Review of Kalayla

[Sylvano Mwansa]

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

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4 out of 4 stars

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As the title suggests, Kalayla by Jeannie Nicolas is a fictitious story about Kalayla, a preteen girl of mixed race living with her mother, Maureen, whose parents have disowned for marrying a black man. She has kept this secret from her daughter until Kalayla herself stumbles on the truth and the mother has to explain not only why her parents disowned her but also why she had lied that her family died in an explosion.

This is a touching, captivating story of a young mother painstakingly trying to bring up and educate her child after the death of her husband, without the help and support of her own family. But salvation often comes from unexpected sources. An old woman named Lena, and her circle of friends and relatives are there to render an invaluable helping hand. Read how it all happened, and the consequences of their efforts.

I was fascinated by the author's writing style. The book is divided into short chapters, each with its own headline. The story is told in the first person with the narration alternating between the main characters Kalayla, Maureen and Lena. This narration shift acts as an imbedded flashback mechanism, obviating the need for the reader to flip back the pages to connect episodes or pieces of the story together. This is so because in most instances, each narrator goes over the same facts as they narrate from their own view point. Moreover, the author makes the most effective use of metaphors spiced with humour to create an engaging and captivating story. Once started, I was so engrossed in it that I was surprised when it ended.

The characters in Kalayla are well-developed and assume almost real life personalities. So well established is their background that it’s easy for the reader to understand their actions, reactions and behaviour. There are a number of themes central to the story line such as good parenting, friendship, love and empathy.

What I liked most about the book is the idea of collective responsibility that the author has marvelously brought to the fore. Here we see a community coming together to tackle a problem that would normally be left to the individual affected. Lena, in the driving seat of this community response, experienced a lot of challenges in raising her own children under the negative influence of her abusive late husband. Who has given but has still gone empty handed? Not in Lena’s case. Her magnanimity has been handsomely rewarded: She has been able to purge her own conscience and pick up the pieces to start a new life.

I disliked nothing about the book except that I hesitated over what appeared to be grammatical errors because they were not part of dialogue, until I realised that if a character could not speak a language correctly, they could not think correctly in the same language either. This
technique therefore adds to, rather than subtract from, the author's unique writing style and the editors must be commended for the job well-done. I am awarding this wonderful book a rating of 4 out of 4 stars.

I recommend this book to parents and would-be parents. Teachers and social workers would also benefit from reading it because it demonstrates the right way of handling recalcitrant children like Kalayla, nurturing them into responsible adults.

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Kalayla
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[lawisimportant23]

I have read the book and I enjoyed it just as much. Great job with the review.