Lonely Crowds by Stephanie Wambugu

Winner of the PUBLISHING TRIANGLE AWARDS' EDMUND WHITE AWARD FOR DEBUT FICTION
 
Ruth's life changes the day she stands in line with her mother to buy a new school uniform - and sees another girl and her aunt turned away, unable to afford one. The girl, Maria, meets Ruth's stare without shame, and from that moment, Ruth can't stop thinking about her. When school begins, and they turn out to be the only two girls attending on scholarship, Ruth musters the courage to introduce herself.

A friendship forms - not by choice, but by something stronger. Ruth is drawn into Maria's orbit, always circling: never too close, never quite able to pull away. As they grow up like sisters, attend the same college, and eventually move to 1990s New York to chase dreams in the art world, the bond between them begins to buckle under the weight of ambition and rivalry.

Their lives continue to converge and diverge - until they meet in one final and momentous confrontation.
 
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"If you read one book this month, make it this . . . I can't recommend it enough - a tale of a ferocious female friendship unfolding across several decades, this is one for fans of Elena Ferrante. Like Ferrante's books, Lonely Crowds is best enjoyed on languid summer days in the backyard" ― Independent
 
"Masterful, thoughtful . . . In short, blunt sentences, the book devastatingly portrays the realities of money, race, sexuality, ambition - along with the gossipy competitiveness of any insular scene - that both Ruth and Maria confront in New York . . . one of the most emotionally and intellectually rich debuts I can remember reading in this or any year" ― Boston Globe