Review of Kalayla

[LaylaAltunbas]

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

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4 out of 4 stars

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Jeannie Nicholasnarrated this fiction from the perspective of three women bound by fate, love, and care for each other. Lena, a 72-year-old Italian businesswoman. Maureen, a 30-year-old mother to a feisty bi-racial 11-year-old daughter. We find Lena portrayed as a widow of Joey, mother of three sons, Mike, Miekie, and Jimmy. Lena's marriage to Joey was awful. Joey was physically abusive, controlling, and an alcoholic. After the death of Joey, Lena was lonely and traumatized. Jimmy and Mikie also died in the Vietnam war. She started wearing black ever since then. Maureen, an Irish white woman struggling artist, worked as a server. Maureen is also a widow. Her husband died in a tragic car accident. Her family and friends abandoned Maureen for not honoring their wish to marry a white lawyer. Instead, she married a black man. She struggled to come to terms with the death of her husband, Jamal. The O'Rourke rejection took a toll on her self-esteem and self-worth. The third character of this book is Kalayla Maureen's daughter. She spends her time wandering the streets, trying to make money. It wasn't until Lena intervened to help the child by fostering her when Maureen, is at work or found a piece job to keep her busy during the school breaks. Her world fell apart when she discovered Maureen's secret. Do you want to know the secret? Read the book and find out.

In this book, Kalayla Jeannie Nicholas portrayed characters as normal free-spirit individuals, realistic, relatable, and easy to understand. The book was entertaining. The structure is unique has a rhythm.

However, the negative aspect of this book is a lack of mystery. There is no plot or setting. Readers could visualize nothing of any characters. However, Clement's mental health could have been a focal point because readers didn't realize it. Maureen's rejection by her family had affected her badly. She could not function properly at work. She had a nervous breakdown. There was no rational explanation to her emotional roller coaster author shaded away from that she couldn't keep herself together, her character unstable.

I would rate this book 4 out of 4 stars because it is well-edited, structured, and engaging. I did not notice any errors in grammar or typos.

I would highly recommend the book to mixed-race families: young adults, abused women, teenagers, or widows. If you don't like profane words, this book might not be for you. However, the book is still relevant today because of racial tensions, gender-based violence, and mental health.

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Kalayla
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