Review of Kalayla

[Tung Le 1]

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

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4 out of 4 stars

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Kalayla is the novel written by Jeannie Nicholas. It’s a novel about 3 generations that live in Cambridge during 1999-2000. There are 3 main characters: Lena, 72 years old, Maureen, thirsty years old, and Kalayla, eleven years old. A thrilling story about the family of three main characters. Maureen and Kalayla meet Maureen's father again. Lena meets her son again. Lena has a terrible marriage and two sons died in Vietnam. Maureen left her family when she married her husband that is a black-skin man. Her husband died because of a traffic accident. There are 3 parts in this book. Part 1 introduces Lena’s family and Maureen and Kalayla’s family. In part 2, Kalyala discovers her daddy and liars. And part 3, the three main characters meet their family.

The characters’ personality is described in detail in the novel. Lena is the old lady. Maureen is a young widow. And Kalayla is a strong and independent girl. The story is told with a different point of view. In each chapter, each main character is told in the first person. I felt as though they were all speaking directly to me as I read their stories, and I could visualize their intonations and facial expressions.

Lena was lost in her life. She had to marry and live together with a terrible husband. She had to marry him because business working of 2 families. Her life is quiet and boring until she meets Kalayla. She was worried about Kalayla’s safety.

Maureen is a white woman and marries a black man, Jamal. They have a daughter whose name is Kalayla. Her father acceptance this marriage. And she left her family with her husband. And Jamal, her husband died because of a traffic accident.

Kalayla is an 11-years-old girl. She is of mixed Caucasian and African-American parentage. Kalayla is a young girl who owns her universe and does not need other friends. She spends her time instead of wandering the streets and keeping an eye on people's laundry at Clean Duds laundromat.

Kalayla, Lena, Maureen learn more about each other. They support each other. They feel as close as family.

Kalayla is a great story. The author is an excellent writer. Although there are still some errors about spelling/grammar in some first chapters. But from the next chapters, the book is right about spelling and grammar. The book has racism, homophobia, sexual violence against women. I would not recommend this book to anyone sensitive to these topics. I don’t recommend it for teenagers. I recommend it to adult readers.

I rate Kalayla four out of four stars. The book is for readers who love family and parenting.

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Kalayla
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[MsH2k]

I felt as though they were all speaking directly to me as I read their stories, and I could visualize their intonations and facial expressions.

I felt the same way, especially in the chapters narrated by Kalayla and Lena.
Thank you for your take on this story.

[Tung Le 1]

Thank you for your comment! We have the same feeling.

[J Edwards]

I read this book and I liked it too. The story of Lena, and her misfortunes moved me close to tears. Thanks for your review.