especially her very strict mother who raised her to be grateful, always give back and not complain too much. Since Solia’s father’s death, her mother took over the business and made it very profitable. They are very well off, Soila is very sheltered because her mother doesn’t want her to end up like the “other girls”. She lives at home with her aunties and does her best to be obedient. As a teenager she misses out on a lot and craves freedom.
With college coming up she decides she wants to go to the US to study. Behind her mother’s back she applies and is approved for college. After much fight her mother says yes. In New York she makes friends, falls in love, finds out who she is in the world, and tries to navigate what it means to be a Kenyan living in the US. She learns a lot, loses a lot and finds peace on her journey.
Here are my thoughts on this book:
It was a very easy read, it is one of those books you spend a day trying to finish because you needed to know what happened. What decision Soila ends up making.
The book have a very strong mother-daughter relationship themed and while I love reading books that centered on it, it made me not like Soila. I find she did not stand up for herself and was so fraidy-fraidy. At one point I found myself screaming “YOU ARE AN ADULT!!!!!”
I felt the author really bemoaned a lot of topics to the point. Yes, I loved reading about what it is like for an African living in America versus an African American living there. When those topics came up it felt forced, it read like a thesis, it didn’t just seamlessly flowed through the book. It was just these big blocks of “let’s discuss this…for 4-6 pages.”
I did not believe the romance in the book or the relationship Soila had with her first boyfriend. It was so cold and unbelievable. I didn’t even care when they broke up.
There were a lot of characters in the book and I wish instead of so many aunties the author focused on 1-2 building out their backstories a bit more.
I also felt the author packed so much in the short book- sexual harassment, racism, coming of age, friendship, identity, love, art, 9/11, where is home… every single theme was ticked, this could be a good or bad thing I guess. For me, it felt like tew much.
You are probably reading this thinking, “well, what exactly did you enjoy?”. Honestly, I enjoyed how the book made me feel. It felt fresh, it was a solid coming of age. And even though Solia enrages me, I still couldn’t help cheering for her. I think this would made a perfect book club pick.
In Lucky Girl we meet Soila who was born and raised in Kenya. On her fifth birthday her dad mysteriously dies and no one speaks about it, especially her very strict mother who raised her to be grateful, always give back and not complain too much. Since Solia’s father’s death, her mother took over the business and made it very profitable. They are very well off, Soila is very sheltered because her mother doesn’t want her to end up like the “other girls”. She lives at home with her aunties and does her best to be obedient. As a teenager she misses out on a lot and craves freedom.
With college coming up she decides she wants to go to the US to study. Behind her mother’s back she applies and is approved for college. After much fight her mother says yes. In New York she makes friends, falls in love, finds out who she is in the world, and tries to navigate what it means to be a Kenyan living in the US. She learns a lot, loses a lot and finds peace on her journey.
Here are my thoughts on this book:
It was a very easy read, it is one of those books you spend a day trying to finish because you needed to know what happened. What decision Soila ends up making.
The book have a very strong mother-daughter relationship themed and while I love reading books that centered on it, it made me not like Soila. I find she did not stand up for herself and was so fraidy-fraidy. At one point I found myself screaming “YOU ARE AN ADULT!!!!!”
I felt the author really bemoaned a lot of topics to the point. Yes, I loved reading about what it is like for an African living in America versus an African American living there. When those topics came up it felt forced, it read like a thesis, it didn’t just seamlessly flowed through the book. It was just these big blocks of “let’s discuss this…for 4-6 pages.”
I did not believe the romance in the book or the relationship Soila had with her first boyfriend. It was so cold and unbelievable. I didn’t even care when they broke up.
There were a lot of characters in the book and I wish instead of so many aunties the author focused on 1-2 building out their backstories a bit more.
I also felt the author packed so much in the short book- sexual harassment, racism, coming of age, friendship, identity, love, art, 9/11, where is home… every single theme was ticked, this could be a good or bad thing I guess. For me, it felt like tew much.
You are probably reading this thinking, “well, what exactly did you enjoy?”. Honestly, I enjoyed how the book made me feel. It felt fresh, it was a solid coming of age. And even though Solia enrages me, I still couldn’t help cheering for her. I think this would made a perfect book club pick.