Lucky Girls

First highlighted in The New Yorker fiction issue, here is award-winning writer Nell Freudenberger’s debut story collection Lucky Girls is a collection of five novella-like stories, which take place mostly in Asia. The characters—expatriates, often by accident—are attracted to the places they find themselves in a romantic way, or repelled by a landscape where every object seems strange. For them, falling in love can be inseparable from the place where it happens. Living according to unfamiliar rules, these characters are also vulnerable in unique ways. In the title story, a young woman who has been involved in a five-year affair with a married Indian man feels bound to both her memories and her adopted country after his death. The protagonist of “Outside the Eastern Gate” returns to her childhood home in Delhi, to find a house still inhabited by the impulsive, desperate spirit of her mother, who left her family for a wild journey over the Khyber Pass to Afghanistan. In “Letter from the Last Bastion,” a teenage girl begins a correspondence with a novelist who’s built his reputation writing about his experiences as a soldier in Vietnam and who, in his letters, confides in her a secret about his past. Highly anticipated in the literary community and beyond, Lucky Girls marks the debut of a very special talent that places her among today’s most gifted young writers.

Lucky Girl is an unflinching exploration of beauty, self-worth, and sexual assault, from the author of the acclaimed Tease. Rosie is a beautiful girl—and it’s always been enough. Boys crush on her, men stare at her, girls (begrudgingly) admire her. She’s lucky and she knows it. But it’s the start of a new school year and she begins to realize that she wants to be more. Namely, she’s determined to be better to her best friend, Maddie, who’s just back from a summer program abroad having totally blossomed into her own looks. Rosie isn’t thrilled when Maddie connects with a football player who Rosie was hooking up with—but if it makes her friend happy, she’s prepared to get over it. Plus, someone even more interesting has moved to town: Alex, who became semifamous after he stopped a classmate from carrying out a shooting rampage at his old high school. Rosie is drawn to Alex in a way she’s never experienced before—and she is surprised to discover that, unlike every other guy, he seems to see more to her than her beauty. Then at a party one night, in the midst of a devastating storm, something happens that tears apart Rosie’s life and sets her on a journey of self-discovery that forces her to face uncomfortable truths about reputation, identity, and what it means to be a true friend.

Determined to prove that her prophecies are real, Cassandra sends special fortune cookies to Mount Olympus Academy, and her fortunes end up coming true in very unexpected ways.

First highlighted in The New Yorker fiction issue, here is award-winning writer Nell Freudenberger’s debut story collection Lucky Girls is a collection of five novella-like stories, which take place mostly in Asia. The characters—expatriates, often by accident—are attracted to the places they find themselves in a romantic way, or repelled by a landscape where every object seems strange. For them, falling in love can be inseparable from the place where it happens. Living according to unfamiliar rules, these characters are also vulnerable in unique ways. In the title story, a young woman who has been involved in a five-year affair with a married Indian man feels bound to both her memories and her adopted country after his death. The protagonist of “Outside the Eastern Gate” returns to her childhood home in Delhi, to find a house still inhabited by the impulsive, desperate spirit of her mother, who left her family for a wild journey over the Khyber Pass to Afghanistan. In “Letter from the Last Bastion,” a teenage girl begins a correspondence with a novelist who’s built his reputation writing about his experiences as a soldier in Vietnam and who, in his letters, confides in her a secret about his past. Highly anticipated in the literary community and beyond, Lucky Girls marks the debut of a very special talent that places her among today’s most gifted young writers.

“This must-read book debunks and critiques the Lucky Girl viral movement whilst providing you with all the tools you need to make your dreams come true. Brilliant.” Vicki Broadbent, founder of honestmum.com, author and broadcaster A helpful and inclusive guide to bringing more good luck into your life Unlock a vibrant and empowering journey with Lucky Girl, guided by Georgie May, a leading wellness expert and social media strategist. Lucky Girl provides a refreshing evidence-based approach which will infuse your life with excitement and positivity, allowing you to tap into your inherent skills and talents to attract abundance and luck. Within the pages of this captivating book, a treasure trove of easy-to-implement tools, transformative practices, and enchanting rituals are shared. These will propel you towards profound shifts, empowering you to embrace the life you truly desire. Say goodbye to your unlucky streak and unlock the door to a world of endless possibilities by learning: Strategies for challenging your situation and replacing it with a simple thought process that will power your hopes and dreams Techniques to help you identify why your luck seems so bad and how to change it Methods to help you manifest good luck based on contemporary research and case studies Practical tools to help you create your Lucky Girl Goals and learn resources on how to make them finally stick With Lucky Girl as your trusted companion, discover the secrets to living your best life. A book applicable to all ages and genders, allow Lucky Girl to inspire and uplift you as you embark on a journey of self-discovery, awareness, and personal growth. It's time to manifest the luck you deserve and embrace a life full of true authenticity, joy, and fulfillment. Are you ready to seize the reins of destiny and step into a brighter future? Let Lucky Girl be your guiding star on this transformative adventure!

Sprinter, long jumper, and Paralympian Scout Bassett shares the lessons she’s learned battling the toughest challenges facing young women today. As an infant in China, Scout Bassett survived a fire that took her right leg. She spent the next seven years in an orphanage before being adopted and whisked away to the United States, where she felt foreign in every way. Though she defied the odds and became a gold medalist and world-record holder, Scout fought against adversity her entire life—and mostly off the track. As a person with a disability, a minority, and a woman in America, she’s struggled in a culture that can make anyone—no matter who you are—feel like an outsider—an other. In Lucky Girl Scout shares ten lessons she’s learned to help readers overcome some of the most difficult challenges in life today. With vulnerability, humor, and warmth, she addresses issues of identity, loneliness, image, purpose, and high expectations, among others, and offers advice for how to face them. Scout began her journey to embrace who she is—past and all—by never forgetting where she comes from or who she is. With this guidebook on adversity and life, learn how to make peace with your past, own your identity, and create your own luck.

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. “Readers will find a poignant, memorable voice they’ll feel lucky to have met.”—Harper’s Bazaar (Best Summer Beach Reads of 2023) Soila is a lucky girl by anyone’s estimation. Raised by her stern, conservative mother and a chorus of aunts, she has lived a protected life in Nairobi. Soila is headstrong and outspoken, and she chafes against her mother’s strict rules. After a harrowing assault by a trusted family friend, she flees to New York for college, vowing never to return home. New York in the 1990s is not what Soila imagined it would be. Instead of finding a golden land of opportunity, Soila is shocked by the entitlement of her wealthy American classmates and the poverty she sees in the streets. She befriends a Black American girl at school and witnesses the insidious racism her friend endures, forcing Soila to begin to acknowledge the legacy of slavery and the blind spots afforded by her Kenyan upbringing. When she falls in love with a free-spirited artist, a man her mother would never approve of, she must decide whether to honor her Kenyan identity and what she owes to her family, or to follow her heart and forge a life of her own design. Lucky Girl is a fierce and tender debut about the lives and loves we choose—what it meant to be an African immigrant in America at the turn of the millennium, and how a young woman finds a place for herself in the world.