Reviews with content warning for Violence - The Story of the Lost Child

I cannot believe that my favorite series has come to an end. There will never be enough words to describe how close the Neoploitan novels are to my heart or how strongly I urge you all to pick them up. I truly believe that Lila and Elena’s story will resonate with women and girls everywhere.
For myself, reading the story of Elena Greco feels like looking into a mirror. Her depiction of female friendship is so honest that it intertwines closely with mine and many others. The jealousy, vindictiveness, and other negative emotions that we struggle to put into words, both from embarrassment and denial, are candidly laid bare into the page for one last look into the city of Naples and a friendship that withstood the test of time. Thank you Elena and Lila for all that you have taught me, and for all that you have shown me I still need to learn.

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steph_ha's review

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emotional reflective tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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pran's review against another edition

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dark reflective sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Although I enjoyed it, this was probably my least favourite of the quartet. It felt like Ferrante was quickly trying to wrap up the story and therefore just read like a recount of events, rather than a novel at times. I also felt like there were some plot-driven moments and more than in the previous book, which was a little disappointing.
There were also moments where the intention was probably to reveal to the reader the truth of people in the neighbourhood which young Elena never realised, but at times it just felt like a pile-on of information, rather than an artful reveal.
Having read the whole series, I realise the title of the first book was perhaps ironic, and Elena is often a very unreliable narrator. Elena's previous naiveté becomes truly apparent, as Lila and Nino are pretty much the same characters they've always been.

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