The Kaya Girl (Hardcover) (ISBN-13: 9780316703932)

An extraordinary tale of two teenagers from vastly different walks of life, this page-turner transports readers to a bustling market in Ghana's capital city where one friendship transforms two lives.

Writing with effortlessly engaging prose, Wolo showcases the interweaving layers of Ghanaian culture to create a prismatic, multifaceted world in which two young girls, against all odds, are able to find each other.

When Faiza, a Muslim migrant girl from northern Ghana, and Abena, a wealthy doctor's daughter from the south, meet by chance in Accra's largest market, where Faiza works as a porter or kaya girl, they strike up an unlikely and powerful friendship that transcends their social inequities and opens up new worlds to them both.

Set against a backdrop of class disparity in Ghana, The Kaya Girl has shades of The Kite Runner in its unlikely friendship, and of Slumdog Millionaire as Faiza's life takes unlikely turns that propel her thrillingly forward. As, over the course of the novel, Abena awakens to the world outside her sheltered, privileged life, the novel explores a multitude of awakenings and the opportunities that lie beyond the breaking down of barriers. This is a gorgeously transporting work, offering vivid insight into two strikingly diverse young lives in Ghana.

Author: Mamle Wolo
ISBN-10: 0316703931
ISBN-13: 9780316703932
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Language: English
Published: 06/28/2022
Pages: 336
Format: Hardcover
Weight: 0.87lbs
Size: 7.84h x 5.61w x 1.25d

Accelerated Reader:
Reading Level: 5.2
Point Value: 9
Interest Level: Middle Grade
Quiz #/Name: 518892 / Kaya Girl


Review Citation(s):
Kirkus Reviews 04/15/2022
Booklist 05/01/2022 pg. 44
School Library Journal 06/01/2022 pg. 75
Bulletin of Ctr for Child Bks 06/01/2022
Publishers Weekly 07/25/2022