Review of Kalayla
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JayRaams
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Review of Kalayla
[Following is a volunteer review of "Kalayla" by Jeannie Nicholas.]
When Kalayla is exploring her new neighborhood in the summer of 1999, after the sudden death of her father, she catches the eye of her old neighbor Lena. Lena is sent down memory lane by how much Kalayla reminds her of her long-dead twin sons. Little does Lena know that taking an interest in this smart-mouth bi racial troublemaker and their widowed mother will change the course of her life and maybe the best decision she has ever made. A beautiful tale of family, loss, and redemption. Kalayla examines just how tough family can be, even chosen families have their ups and downs. Is their chosen family strong enough to hold together or will secrets from the past tear them apart? The author Jeannie Nicholas offers us a deep look at the best and worst parts of families in her first book, Kalayla. Showing us that we are stronger together.
The characters in e Kalayla are well-written, which strengthens this character-driven story. The three main characters Kalayla, her mother Maureen, and their neighbor Lena feel very real, making their conflicts and personal growth more engaging to the reader. You can’t help get invested in their stories. The writing technique of switching between the perspectives of the main characters is used with mastery. Helping the story flow and giving us insight into each character's feelings, without repeating information.
Kalayla has many supporting characters most of them bring a lot to the scenes and help the reader understand the world better. One of these characters is Clarence, Kalayla´s uncle on her dad's side. When I first read the conclusion of Clarence´s storyline I didn’t like it, Clarence is shown to be sleazy and his storyline ends in a way that I first thought justified him attempting to do something truly wrong, but after going back I realized that the author wanted to show how even if you know about someone's trauma you may not understand them till you see them at their lowest. I can see the value in making this point, but I do feel the author could use a different situation to do this. This was the only part of the book I didn’t like, but it is only a small part and doesn’t take anything away from the overall story.
For me, this is a 4 out of 4-star book, or rather a 3.7-star book but because I can not give half stars I am rounding up. It is so well-written and edited well. I would only take 0.3 off for the ending of Clarence's storyline. Apart from that I truly think this is an excellent book.
I highly recommend this for women young and old. Each of the female characters is well-written and I think young single mothers will really enjoy seeing how the women come together to create a better life for themselves and each other. Though one of the protagonists is eleven I wouldn’t recommend this book for anyone under the age of fifteen, due to its depictions of racism and marital abuse.
******
Kalayla
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
When Kalayla is exploring her new neighborhood in the summer of 1999, after the sudden death of her father, she catches the eye of her old neighbor Lena. Lena is sent down memory lane by how much Kalayla reminds her of her long-dead twin sons. Little does Lena know that taking an interest in this smart-mouth bi racial troublemaker and their widowed mother will change the course of her life and maybe the best decision she has ever made. A beautiful tale of family, loss, and redemption. Kalayla examines just how tough family can be, even chosen families have their ups and downs. Is their chosen family strong enough to hold together or will secrets from the past tear them apart? The author Jeannie Nicholas offers us a deep look at the best and worst parts of families in her first book, Kalayla. Showing us that we are stronger together.
The characters in e Kalayla are well-written, which strengthens this character-driven story. The three main characters Kalayla, her mother Maureen, and their neighbor Lena feel very real, making their conflicts and personal growth more engaging to the reader. You can’t help get invested in their stories. The writing technique of switching between the perspectives of the main characters is used with mastery. Helping the story flow and giving us insight into each character's feelings, without repeating information.
Kalayla has many supporting characters most of them bring a lot to the scenes and help the reader understand the world better. One of these characters is Clarence, Kalayla´s uncle on her dad's side. When I first read the conclusion of Clarence´s storyline I didn’t like it, Clarence is shown to be sleazy and his storyline ends in a way that I first thought justified him attempting to do something truly wrong, but after going back I realized that the author wanted to show how even if you know about someone's trauma you may not understand them till you see them at their lowest. I can see the value in making this point, but I do feel the author could use a different situation to do this. This was the only part of the book I didn’t like, but it is only a small part and doesn’t take anything away from the overall story.
For me, this is a 4 out of 4-star book, or rather a 3.7-star book but because I can not give half stars I am rounding up. It is so well-written and edited well. I would only take 0.3 off for the ending of Clarence's storyline. Apart from that I truly think this is an excellent book.
I highly recommend this for women young and old. Each of the female characters is well-written and I think young single mothers will really enjoy seeing how the women come together to create a better life for themselves and each other. Though one of the protagonists is eleven I wouldn’t recommend this book for anyone under the age of fifteen, due to its depictions of racism and marital abuse.
******
Kalayla
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Latest Review: The Legacy of Job's Wife by Cynthia Koelker
