Review by Megamind136 -- Kalayla by Jeannie Nicholas

[Megamind136]

[Following is a volunteer review of "Kalayla" by Jeannie Nicholas.]

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4 out of 4 stars

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Kalayla by Jeannie Nicholas is a book that revolves around three main characters; Kalayla, Miss Lena, and Maureen. Kalayla is an eleven-year-old girl born by a biracial couple, who despite her tragedies, has a big heart, copes independently, and talks too much.

Maureen's fairytale of a happy ending crashes, when she loses her prince charming, Jamal, in an accident. She is left with the big task of raising their only daughter, Kalayla, on her own. Things go awful for Maureen when her daughter finds out that she has been lying to her all her life. Somehow fate brings their old landlady, Miss Lena, to assist her to raise Kalayla. Miss Lena is bent on never allowing Kalayla to repeat the same mistakes her children made. Kalayla couldn't help but notice that Miss Lena always avoided talking about her past. What could have possibly been her past? Why is she always lonely despite having children? What could Maureen be lying to her daughter about? Grab a copy of this book to find out.

I have read so many books that the major emphasis was on family bonding, but none of them took away my attention like Kalayla. The book took away my attention from everything else I was doing. I liked how the author took her time to highlight the importance of family in society. My favourite character was Maureen, I admired her bravery, despite her tragedies, she didn't give up on life, rather, she saw it as a more reason to live. I believe that the main reason for writing this book is to encourage someone who might be going through challenges not to give up on life.

There was absolutely nothing wrong I could find about this book. The plot was very realistic, and the author painted a very vivid picture in the mind of readers. Uncle Clarence also made the storyline very thrilling with the action he brought. The scenes were well developed and detailed, and I'm also sure that this book would be ideal for a movie adaptation. The characters used in the book were also well developed. My favourite scene was when Kalayla was scolded by Rico, on her first day at the gym, her reaction was priceless.

I'm rating this book 4 out of 4 stars. I found no error in the book. This shows that it was exceptionally well edited. I loved how the book ended. It left the readers with something to think about, l also liked the fact that the author chooses to use simple words, making it easier for her readers to discern. I recommend this book to any adult audience.

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Kalayla
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[John Owen]

This book was all too emotional and touching when I read it and reviewed it. You'll agree it was a wonderful book. Quite an informative review!

[Heidadela]

I enjoyed reviewing this amazing book. The little girl Kalayla is my favourite. I loved the scene where she wanted to meet her mother's family and her mother's reaction to that idea was priceless. I loved how Kalayla described her confusion about calling a dentist to remove the words from Maureen's mouth or herself grabbing a spanner and doing it herself. Generally, I enjoyed reviewing the book.