Soila has much to learn. She is eager to leave home and persevere. She wants a life that is different from family traditions. Her trauma informs her to advocate for herself.

The conversations about the differences between Black Americans and Africans do not find a resolution. The conversations keep happening but are lost in how crucial they are, which stalls Soila from being informed about her experiences and upbringing.

Leticia is Soila's roommate who becomes family. She is not a sounding board or a teacher. She compliments Soila while being her own person.

New York City is written well. Kenya could have been written more richly. Each character gets a completion but not quite an arc. The book has a steady timeline that builds given the book is under 300 pages.

Lucky Girl is a story that will transport you to Kenya and then New York as you follow Solia on her life's journey. Born in Kenya and raised mainly by a mother who is a devout Catholic with rigid rules that Solia must follow.

After overcoming obstacles, she attends college in New York City. There she makes new friends, discovers love, and goes through some of life's most difficult challenges. She will also have to war with her own desires versus her mother's expectations.

There was so much to this novel. It addressed racism in America and highlighted cultural differences in Africa. The novel was set in the 1990s and 2000s and I was about the same age and new to NYC as Solis, so I identified with her experiences. This was an inspiring novel that anyone will enjoy.

I just reviewed Lucky Girl by Irene Muchemi-Ndiritu. #LuckyGirl #NetGalley

4.5 stars.

Thanks to Corina Diez, NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for my ARC in exchange for my honest review. This book will be published May 2, 2023.

This book was wonderful. Soila lives in Nairobi with her controlling mom and four aunts. She wants to leave and go to college in the United States. Her mom pressures her to become an accountant even through she really wants to be a photographer.

The book is divided into four parts, each highlighting an aspect of Soila’s life. She attends college in New York City, meets her best friend Leticia, graduates, gets a job and starts dating an artist. But then her life shatters after experiencing 9/11 and a family illness. She is torn between living the life she wants in NYC and caring for her mom back in Africa.

No spoilers here but it’s an emotional and difficult read at times. I felt the pressures Soila was feeling being pulled in multiple directions. Race and family secrets play a big role in this debut novel by Irene Muchemi-Ndiritu. Soila is indeed a Lucky Girl.

Soila, raised in privilege in Kenya by a strict, controlling, Catholic mother, lives in a matriarchal household with her mom, aunts, and grandmother. Soila wants to go to college in the United States but her mother is against it. Her mother finally consents and she's off to Barnard College in NYC for a business degree. Her mother intends for Soila to return to Kenya and put her education to use in the family business [although her passion is photography].

Starting in the 1990s, through 9/11--where "Something bigger than losing sunlight had darkeened the city--and beyond.

There is so much in this book: family, secrets, culture, racism, friendships [particularly Leticia], choices, heartache, expectations, love, guilt, sexual abuse, abortion, dementia, and more--too much? I didn't care. Add in the banking culture on Wall Street--where Soila works after graduation.

Soila does not find out about the circumstances of her father's death until she's 10 [?]. And learns she has a step sister! This is another whole part of the story.

A huge eye-opener for me was the explanation of differences/culture clash between being an African in Africa, an African in the United States [as an immigrant], and an African-American in the United State.

I sensed a trajectory early on [correctly] and didn't even mind the somewhat neat and tidy ending [no spoiler from me]. I enjoyed this book sooo much that I couldn't wait to return to it. In fact, I was captured at the start.

A couple of descriptions that I liked: [her aunts] "... came at me like high-speed trains"
"...hairline that mushrooned unflatteringly... sized me up like a cow at auction."

Four parts, each one with a somewhat different tone [it seemed to me].

Debut novel; can't wait to see what she does next!

4.5, rounding up.

This novel by debut author Irene Muchemi-Ndiritu reads like the story of Muchemi-Ndiritu’s life. It is the story of a black Kenyan woman, Soila, grappling with the demands of a strict and distant mother. At the same time the woman is also dealing with what it means to be a black African immigrant in the USA vs being white or a black slave descendant.
The book covers so many themes such as family, race, friendship, mental health, abuse just to name a few. It gives the reader a clear picture of the difficulties that even a wealthy Kenyan woman faces in her homeland and that even wealthy Black American’s both recent immigrants, their descendants, and the descendants of slaves face.
Definitely a book worth picking up and reading.
Thank you @netgalley and @randomhouse for my advanced readers copy of this book.

Thank you to #NetGalley and Dial Press for the opportunity to read this ARC and provide my honest feedback. I wanted to love this book, but it fell really flat for me. The author took us on a journey where there were decisions made and actions taken without so much as a second thought (at least on the page). The MC's journey from Kenya to NYC and her "growth" as a young adult finding herself was very uni-dimensional. It felt like the author gave us her bullet list/outline of the book without filling in the spaces with the complicated messiness of finding oneself; everything, especially the writing, felt very underdeveloped. The characters were not particularly compelling....though, I really loved Soila's aunts and I think that's where the book shined. I think I would have loved a whole book dedicated to the aunts; their life journeys were far more interesting to me. Soila's best friend was also a breath of fresh air. The main love interest...well....I just didn't buy it. He seemed rather mature and interesting, which is a far cry from the MC who was quite the opposite; I don't see how the love interest was so smitten with her. Finally the conversations in the book that centered on what it meant to be Black in America...especially the difference between the African-American experience versus that of an African living in America...felt like perfectly crafted talking points on a high school debate stage. Those messages could have resonated with the reader if the characters and story weren't so stunted. Overall, I enjoyed the book enough to finish it and not question why I was finishing it. So while the writing and the story lacked nuance and complexity, it's still an important story to tell. However, I think I now need recommendations for a more developed immigrant story!

Lucky Girl
I feel myself the Lucky Girl, receiving a complimentary copy of this thought provoking novel. Is Soila, the main protagonist a lucky girl? She was brought up in Kenya by a strict mother, four doting aunts and her Kokoi, her beloved grandmother. She was given everything and had a sheltered life under her mother’s constant hovering and rules. Her father died when she was 5 years old, hardly remembering him.
After a horrible assault by a trusted family friend, she escapes to New York for college. Is she still the Lucky Girl in New York dealing with new customs, the racial strife, new friendships, customs and love? Soila has to find herself in this new environment, dealing with discrimination,disappointments and finding out family secrets. When she falls with love with Akhenaten, an artist with dreadlocks, she knows her mother would never agree to her being with him and indeed her mother shuts her off completely. When her mother needs her to take care of her, she has a huge choice to make? Does she abandon her mother who has given everything to her or does she stay with her love? You have to read the novel to find out. A definite 5 star for me, who hardly ever gives 5 stars.
I received a complimentary copy of this book, opinions are my own.

This book is a beautiful portrayal of perseverance and a journey of self-discovery. Soila feels the calling to leave the safety of her home in Kenya for the uncertainty of New York. We are shown what it’s like to find friendship, love, and success through the eyes of someone coming from a different world. Many aspects of this read were very relatable to me and I highly recommend it!

I was struck by what a great balance of character and story this piece offers. A realistic and compassionate cast of characters really explore the nuances of immigrant life in New York. A compelling plot with a few twists I did not see coming, Our main character goes through a slew of experiences and not just lives through them, but grows as an individual. Excellent insight and I am looking forward to more work from this author.

This book explores several themes. The differences between the experiences and cultures of Black Americans and Africans is very interesting. Basically, this is a very well done coming of age story which delves into the life decisions and how they affect Soila, especially in her relationships with her overbearing mother, her best friend and the men in her life.

Thank you to Net Galley for the opportunity to read this early.

Soila comes from a well-to-do family in Kenya. Her mother is unemotional and strict, to the point that all Soila wants to do is leave the country. Her aunts, a colorful group of strong-willed women, balance out Soila's need for nurturing. Her lifestyle, family, and education in Kenya were very interesting to me. I enjoyed learning many of the finer details of life in Nairobi.
Soila moves to America to continue her education. Here’s where things got less interesting; many of the characters were shallow and under-developed, voice-boxing the same opinions we’ve read for years. They paled in comparison to the lively aunts and friends from Nairobi. While I enjoyed reading about her experiences in Kenya and America, I struggled to finish the book.
Thanks to Random House Publishing Group- Random House for an ARC in exchange for my honest review. The publishing date is May 2, 2023.

Lucky Girl By: Irene Muchemi-Nidiritu shows a young Kenyan woman named Soila living through certain family secrets as she gets older. Soila later goes to the United States to attend college. She is experienced racism and other things.

This is a good read. Thanks to the publishers of Random House and NetGalley for giving me the opportunity to read the book in exchange for a review.

Lucky Girl is a story which follows African immigrant Soila as she searches from independent from her fiercely over protective mother. Raised in relative wealth and surrounded by loving aunts, Solia is in for a culture shock when she arrives in the US.

It intrigued me with learning the culture and practices in Nairobi. The family life and expectations of Soila's mother were overbearing at times. I understood the motives behind her mother's actions, but didn't like them. It bordered on cruel.

Soila's life in America helps her see the privilege of her life and allows her to grow and understand the lives of Black Americans and the racism she can brush off.

But ultimately, Lucky Girl, is a tale about choosing your own way in life despite the expectations of family and society may try to place on you.

I very much enjoyed Lucky Girl; it was thought provoking and to see how much more difficult life is for black Americans as compared to people from Africa. As Soila navigates this new world, so different from her privileged life in Kenya, we grow increasingly aware just as she does. A great read!

I absolutely loved Lucky Girl! What a beautiful, sometimes heartbreaking, thoroughly powerful tale about individuation, identity, family, origin, and that constant, painful, dynamic, thrilling process of becoming. There were extra fun points for me because I attended the college the MC goes to!

I flew through this and think it would be a rich book for me to share with my students, in addition to sharing on my Booksta; I think this is a book that would resonate with adult and YA readers alike. TW for sexual assault.

I really enjoyed the cadence of Lucky Girl; it was a lyrical prose that kept me engaged and in a sort of ethereal connection to the characters. Thank you so much to the pub for this advance e-arc!

I am sorry to say that I did not finish this book. I read about 45% and struggled to stay engaged. This is typically a style and genre of book that I love to read, but I found the writing to be a little lackluster for my taste. It felt like one long, run-on journal entry and while I wanted to see where the story went, I was unfortunately not engaged enough to keep going.

4.5 Stars

Soila grew up in Kenya under the close eye of her strict mother and dreamed of bigger things. She longed for more freedom and the ability to follow her love of photography. She secretly applies to colleges in the United States with the hope of convincing her mother to let her go once she is accepted. After a year long wait she is finally granted the opportunity. Upon arriving in America Soila has a bit of a culture shock and finds herself having a hard time finding her place and adjusting to the drastic differences in African people and African American people. She quickly makes friends, but their contrasting view of the world still takes her by surprise. She finds herself longing for the warmth and close bond of her family, while at the same time appreciating the freedom she has so longed for.

I absolutely loved this bildungsroman story of Soila navigating her way through early adulthood. This book made me laugh, cry, and cheer for Soila as she fought for her independence while still clinging to the family and culture that made her who she is. I definitely recommend this book and I thank the publisher for the early read!

Lucky Girl is a debut novel by author Irene Muchemi-Ndiritu. Soila lives in Kenyan and is raised by a single, overbearing , controlling and powerful mother. Soila defies her mother's demands and attends college in the USA. America is an eye opener from Soila in the difference of being black in Kenyan verse America. She struggles at first to comprehend the challenges that are faced as a black American. You will follow Soila thru her college years and into the workforce and her relationships. Her desire to find her own happiness will make you keep flipping the pages. Would love to see a sequel or another novel by this author in the near future.. Thank you #NetGalley and #RandomHouse for an advanced copy of #LuckyGirl in an exchange for an honest review...

Thank you Netgalley and Random House Publishing Group - Random House for the copy of Lucky Girl, a debut by Irene Muchemi-Ndiritu. Ever wonder what it’s like to live a life of privilege in Kenya, then move to the US to create a life for yourself? Soila navigates life in New York, through school, work, friendships, and love. The first part was mostly about how she learns about being Black in the USA as she experiences racism and learns to cope with a foreign culture. We learn more about her relationships with her family, especially her overbearing mother. I really liked how the differences between Kenya and the USA were explained in things Soila experienced.
When I was reading the last half of the book, suddenly I couldn’t put it down, because the leisurely story suddenly took off. Soila is thrust into unimaginable circumstances and her character and family loyalty are put to the test. What a beautiful and sometimes challenging book.

I absolutely loved this book. It hooked me and kept me turning pages until I was done. Finished it in two days! The character development was strong, and the premise was unique enough that it didn't feel like anything else I've read.