Review of Kalayla

Mary Raheem · Post by **Mary Raheem** » 14 May 2022, 01:11

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

4 out of 4 stars

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Kalayla: a book on family, forgiveness, racism, and the trials of a single mother raising a child.

Kalayla is an eleven-year-old independent and headstrong girl who is mostly on her own. Kayala's mother, Maureen, is a 30-year-old Irish widow whose family disowned her for marrying a black man. After the death of her husband, Jamal, she had a breakdown but became better so as to take care of their daughter, but does not have much free time for her due to her job. Lena is a 72-year-old woman who decided to look after Kalayla because she's nearing an age in which she's not supposed to be wandering around on her own and also because Kalayla reminds her of her boys and the mistakes she made while bringing them up, and she hopes she can make a difference in Kalayla's life by helping Maureen train Kalayla.

This is Jeannie Nicholas's first book, and for a first book, it is so well written that it will take you on an emotional journey. Set in 1999, it touches a lot of things, like racism, and the trauma a victim of racism experiences. It also touches on the marital abuse some wives go through and the helplessness they feel in raising their children because of the fear they have for their husbands. It touches on forgiveness and letting go of grudges, which could be a very hard thing to do, especially if it is from someone one trusts explicitly.

This book gives a perspective on how parents can also make mistakes. We put our parents on a pedestal because we thought they could do no wrong, but the thing is that raising children is really hard work with no default manual, so they try their very best to raise us. You can see the growth of the characters as the story goes on; Maureen, from a distracted mother to one that was finally able to have time for her daughter; Lena was able to reach out to her estranged children and go after the one she loved; and Kalayla grew to become someone one can count on.

This book has been well edited so that there are no errors in it. I rate this book 4 out of 4 stars. I could not find any negative aspects in this book.

There were a few profanities and sexual themes, so it is more suitable for adults, especially ones that love to read about family.

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Kalayla
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CL Reviews · Post by **CL Reviews** » 18 May 2022, 06:14

kalayla seems to be an interesting girl. parent are indeed not perfect and make mistake due to the fact that they are human. I like the little girl and i hope to read this book

Mildred Echesa · Post by **Mildred Echesa** » 21 May 2022, 13:17

Parents always make mistakes while raising their kids, but they still pull through. I read this book a while back and enjoyed it. I also enjoyed your review. It was so insightful.