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Lola Jaye
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Being Lara: A Novel Kindle Edition

by Lola Jaye (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 28 ratings
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A poignant and provocative story of adoption, self-discovery, and the meaning of family, Being Lara by author Lola Jaye (By the Time You Read This) is an unforgettable tale of three women—British mother, Nigerian birth mother, and 30-year-old daughter—the choices they made, and the fragile bond they try to create across time and continents. Intelligent and touching, BeingLara is exquisite contemporary fiction with heart and soul that will resonate with readers of Cecilia Ahearn, Thrity Umrigar, and Shilpi Gowda.
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  1. Print length
    323 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  4. Publisher
    William Morrow Paperbacks
  5. Publication date
    March 13, 2012
  6. File size
    1783 KB
  7. Page Flip
    Enabled
  8. Word Wise
    Enabled
  9. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
  10. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

What other explanation could there be? With her dark complexion and kinky hair, so unlike her fair-skinned parents, Lara knew she was different. At eight she finally learned the word "adopted." Twenty-two years later, a stranger arrives as she blows out the candles on her thirtieth birthday cake—a woman in a blue-and-black head tie who also claims the title "Lara’s mother."

Lara, always in control, now finds her life slipping free of the stranglehold she's had on it. Unexpected, dangerously unfamiliar emotions are turning Lara's life upside down, pulling her between Nigeria and London, forcing her to confront the truth about her past. But if she's brave enough to embrace the lives of her two mothers, she may discover once and for all what it truly means to be Lara.

About the Author

Lola Jaye was born and raised in London, England, where she still makes her home; she has also lived briefly in Nigeria. By the Time You Read This—Lola's first U.S. novel—was published by HarperCollins in 2009. Her inspirational essay "Reaching for the Stars: How You Can Make Your Dreams Come True," in which she charted her journey from foster child to author, was released in 2009 as part of the U.K.'s wildly popular Quick Reads program.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B005WJ25SY
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ William Morrow Paperbacks (March 13, 2012)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ March 13, 2012
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 1783 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 323 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 28 ratings

About the author

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Lola Jaye

Lola Jaye

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Lola Jaye is an author, registered psychotherapist and speaker who has penned six novels and a self-help book.

She was born and raised in London, England and has lived in Nigeria and the United States. She currently works as a psychotherapist. She has written for, CNN, HuffPost, Essence and the BBC and also speaks on issues of mental health and racism. She has also appeared on national television, most recently discussing Covid 19 and mental wellbeing. Lola once gave a presentation on imposter syndrome – a subject close to her heart, because at times she’s unable to believe she’s an actual writer!

The Attic Child (Macmillan) is her first epic historical novel.

Keep up to date with Lola via:

www.lolajaye.com

Twitter

Instagram

Customer reviews

4.3 out of 5 stars
4.3 out of 5
28 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Folamiluvs
5.0 out of 5 stars Great read
Reviewed in the United States on May 2, 2012
Verified Purchase
"Being Lara" is a great read that covers two continents. You can actually feel the pain of Yomi and Mum as you turn the pages. I especially love the caring heart of her adopted dad.
3 people found this helpful
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AnitaNotherBook
3.0 out of 5 stars Not the book for me
Reviewed in the United States on February 2, 2016
Verified Purchase
I would give this book 2.5 stars, but due to the fact that that's not possible, I'm rounding up because this isn't my normal genre of choice so I guess this book just isn't my cup of tea and I kind of knew it from the start so I'm not sure why I read it. I found the story line intriguing-- a Nigerian girl is adopted by white British parents, and her birth mother comes back into her life on her 30th birthday-- and I really enjoyed the parts of the book that took place in Nigeria. But I just couldn't get into the parts of the book (which was most of the book) that took place in Essex.

The book was rather cliche and cheesy. The writing was not good, and at times it was downright hard to follow what the author was trying to say. There were quite a few grammatical "errors" or just incorrect ways of writing. The characters were more like sketches and I lacked the ability to empathize with most of them. There were also entire sections that were italicized and that was annoying. And some of the flashbacks were confusing in terms of the time sequence. I felt that the book was entirely too long and included mundane and unnecessary scenes.

One main issue I had with this book is that it didn't really go into racial identity which seemed odd for a book about identity issues. Also the light-skinned girl on the cover really bothers me because the main character is supposed to be 100% dark-skinned Nigerian. I don't understand writing a book about a black girl being adopted by white parents but then shying away from the subject. And I know that the author doesn't get to choose (or approve?) the cover but it just further ruined it for me.

* * *

The remainder of this review contains SPOILERS.

* * *

The questions/issues I had that really annoyed me about this book were as follows:

- Why (and how?!) did the birth mom walk right in on Lara's 30th birthday party? If she really cared for her daughter that seems like an awful way to try to introduce herself into her life!

- The fact that the father hid the birth mother's attempts to contact Lara-- and many facts about her existence and Lara's origin as well-- didn't sit right with me at all. I am not sure what adoptive parents are supposed to do in this situation as in my opinion if someone is unable or unwilling to care for their children then they should give up all rights to them and not expect to have any contact with them. On the other hand at some point it becomes the child's right to know about their origin and their birth parents. So I think that at least by the time Lara was 18-- or even earlier, when she started to be curious and ask about her birth mother (at age 10)-- then she should have been given the information from her adoptive parents. No wonder she was confused and had identity issues growing up.

- The fact that the maternal grandmother disowned Lara's adoptive mom, and Lara, just because of the color of her skin (and in general the way she and the rest of the family treated her daughter the entire time) was awful and I don't think she should have had any right to just come back at the end of the story and enjoy her now-adult granddaughter. I would have been livid if I was Lara and I honestly think that Lara's adoptive mom is pretty Fed up to want a mother like that back in her life and her daughter's life. The entire family dynamic of all of these people seemed really messed up to me.

- I think this book couldn't decide whether to be a serious book about adoption and identity or a cliche chick lit/romance book. The relationship between Tyler and Lara was eye-rolling but I do get that it was supposed to show her growing as a character and being able to finally trust someone.

- The relationship with the friend Shelly or whatever her name was was well done but also cliche at times. I guess that's one part of the book that seemed realistic and that I enjoyed reading. But towards the end it veered into unrealistic lesson-learning speech time that was not enjoyable.

- I could empathize with Yoma, the birth mother, the most and I think it's because the story in Nigeria was so well-told and also because I don't think she ever got a lot of choices in the matter (unlike Lara's adoptive parents and grandparents and even Lara herself.) I didn't always agree with what Yoma did or how she went about it (especially the 30th birthday party scene in the beginning that I mentioned above) but I could GET it.
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kylrobb from Canada
4.0 out of 5 stars Great
Reviewed in the United States on January 9, 2013
Verified Purchase
I really enjoyed this book. You could really relate to the characters. Well written. Recommend to all book lovers. Many topics for discussion in a book club.
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Flor
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United States on June 27, 2015
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I LOVED TO READ THIS BOOK
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Arlene Griffin-Barr
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United States on July 28, 2014
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great story check it ut.
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Darlene @ Peeking Between the Pages
5.0 out of 5 stars Emotionally Moving Story
Reviewed in the United States on March 31, 2012
From a young girl Lara Reid has always felt different. Kids tease her at school and people look at her and her parents very strangely when they are out in public. Why you ask - well Lara learns on her eighth birthday that she is adopted. Lara was born in Nigeria and her parents are white - she slowly begins to understand just why she so often feels out of place. Being Lara by Lola Jaye is an emotionally moving story of a girl who grows into a woman who is searching for her identity - for who she really is. It's a wonderful story that will tug on your heart for sure!

Lara's life spirals out of control on her thirtieth birthday. It's dark, she's blowing the candles on her cake, and when the lights come on and she looks up she sees a strange woman who is staring back at her. The woman is a stranger and yet Lara feels a connection to her; like somehow she's known her for her whole life. The woman yells out Omolara and all of a sudden Lara can't breath. When the woman tells her that she is her mother Lara knows that she has to leave right away. As she is driving and later at home her thoughts are jumbled and she is so confused. All the years that Lara had wished her birth mother would show up and she didn't - why now? Why now when Lara doesn't need her to anymore? Or does she?

Since learning she was adopted Lara has always struggled with not feeling good enough or worthy enough. She has always had trouble with friendships except for her best friend Sandi and as for relationships with men those always seem to go bad before they get anywhere because Lara can't stop feeling like the men are going to leave her anyway so she'll put a stop to the relationship before they can. To ease her anxieties, from a young girl Lara begins to show obsessive tendencies of tapping and counting. Now she has a wonderful man, Tyler, in her life but already she feels he is tiring of her and she feels herself pulling away before it's too late and she gets hurt.

At first Lara refuses to see her birth mother Yomi but Yomi doesn't give up so easily and the next time she shows up she brings Gran who Lara can't help but love. Slowly things begin to thaw between mother and daughter as Lara learns more about why her mother gave her up. Lara also learns about her family, her people, and culture and she realizes that she has the best of two worlds. She has parents who love her and that she loves and also a family in Nigeria that love her and all she has to do is open her heart to it.

This is a great story that had me smiling and even teary eyed. It is a realistic portrayal of adoption and its far reaching consequences on those involved. It realistically shows how someone who realizes her family isn't quite what is perceived as normal learns to deal with that and hopefully find a way to move on with their lives being comfortable in who they are. I enjoyed the characters in the book and I really liked the author's straight forward writing style. Being Lara is ultimately about hope, love, and accepting people for who they are. I loved it!
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