Review of Kalayla
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Angelique Hoffman
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Review of Kalayla
[Following is a volunteer review of "Kalayla" by Jeannie Nicholas.]
Kalayla by Jeannie Nicholas is a heart-wrenching drama of three women from three different generations residing in Cambridge from 1990 to 2000. Lena, a 72-year-old lady, is a domestic abuse survivor who struggles with the constant triggering memories of an unhappy marriage, the loss of her twin boys who were killed in the Vietnam War, and the remaining two sons that are estranged from her in different ways. She leads a lonely, quiet, and dull life until the day Kalayla and Maureen move into the building she lives in and co-owns. Lena takes a keen interest in the pair and takes it upon herself to help this struggling young mother to keep her daughter out of trouble. Maureen, Kalayla's mom, is from an Irish family who disowned her after she married a black man. She does the best that she can raising Kalayla on her own after her husband dies in an accident. Maureen has to work two jobs just to meet the bills and has very little time to spend with her daughter so she welcomes any advice and help Lena has to offer. Kalayla is a bi-racial, independent 11-year-old girl with a whole lot of attitude and very little guidance. She roams the streets aimlessly by herself while her mother works long hours. Her whole world falls apart when she uncovers that her parents have lied to her all these years about her mother's family.
The story is told from the eyes of the three leading female characters young Kalayla, her mother Maureen, and their landlady and neighbours Lena. These three women bond together to overcome their individual struggles and help each other peel away the layers of hurt from the past, which lead them to amazing healing transformations.
I love that the story shows us that it is never too late to try and rectify the mistakes of the past. The way Lena always reminds Maureen to cut herself some slack and continue to do the best she can because there are no perfect parents was a welcomed sentiment to me as a mom of two boys. I also appreciated how the author allowed the three main characters to have their unique voices heard. Jeannie makes it easy for you to understand that their actions of their present were forged by the happenings of their pasts. The book has a sarcastic style of humor throughout that I really enjoyed too. What I disliked about the book was the profanity and I feel it might be upsetting to sensitive readers.
I would give this book 3 out of 4 stars. Overall, I think this is a well-written and well-edited book and a very good read. There are very few grammatical errors that do not disrupt your reading enjoyment. The universal interwoven themes of racism, forgiveness, domestic abuse, honesty, love and motherhood make the story relatable to today's life. However, the profanity somewhat dampened my enjoyment of this otherwise great read and for this reason, I could not award it a full 4 stars.
I would recommend this book to those who enjoy stories about forgiveness and healing from the past. I would not recommend this to sensitive readers and younger audiences due to the profanity and the one or two scenes that have slight sexual nature.
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Kalayla
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Kalayla by Jeannie Nicholas is a heart-wrenching drama of three women from three different generations residing in Cambridge from 1990 to 2000. Lena, a 72-year-old lady, is a domestic abuse survivor who struggles with the constant triggering memories of an unhappy marriage, the loss of her twin boys who were killed in the Vietnam War, and the remaining two sons that are estranged from her in different ways. She leads a lonely, quiet, and dull life until the day Kalayla and Maureen move into the building she lives in and co-owns. Lena takes a keen interest in the pair and takes it upon herself to help this struggling young mother to keep her daughter out of trouble. Maureen, Kalayla's mom, is from an Irish family who disowned her after she married a black man. She does the best that she can raising Kalayla on her own after her husband dies in an accident. Maureen has to work two jobs just to meet the bills and has very little time to spend with her daughter so she welcomes any advice and help Lena has to offer. Kalayla is a bi-racial, independent 11-year-old girl with a whole lot of attitude and very little guidance. She roams the streets aimlessly by herself while her mother works long hours. Her whole world falls apart when she uncovers that her parents have lied to her all these years about her mother's family.
The story is told from the eyes of the three leading female characters young Kalayla, her mother Maureen, and their landlady and neighbours Lena. These three women bond together to overcome their individual struggles and help each other peel away the layers of hurt from the past, which lead them to amazing healing transformations.
I love that the story shows us that it is never too late to try and rectify the mistakes of the past. The way Lena always reminds Maureen to cut herself some slack and continue to do the best she can because there are no perfect parents was a welcomed sentiment to me as a mom of two boys. I also appreciated how the author allowed the three main characters to have their unique voices heard. Jeannie makes it easy for you to understand that their actions of their present were forged by the happenings of their pasts. The book has a sarcastic style of humor throughout that I really enjoyed too. What I disliked about the book was the profanity and I feel it might be upsetting to sensitive readers.
I would give this book 3 out of 4 stars. Overall, I think this is a well-written and well-edited book and a very good read. There are very few grammatical errors that do not disrupt your reading enjoyment. The universal interwoven themes of racism, forgiveness, domestic abuse, honesty, love and motherhood make the story relatable to today's life. However, the profanity somewhat dampened my enjoyment of this otherwise great read and for this reason, I could not award it a full 4 stars.
I would recommend this book to those who enjoy stories about forgiveness and healing from the past. I would not recommend this to sensitive readers and younger audiences due to the profanity and the one or two scenes that have slight sexual nature.
******
Kalayla
View: on Bookshelves | on Amazon
Latest Review: The Maestro Monologue by Rob White
