Review of Kalayla

[Jumana_Fawmi]

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

---

4 out of 4 stars

---

Share This Review

---

Kalayla by Jeannie Nicholas is a story centred around three ladies who belongs to three different generations. The story is set in the years 1999 and 2000. These ladies are living in Cambridge.

Maureen, the mother of Kalayla, is a widow. She is trying to tackle life on her own. She is working for a living, at the same time trying to care for her 11-year-old girl. She is on her own without any support from her family or her in-laws because she married a black man. The title character Kalayla is a bold and free-spirited 11-year-old girl. Since her mother is a working single parent, Kalayla is left to do anything she wants and roam anywhere she likes. And that is until the grumpy old lady ( as Kalayla says) crosses her path. Lena is a 72-year-old. And she lives in the flat across from Kalayla and her mom. She's disturbed by the past events in her life. Her abusive marriage, the death of her twin sons and the differences between her living sons are still bothering her. She's living a mostly isolated and silent life. At least until Kalayla and Maureen bring colour to her life.

The author used first-person narration to bring the story to life. The background story of the characters adds more depth to the lively characters. As you start to read the book, it is pretty easy to empathize and relate with the characters. The writing style made me feel as if the characters are speaking to me. Also, it was easy to follow the story as the author mentioned the speaker of each chapter.

The author displayed a strong-familial bond between the characters. The story of Kalayla explains that family is not only those who are related by blood. Family is more about people who care for and love someone. Also, Jeannie tells the readers that it is not too late to repair the relationships in life.

What I loved the most about the story are the characters of Lena and Kalayla. Lena is an old lady with a sense of humour, and she has a kind nature and a soft spot for Kalayla. While Kalayla is humorous and bold but a bit of a rude girl trying to show she is tough. There's absolutely nothing i disliked about the story.

Jeannie Nicholas has done an excellent job with the book. And the book seems professionally well edited as I couldn't find any errors in my reading. Therefore I give Kalayla a rating of 4 out of 4 stars.

I recommend the book to readers who love to read fiction about family, love and drama. Mothers who find it hard to bond with their children can also learn some things from Lena. The story contains instances of abuse, sexual abuse and profanity. Also, the book contains a few incidences of racist behaviour.

******
Kalayla
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon

[Mildred Echesa]

This seems to be a magnificent book and I enjoyed reading your review

[Chimereucheya Okoroafo]

Beautiful. I can't wait to read this book and know what it feels like. Nice review.