Review of Kalayla
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- Latest Review: Kalayla by Jeannie Nicholas
Review of Kalayla
[Following is a volunteer review of "Kalayla" by Jeannie Nicholas.]
Kalayla is a book about learning to forgive and forget the past to find hope in life. In our life, we tend to run from the very root cause of our suffering and turn a blind eye to it. Perhaps even keep it buried for a long time for fear of confronting it, for fear of not being able to handle the overwhelming torrent of emotions that come with it. But we will always carry a nagging feeling of the weight of our sadness. Its heaviness never stops speaking to our conscience. The truth eventually comes out.
It is a story told in the year 1999. Kalayla is an eleven-year-old girl born to a mixed-race couple Jamal Leeroyce and Maureen O'Rourke. Kalayla's father, Jamal went drag racing with his brother Clarence and Jamal's car crashed, and as a result, he lost his life. Kalayla's mom Maureen was thrown out of her family for marrying a black man. They also refused to help her when she contacted them. So now she was powerless, and her in-laws took her in and helped her when she was having a breakdown following her husband's death. After a brief stay at her in-law's place, Maureen decides to leave, taking Kalayla with her, and decides to start her life over on her own. She finds work as a waitress in Eddie's Eatery near her new apartment and even cleans houses to survive. Maureen had had her art studio in their apartment, and she didn't have to work when Jamal was alive. But, now her whole life had turned upside down. Ostracization from friends and family, tensions of having an inter-race marriage, death of her husband, raising a child all by herself, and managing odd jobs to survive were more than she could handle at the time. Kalayla had a mind of her own, and she was a brave girl looking at how she adjusted to all the shocks in her life. She took care of her own needs and didn't rely on anyone. She also has a habit of swearing a lot.
Kalayla is an admirable girl with a lively spirit, and she always stood by her mama. She seems to think a lot, and everyone thinks that her smart mouth might get her in trouble one day. Therefore, Kalayla gradually learns to look at the weight of her actions and their consequences. But questions about her mother's family gnawed at her. When she finds out the truth, she is enraged that her mother is the biggest liar she ever knew but also shocked that her grandparents threw out her mother for marrying a black man and that they never want to see her or her mom. Maureen tries her best to protect Kalayla from the truth despite wanting to tell her about her family. She had told Kalayla that all of her family had died in a gas explosion. But her delay in divulging the truth only makes her daughter more determined to find out about it, and when the truth explodes, both Maureen and Kalayla get hurt. Maureen understands that keeping her past under wraps was only damaging her ties with her daughter. By hesitating to tell the truth, she was only protecting herself and not Kalayla from the truth because Kalayla could empathize with her mother's situation easily. At the same time, Maureen was the one who was always in denial, unable to accept that her parents were racist and ashamed to face her past.
Their landlady Lena Barzetti is a successful, seventy-two-year-old businesswoman who lives in a fourth-floor walk-up apartment across from Maureen and Kalayla. She had four sons- JJ, the eldest, turned out to be a successful businessman like his father. Her second son Mark was gone for fifteen years, and she had no idea where to find him or what happened to him. The twins had died in the Vietnam war. She lost her two sons and her husband and now, she wore only black, and her apartment was all white. Memories of her kids tormented her and being with Kalayla only accentuated the feelings of loss and pain and brought up memories of motherhood. The girl was just like her twins Jimmy and Mikie.
I rate this book 4 out of 4 . I love this book because the author Jeannie Nicholas tells a great story with great passion that even the reader can feel the pangs in their heart. Jeannie Nicholas uses punchy and eloquent language that sometimes makes you feel for the protagonist and understand that life is basically the same everywhere and that what everyone needs is love and compassion. Separation from what once belonged to us can bring us a lot of torment but moving forward is the best solution for all. Yes, this book is exceptionally well edited. There are no errors in this book. I would recommend this book to everyone who loves reading stories about family life and family drama. Though, this book does contain profanities.
The story talks about the past, sufferings, loss, and pain. However, it also emphasizes hope, love, and new beginnings. It touches on issues of marital abuse, sexuality, and race. A family need not be born out of bloodlines. A family is people who share their sorrows and happiness and show care and help each other in need. Just like how Lena became a grandmother for Kalayla and replaced the lack and emptiness that kalayla carried for so long inside her. In turn, Lena found a granddaughter in this girl whose stubbornness and cockiness often reminded her of her twins. Family is symbiotic and not always necessarily biological, and the depth of bonding between these three souls - Lena, Maureen, and Kalayla, provides proof. Kalayla is also a book about forgiveness, change, and acceptance. It teaches us that it is never too late to change, and to change, even a small step taken in the right direction goes a long way. Change is acceptance and strength. I also learned that love conquers all, and there exists nothing that cannot be changed or forgiven with love.
******
Kalayla
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Kalayla is a book about learning to forgive and forget the past to find hope in life. In our life, we tend to run from the very root cause of our suffering and turn a blind eye to it. Perhaps even keep it buried for a long time for fear of confronting it, for fear of not being able to handle the overwhelming torrent of emotions that come with it. But we will always carry a nagging feeling of the weight of our sadness. Its heaviness never stops speaking to our conscience. The truth eventually comes out.
It is a story told in the year 1999. Kalayla is an eleven-year-old girl born to a mixed-race couple Jamal Leeroyce and Maureen O'Rourke. Kalayla's father, Jamal went drag racing with his brother Clarence and Jamal's car crashed, and as a result, he lost his life. Kalayla's mom Maureen was thrown out of her family for marrying a black man. They also refused to help her when she contacted them. So now she was powerless, and her in-laws took her in and helped her when she was having a breakdown following her husband's death. After a brief stay at her in-law's place, Maureen decides to leave, taking Kalayla with her, and decides to start her life over on her own. She finds work as a waitress in Eddie's Eatery near her new apartment and even cleans houses to survive. Maureen had had her art studio in their apartment, and she didn't have to work when Jamal was alive. But, now her whole life had turned upside down. Ostracization from friends and family, tensions of having an inter-race marriage, death of her husband, raising a child all by herself, and managing odd jobs to survive were more than she could handle at the time. Kalayla had a mind of her own, and she was a brave girl looking at how she adjusted to all the shocks in her life. She took care of her own needs and didn't rely on anyone. She also has a habit of swearing a lot.
Kalayla is an admirable girl with a lively spirit, and she always stood by her mama. She seems to think a lot, and everyone thinks that her smart mouth might get her in trouble one day. Therefore, Kalayla gradually learns to look at the weight of her actions and their consequences. But questions about her mother's family gnawed at her. When she finds out the truth, she is enraged that her mother is the biggest liar she ever knew but also shocked that her grandparents threw out her mother for marrying a black man and that they never want to see her or her mom. Maureen tries her best to protect Kalayla from the truth despite wanting to tell her about her family. She had told Kalayla that all of her family had died in a gas explosion. But her delay in divulging the truth only makes her daughter more determined to find out about it, and when the truth explodes, both Maureen and Kalayla get hurt. Maureen understands that keeping her past under wraps was only damaging her ties with her daughter. By hesitating to tell the truth, she was only protecting herself and not Kalayla from the truth because Kalayla could empathize with her mother's situation easily. At the same time, Maureen was the one who was always in denial, unable to accept that her parents were racist and ashamed to face her past.
Their landlady Lena Barzetti is a successful, seventy-two-year-old businesswoman who lives in a fourth-floor walk-up apartment across from Maureen and Kalayla. She had four sons- JJ, the eldest, turned out to be a successful businessman like his father. Her second son Mark was gone for fifteen years, and she had no idea where to find him or what happened to him. The twins had died in the Vietnam war. She lost her two sons and her husband and now, she wore only black, and her apartment was all white. Memories of her kids tormented her and being with Kalayla only accentuated the feelings of loss and pain and brought up memories of motherhood. The girl was just like her twins Jimmy and Mikie.
I rate this book 4 out of 4 . I love this book because the author Jeannie Nicholas tells a great story with great passion that even the reader can feel the pangs in their heart. Jeannie Nicholas uses punchy and eloquent language that sometimes makes you feel for the protagonist and understand that life is basically the same everywhere and that what everyone needs is love and compassion. Separation from what once belonged to us can bring us a lot of torment but moving forward is the best solution for all. Yes, this book is exceptionally well edited. There are no errors in this book. I would recommend this book to everyone who loves reading stories about family life and family drama. Though, this book does contain profanities.
The story talks about the past, sufferings, loss, and pain. However, it also emphasizes hope, love, and new beginnings. It touches on issues of marital abuse, sexuality, and race. A family need not be born out of bloodlines. A family is people who share their sorrows and happiness and show care and help each other in need. Just like how Lena became a grandmother for Kalayla and replaced the lack and emptiness that kalayla carried for so long inside her. In turn, Lena found a granddaughter in this girl whose stubbornness and cockiness often reminded her of her twins. Family is symbiotic and not always necessarily biological, and the depth of bonding between these three souls - Lena, Maureen, and Kalayla, provides proof. Kalayla is also a book about forgiveness, change, and acceptance. It teaches us that it is never too late to change, and to change, even a small step taken in the right direction goes a long way. Change is acceptance and strength. I also learned that love conquers all, and there exists nothing that cannot be changed or forgiven with love.
******
Kalayla
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Latest Review: Kalayla by Jeannie Nicholas
