Review of Kalayla
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Hend Kholeif
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- Latest Review: Kalayla by Jeannie Nicholas
Review of Kalayla
[Following is a volunteer review of "Kalayla" by Jeannie Nicholas.]
Kalayla by Jeannie Nicholas is a novel following the lives of three main characters throughout multiple time skips. Kalayla, a young biracial girl trying to navigate through life, her mother Maureen, whose life has been turned upside down due to her husband’s death, and their neighbor and proprietor, Lena who suffered due to many severe losses and tragedies.
Lena, described as “the Old Lady”, may seem cynical and jaded but is she truly such a harsh character? What miseries did she face to have led her to adopt such a tough exterior? Kalayla, even in her pre-teen years is a force to be reckoned with. Going about her way with much bravado, she is just barely starting to understand how things are around her while she uncovers the truth about her family. Maureen, the newly widowed mother is facing troubles coming into terms with the recent tragedy; whilst juggling work and home dynamic. How will things unfold for all of them?
This story follows each of these characters, their history, their day-to-day life, and how they all become intertwined with one another. Throughout the whole story the characters clash in an extreme manner and this can be attributed to the difference in their characters.
The first thing that stood out to me was how fiery Kalayla was. Her personality, which often challenged the patience of the 72 -year old Lena, was truly amusing. It was a little baffling as to why Lena wanted to adamantly help Kalayla, especially with their differences, but everything seemed to fall beautifully into place. Kalayla’s wit and humor made for one of the best aspects of this book. Her dynamic and interactions with other characters was so genuine and entertaining. It was especially endearing to read her dynamic with her mother Maureen, who is mentioned as to having a “woman-child” like behavior. I loved how in-tune Kalayla was with her mother’s emotions and how best they tried to help one another in their own way.
Kalayla by Jeannie Nicholas, though was written in a light-hearted manner, discussed heavy topics such as: racism, biracial marriage, and emotional abuse. These topics were tackled and explained from the characters’ point of views which made it more personal, and I, as a reader felt connected to the characters and their mannerisms.
One thing that wasn’t to my liking was how the writing seemed a little too direct, although that might grow on some readers. The chapters were also sometimes a bit inconsistent in writing style, however, that became a great advantage since it helped distinguish each characters’ voice from the other.
Kalayla, as a novel was extremely heartfelt and empowering and I was left with many thoughts to ponder over. I recommend this to readers who enjoy a light-hearted story with some depth and reflection. I also rate this as 4 out of 4 stars, because I immensely enjoyed reading it and I found the story to flow beautifully. Considering the heavy topics unraveled in the story, some profanities and violence were encountered in the novel. Therefore, readers are advised to look elsewhere if this poses issues.
******
Kalayla
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Kalayla by Jeannie Nicholas is a novel following the lives of three main characters throughout multiple time skips. Kalayla, a young biracial girl trying to navigate through life, her mother Maureen, whose life has been turned upside down due to her husband’s death, and their neighbor and proprietor, Lena who suffered due to many severe losses and tragedies.
Lena, described as “the Old Lady”, may seem cynical and jaded but is she truly such a harsh character? What miseries did she face to have led her to adopt such a tough exterior? Kalayla, even in her pre-teen years is a force to be reckoned with. Going about her way with much bravado, she is just barely starting to understand how things are around her while she uncovers the truth about her family. Maureen, the newly widowed mother is facing troubles coming into terms with the recent tragedy; whilst juggling work and home dynamic. How will things unfold for all of them?
This story follows each of these characters, their history, their day-to-day life, and how they all become intertwined with one another. Throughout the whole story the characters clash in an extreme manner and this can be attributed to the difference in their characters.
The first thing that stood out to me was how fiery Kalayla was. Her personality, which often challenged the patience of the 72 -year old Lena, was truly amusing. It was a little baffling as to why Lena wanted to adamantly help Kalayla, especially with their differences, but everything seemed to fall beautifully into place. Kalayla’s wit and humor made for one of the best aspects of this book. Her dynamic and interactions with other characters was so genuine and entertaining. It was especially endearing to read her dynamic with her mother Maureen, who is mentioned as to having a “woman-child” like behavior. I loved how in-tune Kalayla was with her mother’s emotions and how best they tried to help one another in their own way.
Kalayla by Jeannie Nicholas, though was written in a light-hearted manner, discussed heavy topics such as: racism, biracial marriage, and emotional abuse. These topics were tackled and explained from the characters’ point of views which made it more personal, and I, as a reader felt connected to the characters and their mannerisms.
One thing that wasn’t to my liking was how the writing seemed a little too direct, although that might grow on some readers. The chapters were also sometimes a bit inconsistent in writing style, however, that became a great advantage since it helped distinguish each characters’ voice from the other.
Kalayla, as a novel was extremely heartfelt and empowering and I was left with many thoughts to ponder over. I recommend this to readers who enjoy a light-hearted story with some depth and reflection. I also rate this as 4 out of 4 stars, because I immensely enjoyed reading it and I found the story to flow beautifully. Considering the heavy topics unraveled in the story, some profanities and violence were encountered in the novel. Therefore, readers are advised to look elsewhere if this poses issues.
******
Kalayla
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Latest Review: Kalayla by Jeannie Nicholas
