Review of Kalayla

[Ndagire Hassifah1]

[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 fictional novel that revolves around three well-rounded dimensional characters; Lena, Maureen, and Kalayla. Lena is a 72-year-old widow, who lost her two sons Mikie and Jimmy to the Vietnam war. When Lena meets Kalayla, she takes an interest in the young girl as she reminds her of her children when they were young. So when she sees Kalayla roaming the streets unsupervised, she decides to help Maureen in supervising the young girl so she does not end up in the bad company. Maureen is Kalayla's mom and a young widow who lost her husband in a car accident. After the death of her husband, Maureen decides to take up several jobs to fend for her daughter. And there is Kalayla, an eleven-year-old girl who is full of life. She is intelligent, self-reliant, and independent as she is capable of making her decisions. Even though Kalayla is apathetic, she proves to be good-hearted as she shows a soft spot towards Lena and her mother.

Kalayla is an interesting read. The book contains various themes such as racism, friendship, love, drama, and abuse. An example of such themes as friendship is shown between Lena and her friend Carlotta, Kalayla and her cousin Kieran. And racism is shown in Maureen's husband as Maureen was abandoned by her Irish family and friend for marrying a black guy. It is even shown in Kalayla's uncle Clarence who was bullied when he was a young boy and suffered a tumor due to racism. The book is narrated in the first-person point of view of each of the three main characters which makes it authentic.

The author used flashbacks to reveal the character's background stories hence making their actions understandable. An excellent example of such flashbacks was when the author showed us Lena's abusive marriage life as one of the reasons why she wore black clothes. What I liked most was how Jeannie developed her characters providing each with a unique personality, especially Kalayla. I liked the young girl's boldness and open-minded character as she was not scared to express herself.

Apart from the violence and sexual assaults I found while reading the book, there was nothing to dislike about it. Even though it was hard for me to read through such chapters that did not affect my enjoyment of this book. The book is an emotional narrative as I felt sad and at the same time laughed through certain parts of the book.

In my opinion, Kalayla deserves a rating of 4 out of 4 stars because it is well-written and I found no grammatical errors while reading the book. The book is well-structured and written in an engaging and captivating manner. The author Jeannie also used a simple writing style that makes the book easy to read.

I recommend this book to readers interested in fictional novels and the genre of drama. This book is for a mature audience as it contains scenes of violence and a great deal of profanity and due to this, I don't recommend it to children below 18 years. People who are sensitive to topics such as racism, rape, abuse, and violence can find it uncomfortable to read this book. The book would also appeal to those interested in themes such as family drama and heart-warming stories.

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Kalayla
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[Nino Chinonso Onwurah]

I was so impressed with Kalayla for organizing a party for her mother. Excellent review.

[Gifty_biblophile]

I have read this book and Elena was my favorite character. Thanks for this nice review.

[Oluwapelumi Rachael]

I really loved the Kalayla, she was so energetic and funny. In my opinion, Her relationship with lena is what stands out in the book. Nice review.

[Ndagire Hassifah1]

I have read this book and Elena was my favorite character. Thanks for this nice review.

What I liked about Lena was her caring nature. Thanks for the comment.

[Amy Luman]

I have read several reviews of this book. It's always fascinating to me that so many different people can read the same work and take away so many different things.

[Ndagire Hassifah1]

I was so impressed with Kalayla for organizing a party for her mother. Excellent review.

It was really surprising to see her organize a party for her mother. Thanks for the comment.

[Ndagire Hassifah1]

I have read several reviews of this book. It's always fascinating to me that so many different people can read the same work and take away so many different things.

I think it is because everyone saw this book in his own perspective. Thanks for the comment.

[Ndagire Hassifah1]

I really loved the Kalayla, she was so energetic and funny. In my opinion, Her relationship with lena is what stands out in the book. Nice review.

I agree with you, for sure Kalayla's relationship with Lena was outstanding. Thanks for the comment.