Review of Kalayla: Unraveling Tangles
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[Following is an official OnlineBookClub.org review of "Kalayla: Unraveling Tangles" by Jeannie Nicholas.]
Jeannie Nicholas’s Kalayla: Unraveling Tangles is a compassionate tale. The life’s essence is in living it, and the smallest nuances of being happy, sad, or hopeful is conveyed with profound truthfulness in the author's debut work, making it evident that the same human feelings reverberate in all the cultures; when juxtaposed, one can dwell in the other's empathy!
In a multicultural Cambridge neighborhood in the late 90s, the story bloomed gradually. Jamal is a Cambridge smart lad. Maureen’s heart is torn between choosing her heart's desire—to meet Jamal—and her family’s pressure to subdue it. Her family's history and beliefs simply ignored his smartness over his racial identity. But maybe fate had other plans for them.
Kalayla is the thread knitting this story together. Her life story is simple yet captivating. She is a lost kid amidst the unrelenting chaos of her mind, strewn in the dismay of a broken family. Her father is not with her anymore, and her mother—Maureen—couldn't take that shock well, still recovering from the loss. Kalayla was too young to remember everything, yet she knew she was missing out on life—simply being aware of being alone but not knowing how to live with that. Her mother loves her and is indebted to have her daughter by her side during difficult times in her life. They are lucky to have a friendly, small group of loving friends in their lives.
Lena is the wizened one, she knows about almost everything that life has to offer. An Italian in a mixed-culture community, she could see the world from a unique perspective. She owns Monjetti Properties now, a long-standing real estate firm in the area. However, she had a miserable life, enduring pain and loss. But she kept growing, resilient to sustaining herself, gradually yet resolutely. She yearns to help Kalayla as her own. Lena couldn't bear Maureen’s pain because she knew that only her life lessons could help Maureen persevere. And this became her life mantra. Her friend Lotta is the gem in her life, as she knows every bit of Lena. They have been best of friends since they remembered.
Positive and negative aspects about the book:
The author has painted a vivid world of disparity, especially of race and its unimaginable effects on people's lives. Strong emotions explicitly define the author's characters, as each one has something to tell the reader. The flow of the story leaves you immensely entertained as the book moves to and fro in the backstory and the present of its characters simultaneously. And the chapters are orchestrated in an intelligent order such that they unravel the story gradually yet at a decent pace to be nothing short of entertaining. The author's write-up impresses with the first person point of view of all her characters in the book. It beautifully transforms the experience of reading into an immersive and interactive one. The author's characters are hilarious and serenely deep at the same time. However, I found errors in the book editing and based on the above mentioned positive points, I would rate the book 4 out of 5 stars. Besides this I don't have any other negative aspects to share about the book. I would recommend this book to fans of intense tales of human emotion, loss, and redemption.
******
Kalayla: Unraveling Tangles
View: on Bookshelves |
Jeannie Nicholas’s Kalayla: Unraveling Tangles is a compassionate tale. The life’s essence is in living it, and the smallest nuances of being happy, sad, or hopeful is conveyed with profound truthfulness in the author's debut work, making it evident that the same human feelings reverberate in all the cultures; when juxtaposed, one can dwell in the other's empathy!
In a multicultural Cambridge neighborhood in the late 90s, the story bloomed gradually. Jamal is a Cambridge smart lad. Maureen’s heart is torn between choosing her heart's desire—to meet Jamal—and her family’s pressure to subdue it. Her family's history and beliefs simply ignored his smartness over his racial identity. But maybe fate had other plans for them.
Kalayla is the thread knitting this story together. Her life story is simple yet captivating. She is a lost kid amidst the unrelenting chaos of her mind, strewn in the dismay of a broken family. Her father is not with her anymore, and her mother—Maureen—couldn't take that shock well, still recovering from the loss. Kalayla was too young to remember everything, yet she knew she was missing out on life—simply being aware of being alone but not knowing how to live with that. Her mother loves her and is indebted to have her daughter by her side during difficult times in her life. They are lucky to have a friendly, small group of loving friends in their lives.
Lena is the wizened one, she knows about almost everything that life has to offer. An Italian in a mixed-culture community, she could see the world from a unique perspective. She owns Monjetti Properties now, a long-standing real estate firm in the area. However, she had a miserable life, enduring pain and loss. But she kept growing, resilient to sustaining herself, gradually yet resolutely. She yearns to help Kalayla as her own. Lena couldn't bear Maureen’s pain because she knew that only her life lessons could help Maureen persevere. And this became her life mantra. Her friend Lotta is the gem in her life, as she knows every bit of Lena. They have been best of friends since they remembered.
Positive and negative aspects about the book:
The author has painted a vivid world of disparity, especially of race and its unimaginable effects on people's lives. Strong emotions explicitly define the author's characters, as each one has something to tell the reader. The flow of the story leaves you immensely entertained as the book moves to and fro in the backstory and the present of its characters simultaneously. And the chapters are orchestrated in an intelligent order such that they unravel the story gradually yet at a decent pace to be nothing short of entertaining. The author's write-up impresses with the first person point of view of all her characters in the book. It beautifully transforms the experience of reading into an immersive and interactive one. The author's characters are hilarious and serenely deep at the same time. However, I found errors in the book editing and based on the above mentioned positive points, I would rate the book 4 out of 5 stars. Besides this I don't have any other negative aspects to share about the book. I would recommend this book to fans of intense tales of human emotion, loss, and redemption.
******
Kalayla: Unraveling Tangles
View: on Bookshelves |
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