Review of Kalayla
Posted: 11 Sep 2021, 04:49
[Following is a volunteer review of "Kalayla" by Jeannie Nicholas.]
Kalayla, is an incredible story by Jeannie Nicholas. The book begins with Lena, who seems to be stalking Kalayla. At some point, it got me wondering why she wouldn’t mind her business. But as I read on, various themes began to unfold as I got immersed into the book. The old lady misses her boys. But Kalayla seems to remind her of the boys. Poor old lady. The painful memories of her dead sons are still fresh to her. Lena is also in her old age and Kalayla’s neighbor and landlady.
Kalayla is an intelligent young girl with the whole world before her. Their relationship with Lena is quite interesting. Lena wants to get close to Kalayla because she reminds her of her twin boys. Kalayla, on the other hand, is there because of the benefits she gets in return, such as Lena’s delicious peanut butter cookies and lemonade, and her company considering her mom is rarely around. She was brought up by a single mother, Maureen. They are struggling with life from the look of things. For instance, Maureen is forced to do odd jobs and work shifts to sustain herself and her daughter. This meant that even the time to work on her creative art hobby was no longer there.
I loved the author's style of writing that involves assigning characters a storytelling role. This helps the reader understand and get the story from a different perspective, making it even more enjoyable. From Kalayla's point of view, Lena is one pretty lonely widow. This is also portrayed in her dress code - all black, which she wore all the time.
Well, as a single mother, you're faced with many challenges. Maureen came face to face with some of these challenges, such as family rejection, financial difficulties, and bringing up her daughter alone, to name a few. I did not like how the author focuses on Lena as this damn old lady from Kalayla's point. I felt it was somewhat mean, insulting, and perhaps unnecessary.
Different themes lingered throughout the storyline, such as domestic violence, loss of family members, financial struggles, and racism, to name a few. It was easy to relate page after page as you read the story. Lena's story of her kids and the emotional struggles that she went through with her late husband and the loss of her kids was quite moving to say the least. Her story was quite relatable in real life. It perfectly depicts the kind of life that most people are actually going through.
I would recommend the book to readers who love family-themed, reconciliation, and forgiveness novels or stories. However, I would not recommend it to young readers since it has some profane words. I generally loved reading the book and will hence rate it 4 out of 4 stars. It was exceptionally well-edited and exciting to read.
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Kalayla
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Kalayla, is an incredible story by Jeannie Nicholas. The book begins with Lena, who seems to be stalking Kalayla. At some point, it got me wondering why she wouldn’t mind her business. But as I read on, various themes began to unfold as I got immersed into the book. The old lady misses her boys. But Kalayla seems to remind her of the boys. Poor old lady. The painful memories of her dead sons are still fresh to her. Lena is also in her old age and Kalayla’s neighbor and landlady.
Kalayla is an intelligent young girl with the whole world before her. Their relationship with Lena is quite interesting. Lena wants to get close to Kalayla because she reminds her of her twin boys. Kalayla, on the other hand, is there because of the benefits she gets in return, such as Lena’s delicious peanut butter cookies and lemonade, and her company considering her mom is rarely around. She was brought up by a single mother, Maureen. They are struggling with life from the look of things. For instance, Maureen is forced to do odd jobs and work shifts to sustain herself and her daughter. This meant that even the time to work on her creative art hobby was no longer there.
I loved the author's style of writing that involves assigning characters a storytelling role. This helps the reader understand and get the story from a different perspective, making it even more enjoyable. From Kalayla's point of view, Lena is one pretty lonely widow. This is also portrayed in her dress code - all black, which she wore all the time.
Well, as a single mother, you're faced with many challenges. Maureen came face to face with some of these challenges, such as family rejection, financial difficulties, and bringing up her daughter alone, to name a few. I did not like how the author focuses on Lena as this damn old lady from Kalayla's point. I felt it was somewhat mean, insulting, and perhaps unnecessary.
Different themes lingered throughout the storyline, such as domestic violence, loss of family members, financial struggles, and racism, to name a few. It was easy to relate page after page as you read the story. Lena's story of her kids and the emotional struggles that she went through with her late husband and the loss of her kids was quite moving to say the least. Her story was quite relatable in real life. It perfectly depicts the kind of life that most people are actually going through.
I would recommend the book to readers who love family-themed, reconciliation, and forgiveness novels or stories. However, I would not recommend it to young readers since it has some profane words. I generally loved reading the book and will hence rate it 4 out of 4 stars. It was exceptionally well-edited and exciting to read.
******
Kalayla
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon