A Second Chance

Use this forum to discuss the September 2020 Book of the month, " "Kalayla" by Jeannie Nicholas.
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Emilia Kvatchadze
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Re: A Second Chance

Post by Emilia Kvatchadze »

I don't think Lena necessarily sees it as a second chance in the beginning, but rather just a way for her to help a family in need. However, I do think that Lena somehow realizes, that maybe kalayla is a second chance for her to raise and give love to another child, further in on their relationship.
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Post by Donald Trust »

Yes, and am happy she made no mistake this time. I could imagine her determination to make this work while reading.
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Post by Victoria Ukamaka »

Lena kind of vowed not allow what happened to her sonsvrepeat with Kalayla. To me, she gave herself a second chance not to mess up.
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Post by Ohna Martin »

Yes, not just Kalyla but her mother as well. This is Lena's chance at a second family although no one will be able to completely fill the void that the death of her sons left.
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Post by Cocobutta »

I think Lena definitely saw Kaylayla as a second chance. She wanted to use what she had learnt from parenting her boys and the mistakes she made to try to help Kaylayla and Maureen
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Post by Jerry Anozie »

Saying that she saw it as a second chance means to me that she deliberately had two chances and she wasted the first. I would say that she recognizes her error when she met Kalayla.
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Post by Azuka Jessica »

Yes, she certainly does see Kalayla that way. That's why she took Kalayla as her own, cared for her and treated her like a child. She saw Kalayla has another chance at parenting, another chance to correct her mistakes.
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Post by Odindi Omo »

Yes, even the book says so. Lena saw Kalayla as a chance to do things the right way. It was a second chance for her. That was why she could allow herself to love again.
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Post by Avishi »

Yes, I think so. Lena does everything she can to not repeat the past mistakes of her. This is evident in how she tries to get Kalayla close with her mother.
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Post by Hazel Mae Bagarinao »

Anna Dougherty wrote: 01 Sep 2020, 10:23 Lena immediately takes an interest in Kalayla because she reminds her of her children. It is clear how much Lena misses her sons due to how she dresses in black and has photos of them all around her home. Do you think that Lena sees Kalayla as a second chance to love and care for a child?
For me, yes! For a missing part for her sons, she put Kalayla her attention, supposedly for her sons. I like her character in the book.
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Post by Alexandria Sarai Mitchell »

Lena always loved her children, she just had very little control over how much she could express that to the children due to the fact that her husband was abusive. So yes, in a way, she did feel like Kalayla was a second chance at loving a child the way she would have loved her own children.
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Post by Unique Mary Iloakasia »

Yes, I think she sees her as a second chance. I applaud her ford doing her best to helping Kalayla.
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Post by Agbata Trust »

Yeah she deserves a chance. It was difficult at first but she kept pushing, spending time with her just the way she should have done for her son's. It's was emotional.
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Post by Mercylib »

I don't think she sees it as a second chance as much as just a chance to help a child she sees that needs guidance.
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Post by revathy sw »

This is an interesting take on Lena's relationship with Kalayla. I think, at least subconsciously, Lena sees Kalayla as a chance for redemption and self-healing. While there are no indications in the novel of Lena having been a completely absentee or neglectful mother to her boys (she seems to have done the best she could given her horrible living situation), it is still clear that she considers herself as having done a bad job as a parent. So, in her interactions with Kalayla, she definitely seems to be trying to make up for her mistakes by making sure Maureen does not make the same ones she did. Lena even says something to this effect early on in the novel.
Just an average book-lover bumbling through life :tiphat:
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