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Avinash Soni

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Kalayla

by Jeannie Nicholas (Goodreads Author)

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Avinash Soni said: " REVIEW OF KALAYLA

Summary

Sometimes people who genuinely care about you regardless of who you are, become more important than the actual biological family you got. Kalayla by Jeannie Nicholas is the story of the above revelation in the life of 3 women REVIEW OF KALAYLA

Summary

Sometimes people who genuinely care about you regardless of who you are, become more important than the actual biological family you got. Kalayla by Jeannie Nicholas is the story of the above revelation in the life of 3 women of 3 different generations. Lena, a 72 years old widow, is suffering her past with the beautiful memories of her 2 dead children and the other 2 who don’t visit her, along with the unfortunate anamnesis of her unwanted husband. Maureen, a young widow, who recently moved with her daughter, Kalayla, is a young widow, who was abandoned by her family since she married a black, was trying so hard to keep up with all in her life, and working so hard to cater to the financial needs of the family, leading to her daughter suffering from the least of her company. Kalayla is innocent by her heart, yet very audacious and impudent through her behavior. She doesn’t think twice before uttering not-so-good words for people most often. The story revolves around the lives of these three women, with the first-person storytelling style. It’s not always easy to cope up with the loss of your children, so Lena is always looking forwards to help Maureen & experience the company of Kalayla. Because she reminds of her children, and also she doesn’t want kalayla to end up growing & becoming like one of her sons who doesn’t care much like his father. She believes her experience in upbringing four children might help. Gradually all three women start to bond together & have great relationships.

Positive aspects

Author conveyed the story from each character’s first-person perspective, so the chapters are divided as per the character as well. Also, the writing style is so accurate that as a reader I could actually relate and differentiate easily whenever a particular character was in the narrator’s seat. All the characters are different in their way, which is very realistic & lively. Then the author tries to touch sensitive topics eloquently, with balanced emotional expressiveness. What I most liked about the book is the understanding of all the characters are at perfectly balanced levels as per the personalities depicted. Lena is very experienced and mature, Maureen is not so competent in dealing with stuff because it's new for her, and Kalayla is recklessly bold and hard but contemptuous as well. As a reader, I can feel the depth of characters very easily. The events are so naturally described that you can find yourself watching Maureen & Lena, see them consoling & crying & feel the warmth, the pain, and the anxiety at many scenes. The kind of understanding & maturity was revealed, when characters understand each other is amazing. It’s always great to have someone who can understand you & your situation even before telling you.

Negative aspects

Although there was nothing as bad as I would highly disliked about the book, but author using so many cuss words when Kalayla is talking, makes me feel irritated more often, As an avid reader I personally don’t like to listen or read this kind of language, on the contrary I truly respect the artistic liberty of the author to characterize Kalayla in that fashion where reader can understand the real Kalayla, that’s why this point of dislike is not significant from that perspective.

Rating and recommendations.

I would give 4 out of 5 stars. Some minor errors and above point won’t be justifiable enough according to me deduct any stars from the ratings. Lastly I would highly recommend this book to everyone except for the people who can never tolerate any cuss words. But apart from that this book is specially dedicated to the women and their issues which are so relevant today and forever. So anyone out there can give it a try, this will be worth your time. ...more "

Jul 25, 2021 01:49AM · see review