Thank you to the publishers, author and NetGalley for the free copy of this audio book.

This was an interesting, well written story. Loved the historical and social aspects of it, and getting to know all of the many but well developed characters. The narrator did a great job as well.

<b>The People of Ostrich Mountain</b> is a historical fiction book that begins in the 1950s as the Mau Mau uprising breaks out in the foothills of Mt. Kenya. The story begins with a teenage girl named Wambui who has extraordinary math abilities and leaves her village during this emergency period to join a prestigious boarding school which is half a day's journey by train. It is at this school where she meets a British teacher named Eileen Atwood and the two of them develop a lifelong friendship. Rather than go to university, she chooses to return to her village in order to teach so she can help her family who are struggling financially. The book also navigates the story of Wambui's son Ray and his journey to become a physician as well as Eileen's struggle when she loses her employment and has to return to England after living in Kenya for 40 years.

I enjoy historical fiction and the information I learn while reading it. The author did a wonderful job incorporating Kenyan customs as well as the sociopolitical climate into the story, but what stood out for me was the character development, friendship, loyalty and the sense of responsibility with regards to taking care of family. The parts of the story that took place in Kenya was definitely my favorite. I especially enjoyed reading about Wambui's journey and her friendship with Eileen, and I wish a little more time had been spent on these elements.

As a nurse, I enjoyed reading about Ray's struggles and successes with medical school, residency, and immigrating to a new country, but the transition to his story felt rushed, and did not fully feel cohesive with the rest of the story, and I found myself wanting to get back to Wambui's chapters. Perhaps we were taken from his youth to medical school quickly, so i didn't feel like I got to know him as well and Wambui or Eileen. The narration was well done but it took a few chapters to get used to the audio while learning the character's names just because I am not familiar with Kenyan names, but once I got used to the characters it was easy to keep the story straight. 3.5 stars rounded up because I really enjoyed it overall and look forward to reading more of Mr. Githaiga's work.

Wow! Loved this story - this can be compared to a lot of different things but at its heart it’s about a family in Africa set in the 1950s. I also loved the family values