Review of Kalayla

[Aggy3]

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

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3 out of 4 stars

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Kalayla by Jeannie Nicholas is a book that concentrates on two women and a young girl. The author narrates the story of each of them in different chapters but also other characters are included in each chapter. Maureen, Lena and Kalayla play a major role in the development of the storyline.

Maureen is Kalayla's mother who is married by a black man, Jamal. Her family being racist, disown her when they realize that their daughter is dating someone who is not of their race. The fact that they saw Maureen as bringing a bad picture to the family made them to cut her off from the family. After Jamal's death, Maureen and Kalayla moved in to a new apartment where Lena, an old lady, is the landlady. Kalayla, who is 11 years old, grabs Lena's attention in that she notices her as being a loner. Which reminds him of her twin boys who were different from kalayla because they always had friends. The bond between Lena and Kalalyla grows with time as she tries to change Kalayla's behaviour since her mother is always busy with two jobs. Kalayla spends most of her time at Lena's because she is paid when she helps the old lady. Rico, who is carlotta's brother, helps Kalayla with her dance classes. Minor characters like JJ, Eddie,Lucinda, Maureen's dad and Mark also contribute to the growth of the characters in the book. Will Kalayla change her behaviour? Will Maureen's parents accept her back? Read this book to know more.

The book is a perfect description of family not only by blood but also by friendship. This is illustrated by the relationship between Maureen, Kalayla and Lena and between Carlotta and Lena. I loved the fact that most of the characters came together to help when they were planning Maureen's birthday. The author uses easy language in writing the book which made it easier to read without stressing on looking for the meaning of the words. Before the story started in each chapter, the author indicated a character above the chapter title which made it easier for me to know whose side of the story was being narrated.

The character Kalayla is a young girl but she uses words that I couldn't imagine a 11 year old child could use. That made me dislike Kalayla's language. She was kind of rude which did not interest me in her character role in the book.

I rate this book 3 out of 4 stars because of some profanity used in the book. Despite that, the book was still a great read.It was exceptionally edited. I enjoyed it very much. I recommend this book to anyone who loves family drama and suspense.

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Kalayla
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