Review of Kalayla

[amakaokoye]

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

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4 out of 4 stars

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Kalayla by Jeannie Nicholas is a book about the lives of three fictional characters with similar life challenges, loneliness. The book has its setting in the 1990s in Cambridge, Massachusetts. It is written in three person perspectives. Kalayla is a ten chapter book that centers around the lives of kalayla Leeroyce, Maureen Leeroyce (Kalayla Leeroyce's mom) and Lena Barzetti, and how they found comfort in eachother's arms.

Kalayla who the book is named after is an eleven years old teenager who has no friends and lives with her widowed mom. She's a bi-racial girl whose maternal grand parents rejected because her mom(Maureen Leeroyce) went against their wishes and married a black man, Jamal who later died in an accident. Maureen Leeroyce on the other hand hasn't gotten over her late husband's death nor the rejection from her parents. She's clueless about parenting and works different jobs to earn a living. Lena Barzetti who is Maureen's landlady is an Italian seventy-two years old woman who's mourning the death of her husband and twins who died in the Vietnam war, and also detachment from her other two sons(JJ and Mark). Lena takes an interest in Kalayla and tries to guide her so she doesn't make the same mistake her sons made, this soon results in uniting the three women together. The book Kalayla depicts the war between white and black families and how they're totally against marriages between themselves, and also addresses abuse.

I honestly enjoyed the book. I love how Jeannie Nicholas vividly described things, people and places. It got my attention. I loved the character Kalayla, she was bold and smart. And her sense of humour really made me laugh. She was really strong considering what she and her mom went through.

There was nothing I disliked about this book. It was really an interesting read that was written in the first person perspective of all three characters. I loved how Jeannie developed the characters, she did a good job in building the characters. Also, I liked how the story ended, just like most family dramas, there was a happy ending. I liked that they all had a second chance at life.

I rate this book 4 out of 4 stars because It was professional edited and therefore had no errors in the book. Also, it was an overall engaging book, it had me glued to it till I finished it. I recommend this book to adults and anyone who is going through a rough patch, down on their feet scratching rock bottom desperate for hope, a glimmer of light at the end tunnel.

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Kalayla
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[Ethan Howe]

I also enjoyed the book and loved it that all characters had a second chance in life. Thanks for the review