Review of Kalayla

[Oye Timothy]

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

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4 out of 4 stars

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Racism and its ugly impacts, loss of loved ones and the ordeals of a single mother trying to raise her only daughter were what Jeannie Nicholas detailed in Kalayla.

In 1999, Lena was walking home in the neighbourhood of Cambridge when she saw a little girl who she thought was about 10 or 11 years old wandering around. She thought it was really dangerous for a girl of that age to be out alone on the street. Lena is a rich landlady who was physically, mentally and domestically abused by her husband when she was young. She had lost two of her kids and the other two are emotionally and physically away from her. She has been lonely and she knows how painful it is for someone to lose their children. Later that day, she realized the girl, with her mother, stays in the same apartment she stays in. Lena took it as a responsibility to take care of the girl, which she later found to be Kalayla because her mom, Maureen, works mostly the time of the day. During this, Kalayla discovers her mother and Lena have been keeping a big secret from her. What was the secret? How did Kalayla react when she got wind of the secret being held from her?

Kalayla was a fascinating book. The first thing that intrigued me about the book was the character's development. Kalayla herself from a gritty little kid to a personality that is soft, hardworking, social and forgiving. Maureen, her mom, from someone trying to be secretive to someone who discovered the ugly consequences of keeping secrets, especially to loved ones.

Maureen's character as a single mom is relatable as my mother is a single mom too. The travails, the experiences and the impacts of raising a single child was what Jeannie Nicholas all accounted for in her book.

This is a work that touched on the ugly impact of racism; as shown in the marriage of Jamal and Maureen, rejections and how it affected Maureen's mental health, how sad to lose a loved one and the bravery of raising a single child.

I did enjoy reading Kalayla. I only observed one error. So, I believed the book was properly edited. It doesn't affect my rating as I will rate this book a 4 out of 4 stars. Because this is a book that sheds light on the awful impacts of racism and discrimination in society, rejections and how to deal with it, and also not to give up on love. I would recommend this book to you if you love family books.

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Kalayla
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[Ailakhu Yusau Aizhebiomon]

Kalayla is one of the most interesting books I have read in recent times. I like the storyline plus the perfect characterization. I must admit that the author did a superb work putting this book together. More so, you made the book sound more interesting.