Review of Kalayla

[Ghuddie]

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

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4 out of 4 stars

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In Kalayla, the author wrote the story of an eleven-year-old girl who was anti-social and stubborn. The tale began in the summer of 1999. Kalayla had lost her father, and Lena Barzetti took an interest in her because she reminded her of her children. Kalayla's uncle took up the fatherly role after her father's death, but Kalayla was uncomfortable with that. The loss of her father brought out the unruly side of her. There was no strong figure to control her excesses.

In December 1999, Maureen was disturbed by how difficult it was to be a mother, especially to a girl like Kalayla. She loved art and wished Kalayla was one of the artworks she could just work on and get right. She didn't spend enough time with Kalayla to play and discover her interests, so it was difficult to decipher what Kalayla liked so as to get her out of her moods. Kalayla's relationship with people was adversely affected by her mother's nonchalance towards her. Lena came into the picture to help Kalayla turn a new leaf. Did it work out? How did Kalayla react to the revelations Maureen and Lena made later on? Find out by reading this beautiful piece of literature written by Jeannie Nicholas.

There are many positives to this book. One major thing that stood out for me was the story's plot development. The story progressed beautifully. The reader could get on with the flow of the story without hassle. There was absolutely no room for confusion. The events in the story flowed with ease. Also, the characters in the story were well developed. Kalayla, Maureen, Lena, and all other characters in the story were sufficiently developed. The reader could relate to their personalities. The division of the book into different chapters containing the stories of the three women in the book was very impressive. The division made for easy comprehension of the story. Nothing was muddled up in the story.

On what I didn't like about the book, I didn't appreciate the discriminatory behavior exhibited by Maureen's family towards her husband because of his race. I guess that is part of the problems the book sought to highlight. I also didn't quite appreciate the number of vulgar words in the book. Being that Kalayla is an eleven-year-old girl, I felt it would have been more appropriate to avoid the use of vulgar words or at least use it moderately. Sexual descriptions were also detailed in the book. These factors limit the demographic that can read the book to only adults. Aside from the above-mentioned negative points, I had a great time reading the book.

The book was exceptionally well edited. I didn't come across spelling or grammatical errors in it. As a result, I rate the book 4 out of 4 stars. It was a sensational read. The negative points were insufficient to propel me to deduct a single star from the book.

I recommend the book to lovers of intriguing fiction stories on the themes of family, love, and forgiveness. The book contains a lot of vulgar words and shouldn't be read by children.

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Kalayla
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[Ekezie1998]

I have seen this book reviewed by a good number of people. Quite an intriguing plot, would definitely love to have this on my shelves.

[Alexander C Schmoock]

Kalayla's character is such an interesting one. I hope Lena was able to get her to turn a new leaf. Great review.

[Prisallen]

This sounds like a great character-driven novel with themes that are pertinent in today's world. Thanks for your wonderful review!

[Umesh Bhatt]

The review suggests that story has a good plot and the score given is tempting us to go through the book. A nice review.

[Honest-reviewer]

I too have read and reviewed this book. I like kalayla’s character. Great review!

[T T 2]

It was in my reading list but was contemplating after reading its synopsis. The story seems good but I am not sure whether it is to my liking. However, it is a good review. Thank You.

[Aisha Yakub]

Kalayla is a beautiful love story. Getting rejected by your own blood could be devastating. No one is perfect at the end of the day. We must see beyond people's skin color. Thank you for the review