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I believe Jamal's death is very significant, and the story would be much different. Maureen and Lena have a bond over being both widows, and this is throughout the whole story. I think the entire character of Clarence would be changed with Jamal living. A lot of characters had loss that drove their behavior in the book.

Jamal is not mentioned much in the story. However, he seemed to be the type that would have tried to reconcile with his wife's family. Kalayla would not be as difficult if her father was still alive. I think his death compounded her problem.

I think if Jamal didn't die, Maureen's parentr couldn't have forgiven her. Their relationship wouldn't have been good.

I think that if Jamal would have been alive, things would have turned out differently. Kalayla would not have to work because Jalal would provide what she needs. As a result, she would never have met her grandfather and the reconciliation would not have taken place.

Catie139 wrote: ↑01 Sep 2020, 09:56 Kalayla's issues were definitely impacted by racism, but also by the fact that her father had died. How do you think the story would have been different had Jamal lived? Could reconciliation between the family have happened earlier?

I think Jamal could've significantly influenced their family's life, especially Kalayla's. Jamal's presence would've meant more attention given to Kalayla since Maureen won't be alone in parenting. His existence will also likely improve their family's poor condition. His role as husband and father are very vital and impactful in many ways. In terms of the reconciliation, although Jamal had passionately showed his disagreement to Maureen's lying, I think he wanted Kalayla to hear the truth from Maureen so he didn't told it himself. But I still think reconciliation would've happened earlier with Jamal's insistence and support to Maureen.

This is a tough but wonderful question. I think that Jamal would have added some great insight to the story, and maybe he would have been able to disrupt some of the chaos happening in the story (namely with Uncle Clarance creeping on his wife). At the same time, there would have been something lost to the significance of Maureen going it alone. She had to grow on her own and make her own realizations. In terms of reconnecting with her family, I know that Mr. O said that he'd like to believe that he'd still extend an olive branch if Jamal were still alive, but it's doubtful. After all those years of placating his racist wife, he had also made a stand against Jamal and Maureen with his silence. Reconnecting with his daughter was paramount for recovery, but had he had to talk to Jamal too, I think there would have been less chance of Mr. O inviting Kalayla to ice cream, or Maureen's mother changing her mind near the end.

I think Kalayla was the one that brought them together, but it was a chain of events that led to her being there when Maureen's father arrives. Maybe if Jamal was alive they wouldn't have met, and the family would have continued to live like Maureen didn't exist.

I don't think the situation with Maureen's family would have been changed much by Jamal being alive, if anything, Maureen would likely have been much more self-sufficient and comfortable with her life and may have been less open to reconnecting with them. Jamal, Maureen and Kalayla most likely would have had much more enjoyable lives though, even if this might mean they never end up crossing paths with Lena

I think Jamal wouldn't have any influence on this. The reconciliation would have happened in its own time. Even though he wanted to pressure Maureen to tell Kalayla the truth, the reconciliation was meant to happen in its own time

Kalayla's life would have been different, for sure. From what I gathered, it was Jamal who took care of Kalayla while Maureen took care of her art. After Jamal's death, Kalayla has had to grow up fast and look out for herself because Maureen still doesn't know half of what's going on with her. As for reconciliation with Maureen's family, I don't think that would have happened sooner. I mean, they didn't even help Maureen and Kalayla after they lost Jamal and really needed their help.

Catie139 wrote: ↑01 Sep 2020, 09:56 Kalayla's issues were definitely impacted by racism, but also by the fact that her father had died. How do you think the story would have been different had Jamal lived? Could reconciliation between the family have happened earlier?

Hmm.. If Jamal was still alive then they'd be living fine and they would have never met Lena. And maybe if they hadn't met Lena she wouldn't have reconciled with her sons. And maybe they wouldn't have met Rico and Kalayla wouldn't have worked in the gym where she met her cousin. Its all complicated so I'm not totally show. But destiny has a way of playing tricks.

I think that Maureen's parents would still be stuck on their racist views if Jamal was alive. I believe their sympathy for Maureen after Jamal's death made it easier for them to reconcile. In my opinion, Jamal's death played a major part in Maureen getting reconnected with her family.

Because Kalayla was a smart child, I think the reconciliation will definitely happen sooner if her father was still alive. Furthermore, Kalayla was really loved her father.

Catie139 wrote: ↑01 Sep 2020, 09:56 Kalayla's issues were definitely impacted by racism, but also by the fact that her father had died. How do you think the story would have been different had Jamal lived? Could reconciliation between the family have happened earlier?

This is a good question. To be honest, I don't think the family would have reconciled if Jamal was alive, and even Maureen's father didn't give a straight answer when he was asked. And then adding the fact that Maureen went to see her mother immediately after Jamal died and her mother still rejected her, so I don't think the reconciliation should have happened earlier.

As per the story, Maureen's Father was holding himself because of her wife. And also Jamal was sure that they won't accept Maureen anytime soon. So I don't think there was any chance of reconciliation if Jamal would be alive.