Review of Kalayla
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Ivy Waweru
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Review of Kalayla
[Following is a volunteer review of "Kalayla" by Jeannie Nicholas.]
The Book is titled ["Kalayla"][/i]. It is a coming-of-age story and the challenges [Kalayla][/i] has to overcome to find herself and a purpose. She is a preteen born into a family with secrets that will eventually change the trajectory of her whole life. Her mother, Maureen constantly has to struggle to find a balance between working and nurturing her daughter. She lost her husband who was her support system. Maureen is still in mourning and she moves away from her-in-laws in an attempt to find greener pastures. Her relationship with her daughter starts on a rocky foundation because she hasn’t faced her own demons. Their elderly neighbour and landlord, Lena takes an interest to [Kalayla's][/i] life and on the way learns a few things about being brave and healing from past traumas. She was in an unhealthy relationship with her husband and this heavily impacted how she interacted with her sons. The themes include Family dynamics, Domestic Violence, Racial prejudice, Motherhood, Redemption, Coming of age.
I really enjoyed the book because Jeannie Nicholas, the author used a raw approach to tell the story. This made the book authentic and relatable. She wrote from the perspective of her three main characters. We get to experience their three unique views. How [Kalayla][/i], an 11-year-old navigates the world on her own. How Maureen, a middle-aged woman tries to find balance in a chaotic world. Finally, how Lena who is 72years attempts to make peace with her past while saving the relationship between mother and daughter.
At the beginning, the story was hard to follow especially when the story was told from Lena's perspective. Tenses were mixed and misused.
I would rate the book [3 out of 4][/b] stars. This is because the sentences were unnecessary long which made the text prone to mistakes.
This book is suitable for teenagers as they can relate to most of the novel's themes. This also makes it unsuitable for a younger audience. Adults may also enjoy it as it promotes a fresh perspective on how to face everyday dilemmas.
Here are a few errors that I noted."Mass.Ave. had sidewalks, so I'd walk one side going and other side coming back. Page 14, 2nd sentence.
"...this morning she said" then followed by a question. page 19, 2nd paragraph.
The following are examples of profanity used. "Cow turds" page 19,3rd paragraph. It is a reoccurring word in the chapters told from [Kalayla's][/i] perspective.
Asshole page 19, last paragraph, the first statement.
That would be a real pisser on page 339.The final sentence
******
Kalayla
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
The Book is titled ["Kalayla"][/i]. It is a coming-of-age story and the challenges [Kalayla][/i] has to overcome to find herself and a purpose. She is a preteen born into a family with secrets that will eventually change the trajectory of her whole life. Her mother, Maureen constantly has to struggle to find a balance between working and nurturing her daughter. She lost her husband who was her support system. Maureen is still in mourning and she moves away from her-in-laws in an attempt to find greener pastures. Her relationship with her daughter starts on a rocky foundation because she hasn’t faced her own demons. Their elderly neighbour and landlord, Lena takes an interest to [Kalayla's][/i] life and on the way learns a few things about being brave and healing from past traumas. She was in an unhealthy relationship with her husband and this heavily impacted how she interacted with her sons. The themes include Family dynamics, Domestic Violence, Racial prejudice, Motherhood, Redemption, Coming of age.
I really enjoyed the book because Jeannie Nicholas, the author used a raw approach to tell the story. This made the book authentic and relatable. She wrote from the perspective of her three main characters. We get to experience their three unique views. How [Kalayla][/i], an 11-year-old navigates the world on her own. How Maureen, a middle-aged woman tries to find balance in a chaotic world. Finally, how Lena who is 72years attempts to make peace with her past while saving the relationship between mother and daughter.
At the beginning, the story was hard to follow especially when the story was told from Lena's perspective. Tenses were mixed and misused.
I would rate the book [3 out of 4][/b] stars. This is because the sentences were unnecessary long which made the text prone to mistakes.
This book is suitable for teenagers as they can relate to most of the novel's themes. This also makes it unsuitable for a younger audience. Adults may also enjoy it as it promotes a fresh perspective on how to face everyday dilemmas.
Here are a few errors that I noted."Mass.Ave. had sidewalks, so I'd walk one side going and other side coming back. Page 14, 2nd sentence.
"...this morning she said" then followed by a question. page 19, 2nd paragraph.
The following are examples of profanity used. "Cow turds" page 19,3rd paragraph. It is a reoccurring word in the chapters told from [Kalayla's][/i] perspective.
Asshole page 19, last paragraph, the first statement.
That would be a real pisser on page 339.The final sentence
******
Kalayla
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Latest Review: How To Be Successful by M. Curtis McCoy
