Review of Kalayla
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Nikhila Kulkarni
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- Joined: 10 Oct 2020, 22:45
- Favorite Book: Kalayla
- Currently Reading: The DrugTech Trilogy
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- Latest Review: Kalayla by Jeannie Nicholas
Review of Kalayla
[Following is a volunteer review of "Kalayla" by Jeannie Nicholas.]
What would be your expectation from a book about a 10 or 11-year-old? Whatever it might be, this will be a pleasant surprise for you. Kalayla is an exceptionally well-written fictional book by Jeannie Nicholas. The story isn’t only about the girl; it is also about her 30-year-old mother, Maureen, and the 72-year-old “Old Lady,” Lena Barzetti. The story flows parallelly with three ladies’ perspectives, and with each event that happens in either one of their lives, it gives us a sneak-peek into each of their stories.
The story begins with “The Old Lady,” as Kalayla calls her, being annoyed and worried about her little neighbor Kalayla, and reminiscing the old times seeing the way Kalayla leads her life. The plot is from the ‘90s and the early 2000s era and lets us in on the struggles of the dark skin-colored people. Maureen marries the love of her life, Jamal, by going against her racist parents, and they end up disowning her. The mother-daughter duo, Maureen and Kalayla, are on their own in this hostile world after Maureen’s black husband, Jamal, passes away. Just then, Kalayla does small jobs for old Miss Lena in exchange for juice and cookies in the beginning to full meals later. Eventually, the story progresses, revealing deeper secrets about the two grown-up ladies and taking us on the ride, along with Kalayla adjusting to them. The twisting events bring the three closer, and without them realizing, they become a loving family who always looks out for each other.
The story of the book isn’t anything complex. In fact, in my opinion, it is an ordinary tale about three people’s life events, written most beautifully. Jeannie Nicholas has done an excellent job writing the characters. The character development is written so thoughtfully; you find yourself involved in each one of them pretty soon. And so much that every time Kalayla is hurt, you will feel her pain yourself and feel as touched as Lena must’ve felt when Kalayla hugged her.
The best part about the book is the character development and the author’s distinctive and brilliant writing. Each character’s piece is very aptly written to fit their role. Like every time you read Kalayla’s part, you’ll find yourself giggling, and every time you read Lena’s part, the mature language reflects her character well. Thus, without going back to the starting page of the chapter to confirm, one can know whose part they are reading.
The story subtly gives the readers important life lessons like owning our mistakes, forgiving, and most importantly, it is okay to make mistakes and mend them when you realize. I found only a few errors in the book, and they did not affect my reading experience. In fact, I found nothing negative about the book. It is professionally edited and has a brilliantly written story that has your attention till the very last page, which is why I rate the book 4 out 4 stars. The story has instances of profanity, racism, and abuse; hence I do not recommend this book for kids. However, for adults, do not miss this beautiful read. It will leave lasting positive spirits in your mind and change your perspectives about certain things entirely.
******
Kalayla
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
What would be your expectation from a book about a 10 or 11-year-old? Whatever it might be, this will be a pleasant surprise for you. Kalayla is an exceptionally well-written fictional book by Jeannie Nicholas. The story isn’t only about the girl; it is also about her 30-year-old mother, Maureen, and the 72-year-old “Old Lady,” Lena Barzetti. The story flows parallelly with three ladies’ perspectives, and with each event that happens in either one of their lives, it gives us a sneak-peek into each of their stories.
The story begins with “The Old Lady,” as Kalayla calls her, being annoyed and worried about her little neighbor Kalayla, and reminiscing the old times seeing the way Kalayla leads her life. The plot is from the ‘90s and the early 2000s era and lets us in on the struggles of the dark skin-colored people. Maureen marries the love of her life, Jamal, by going against her racist parents, and they end up disowning her. The mother-daughter duo, Maureen and Kalayla, are on their own in this hostile world after Maureen’s black husband, Jamal, passes away. Just then, Kalayla does small jobs for old Miss Lena in exchange for juice and cookies in the beginning to full meals later. Eventually, the story progresses, revealing deeper secrets about the two grown-up ladies and taking us on the ride, along with Kalayla adjusting to them. The twisting events bring the three closer, and without them realizing, they become a loving family who always looks out for each other.
The story of the book isn’t anything complex. In fact, in my opinion, it is an ordinary tale about three people’s life events, written most beautifully. Jeannie Nicholas has done an excellent job writing the characters. The character development is written so thoughtfully; you find yourself involved in each one of them pretty soon. And so much that every time Kalayla is hurt, you will feel her pain yourself and feel as touched as Lena must’ve felt when Kalayla hugged her.
The best part about the book is the character development and the author’s distinctive and brilliant writing. Each character’s piece is very aptly written to fit their role. Like every time you read Kalayla’s part, you’ll find yourself giggling, and every time you read Lena’s part, the mature language reflects her character well. Thus, without going back to the starting page of the chapter to confirm, one can know whose part they are reading.
The story subtly gives the readers important life lessons like owning our mistakes, forgiving, and most importantly, it is okay to make mistakes and mend them when you realize. I found only a few errors in the book, and they did not affect my reading experience. In fact, I found nothing negative about the book. It is professionally edited and has a brilliantly written story that has your attention till the very last page, which is why I rate the book 4 out 4 stars. The story has instances of profanity, racism, and abuse; hence I do not recommend this book for kids. However, for adults, do not miss this beautiful read. It will leave lasting positive spirits in your mind and change your perspectives about certain things entirely.
******
Kalayla
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Latest Review: Kalayla by Jeannie Nicholas
