Review of Kalayla

[Emily Vms]

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

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4 out of 4 stars

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Book Review for Kalayla
Kalayla by Jeannie Nicholas is a story about a girl named Kalayla, her widowed mother Maureen, and Lena, the elderly lady who lived across the hall. This story relays the difficulties Kalayla faced after a life-altering secret came out and left her feeling betrayed and confused. While Maureen struggled to connect with her daughter and to make ends meet, their neighbor Lena remained a constant means of advice and support for both of them.

Throughout this novel, Lena spent most of her time trying to keep Kalayla, a strong-headed and independent girl, safe and on the right track. Most of Lena's concern stemmed from her motherly instinct and a desire to make up for the mistakes she made with her own sons. Maureen struggled with dealing with the death of her husband Jamal, as well as being estranged from her parents and siblings. Maureen, Jamal and Kalayla had been ostracized because her mother disapproved of the fact that she married a black man. While all these issues and past mistakes started coming to light, Kalayla learned how to manage her emotions and figure out who she wanted to be.

Something that I like about Kalayla is that the author did not shy away from discussing controversial issues. Kalayla discussed many problems such as sexual assault, racism, homophobia, bullying, and abuse. The wide range of topics addressed went to show how you never really know what someone has or is going through.

I would recommend this book to mature teens and parents. Kalayla can help teens learn about racism, bullying, and what things were like for women in the 1950s. This book would be valuable for parents to read because it gives the perspective of the child, the parents, and an outside observer into emotional and social issues.

I thoroughly enjoyed this novel and found nothing to dislike about it. I give this book a 4 out of 4. It was really easy to immerse yourself and relate to the characters. I look forward to reading more books by this author!

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Kalayla
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