I received this book as an ARC from NetGalley.

In the debut novel by Muchemi-Ndiritu - Soila is a girl being raised by a single mother in Nairobi Kenya. Not only does she live with her mom, but her mom's three sisters and her grandmother. In this extremely protective environment, Soila grows more determined to get out. She applies for colleges in the States hoping to break free from her mothers overbearing existence.

She attends college in New York in the 90's and she is shocked to see how life really is in the States. The cultural difference of poverty, how entitled so many feel they have the right to be, etc. It is quite a shock to the system. Luckily, she becomes close friends with another student that helps her navigate life in the states.

The book covers a span of about 25 years - the challenges of being an African immigrant in the States and the cultural responsibilities she has with her family in Kenya.

I found this book extremely fascinating, learning about another culture and how those ideas have been shaped for centuries. I look forward to more books by this author.

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
Soila grew up in a wealthy home surrounded by family in Kenya. Her widowed mother was strict and overbearing. As Soila grew older, she became more rebellious and longed to get away from her mother and the cocoon that had sheltered her from the world. So she persuaded her mother to allow her to attend college in the NYC. She was intent on remaining in America after she received her degree.
The people in Kenya and most of Africa are black so the color of her skin had never been an issue.That changed when she moved to America. She joined the African American club at her school where she met other black students. One of these students became. Close friend. That friend and an American boyfriend had lived their whole lives as second class citizen and shared those experiences with Soila.
This is a well written book. The author is African and uses many references to life in Kenya. The book will be very informative about that culture and the challenges African immigrants face in the US.
I received this ARC from the publisher and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Muchemi-Ndiritu's Lucky Girl felt anything but. Even though Soila grew up wa tong for nothing materially, she longed for the gentler side of her mother: the loving gestures and actions, the affection and affirmation. Even when she moved to New York to make her own way, many if not all of her decisions were made with her mother in mind and if she did or took anything for herself, in terms of freedom or expression, she became weighed down by guilt thinking of how what she had done or is doing would affect her mother's opinion of her.

I really wanted Soila to at least spend a majority of the book loving life and enjoying it to.the fullest for herself, but somehow the expectations of her mother kept rearing its ugly head. And even though she was able to reconcile her way with her mother in the end, I still think her unhealthy attachment to her mothers way of thinking and her mother's toxicity went on too long.

Lucky Girl brings to head and highlights some of the discord and discussions between Africans that were born in Africa and migrated to america, and those of us born here due to our ancestors being trafficked during the transatlantic slave trade. The way the characters were developed was so real and genuine. It has a scene of 9/11 so if that's a big trigger for you, then you might want to skip this one. I have been having such a hard time trying to put into words how much i truly enjoyed this book. Thankfully, the day I read it, i didn't have much other things to do, so i was able to devote all the time to this book. Even if i had something to do, I probably would have missed it, that's how good this book was.

I received a copy of this book via NetGalley and am voluntarily leaving an honest review of my own thoughts and opinions.

Lucky Girl by Irene Muchemi-Ndiritu is about a woman who is really the opposite of naturally lucky-- she works hard and perseveres in getting what she wants for her own life. Soila is from Kenya with a dream to go to America for college, doing so despite her mother's wishes and without the support of her late father. With a wide variety of characters and cultural differences, Muchemi-Ndiritu writes about African culture, a complex mother-daughter relationship, the idea of freedom, racism, coming-of-age, and much more. An amazing read!

Beautiful story, that will leave you thinking long after the last page. Soila is a young Kenyan women who is assaulted by a family friend and flees to New York to go to college. In college in the 1990's she gets a real education on what it is like to be Black in America, what is like to be an immigrant to America. Lots of decisions will be made for her to determine who she actually is and what she stands for. Inspirational.

A beautifully written debut, LUCKY GIRL tells the story of a young Kenyan woman, Soila, who is determined to carve her own path in life while managing the burden of expectation placed on her by her mother. Upon leaving Kenya, Soila begins college in New York City and must adapt to a new country and culture, while figuring out her own identity.

LUCKY GIRL is a story about familial bonds, culture, and identity. It’s about a young woman navigating life amidst trauma and expectation, while also opening herself up to friendship and love.

I loved the writing in this novel and the way the author portrayed Soila. Throughout the novel you’re able to see Soila’s growth as a woman and how her views of the world continue to evolve. While living in New York you’re able to see the cultural differences Soila experiences and how her views are sometimes challenged. I thought the author did an excellent job of highlighting these difficult conversations and how they affected Soila. Her friendships and love interests were a vital part of the story.

While the story centers on Soila as she enters adulthood, her relationship with her mother continued to have a strong presence throughout the novel. There were so many emotions stirred up by tense interactions and Soila’s constant worry of her mother’s disapproval. It really illustrated the pressures placed on young adults and how that can shape their decisions.

LUCKY GIRL is a beautifully powerful novel that I would highly recommend reading if you enjoyed MAAME or BLACK CAKE.

Another great cover! 2023 is really upping the ante on beautiful covers. I loved this story for its takes on identity, finding yourself, and relationships. As a white woman I also appreciated the discussion on race, poverty, and privilege. All things myself and I'm sure many other readers need to check in on at some point. I thought the parts about not fitting into certain identities and looking at the different issues surrounding Africans and African Americans was also particularly eye opening. I really think a lot of people will not only appreciate this novel, but will get a lot out of it as well. And I love when that happens with fiction books. Run, don't walk to pick up Lucky Girl this summer.

This book was amazing! I loved reading about the narrator's conflicts between cultures and her traditional mother's wishes. I would highly recommend this book to anyone!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

This book is on my Top Favourite Reads of 2023 for sure. It's a captivating book about a young Kenyan woman who was quite privileged in her home country. Despite this, she yearns to attend college in America though her own mother is opposed to the idea. Race is a main topic of this book as well as societal, parental, and cultural expectations. A MUST READ especially if you are a fan of coming of age stories. Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for the eARC.

Longing for independence, a young sheltered Kenyan woman flees the expectations of her mother for a life in New York City that challenges all her beliefs about race, love, and family.

I had trouble with this one - I ended up putting it down. A lot of narration was used to describe interactions between characters and I would have preferred a more dialogue driven text. Felt slow and laborious for me.

I really enjoyed this book. I thought it was a great story and had great pace. I look forward to reading more from this author.

A fascinating and intriguing read about a young woman growing up in Kenya. It explores her hardships and trauma, conflicts and revelations." This cultural fiction book gave me an insight I didn't previously have and I found myself truly immersed in the story.

I was not prepared to love Lucky Girl as much as I did. It is a beautiful coming-of-age story of Soila, who grows up in Kenya and is raised by her extremely religious mother and four aunts. She is incredibly sheltered as a young girl and instead of giving in to her mother's wishes for her to stay in Kenya and go to college in Nairobi, she decides to pursue her education in New York City, where she really comes out of her shell and learns about life, love, and everything in between.

While it's incredibly written and powerful, I also learned a lot about Kenyan culture and found that fascinating too. Soila experiences a lot of highs and lows, and through the story, the reader will really witness her grow and become who she wants to be in life.

It's certainly one to add to your list.
Thank you Random House/Dial Press and NetGalley for the eARC!

Wow. This book left me speechless (and often searching for a tissue). This book was also fierce and tender at the same time. An amazing coming of age story based in the 1990s of a young woman from Kenya who moves to the US and quickly sees a different country than she expected. The author did a great job of characterization and I absolutely loved Soila and her journey. This book will shatter your heart, but you will be so happy you’ve read it because it gets you in every way possible. This was my first book by this author and it definitely will not be the last!

A coming of age story of a Kenyan girl who finds herself once she moves to the US for university. Themes of molestation, racism, finding your self and finding your voice are all prevalent in this thought provoking novel. I enjoyed the different perspectives given throughout which lent to a well rounded story. Definitely a worthwhile read.

Lucky Girl follows Soila, a young girl in Kenya who wants to grow up and live her life the way she wants to. As a child, her father commits suicide and her mother raises her on her own with several aunts and her grandmother. When she is a teenager, she js molested by a priest, which gives her such guilt and fear. However, she makes a deal with him before he does this that he’ll help her get to America by convincing her mother it’s a good idea. We follow Soila as she moves to the US, goes to college, and meets friends, lovers, and coworkers.

I did not expect to be choked up so much reading this book! It started a little slowly for me but about 20% of the way in, I was completely hooked. It’s told in parts, and each one is significant in its own way. By part III, I was holding back tears. I kept forgetting how young she was in the book until her age was mentioned. Soila is a fierce character, with flaws, beautiful character traits, and an incredible story.

Definitely pick this one up! Thank you NetGalley and the publisher for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

A moving and heartfelt #ownvoices debut that follows a young Kenyan woman as she immigrates to NYC for school to escape her conservative mother and make a life of her own choosing.

I really enjoyed Soila's immigration story and her experience adjusting to life in 1990s America, confronting her complicated relationship with racism and navigating what she wants out of life and love versus what she knows her mother would expect.

Good on audio narrated by Musu-Kulla Massaquoi and recommended for fans of books like The god of good looks by Breanne McIvor, Daughter in exile by Bisi Adjapon or Maame by Jessica George. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital copy in exchange for my honest review!

Well done debut! Love getting the perspective of America from someone who wasn’t born here/indoctrinated. Also enjoyed the 90s timeline!