Lila

The One

By: Naima Coster

Narrated by: Naima Coster

Length: 54 mins

Publisher's summary

An intimate true story about the complexities of female friendship, the mysteries of faith and desire, and the way two girls can grow up and apart, by the award-winning author of Halsey Street.

When Naima Coster met Lila, they were girls of color in a predominantly white private school in Manhattan. As adolescents they found each other and needed each other. As each comes of age, and new bonds pull them apart, the friendship splinters. What happens when Naima and Lila turn to one another again - this time as women? And what will it take to recapture the connection that once meant the world to them?

Naima Coster’s Lila is part of The One, a collection of seven singularly true love stories of friendship, companionship, marriage, and moving on. Each piece can be read or listened to in a single sitting, with or without company.

©2019 Naima Coster (P)2019 2019 Brilliance Publishing, Inc., all rights reserved.

great story

too short what happens to the characters? How do they move on? love it still

Lila: the one

The story was great until the end. The end was confusing and didn't tie up the story or even left you wanting for more.

Moving story, thought provoking

There's a good balance of instrospection and narrative, but it could use better organization of ideas. It sounded a little disperse.

Well done!

I enjoyed this story and thought it was very well written. Just under an hour long, the author skillfully spans a much longer period of time as she describes her complicated relationship with Lila. The story is full of emotion and insight, so well executed it seemed to glide along from beginning to end without a hitch. The author has a pleasant voice and did an impeccable job as narrator. Glad I listened!

It was ok

The ending was a bit cryptic. I don't understand why the godson is no loner a godson, or the last phrase 'Lila always looks at me hard'.

Wooden Read

it's a short audio book, yet I read it in two sittings. Mainly because after getting to the halfway mark I didn't really care for the characters. Perhaps with a different reader it could have been more compelling. I was surprised it's was the author. it felt to me that the reader didn't know the words and read them robotically to get through the book.
I had actually thought I'd deleted this book after the halfway point, but apparently not. Having time for 22 minutes to listen, I did and finally understood the premise. It is a coming of age book for the narrator's character.
Mmmh.

Short story

It’s been a while since I’ve listened to a short story. It captured so much about the characters.

Anti-love depressant

What a depressing narrative. The author obviously grieves both the relationship that was and the relationship that could have been - should they have chosen a different path - yet her grief, like relationship itself and the story she’s telling, is a complicated one. You walk away thinking in the end, it was probably for the best they didn’t cross that boundary as the character flaws that make up our humanity would have doomed it to end regardless. But isn’t that how 99% of all relationships go? They cease to exist ... as we do, eventually.

Loved this

This story moved me....it’s so relatable to the friendship of girls that are so interwoven until they are not. I experienced this in my own life when I was young.

Ugh

An hour of my life I cannot get back. At least I was commuting at the time.