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dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Blair and Cam are back to solve the mystery of a lost girl returned.
Well, I feel like the solution to the mystery was obvious, especially once we knew what the old Lola was up to. I think it would have been better if we had not known the other Lola was not the sister from the beginning.
All the representation was great, and there were some excellent quotes, but it's supposed to be a thriller with more tension.
Narrator Rating: 3.25 stars
The narrator did a good job but the voice they did for Cam was very whiny and annoying and that was a moderate amount of the book.
Well, I feel like the solution to the mystery was obvious, especially once we knew what the old Lola was up to. I think it would have been better if we had not known the other Lola was not the sister from the beginning.
All the representation was great, and there were some excellent quotes, but it's supposed to be a thriller with more tension.
Narrator Rating: 3.25 stars
The narrator did a good job but the voice they did for Cam was very whiny and annoying and that was a moderate amount of the book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse
Moderate: Child abuse, Deadnaming, Homophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Transphobia, Religious bigotry, Abandonment
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Drug abuse, Drug use, Suicidal thoughts, Murder, Lesbophobia, Sexual harassment
The child abuse in the book is more neglect and not giving AF about what the kid is doing or where they are. Also, there is forcing a non-binary child to wear a dress and not what they would choose to wear. As well as deadnaming them.
The book isn't homophobic but some of the minor characters are due to being set in rural Oregon.
dark
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I loved Missing Clarissa so I was really excited to get to read its sequel, The Other Lola. I wish I liked this one more because the synopsis was so intriguing, but overall, I was disappointed. It was like Cam and Blair completely forgot everything they learned about true crime and investigating it. They made a lot of really ridiculous decisions and choices that I’m not sure how they didn’t see or anticipate the consequences of. They did have a lot of sweet friendship moments that I enjoyed reading. Mattie drove me absolutely nuts. I tried to have some sympathy for her because she was young, but her inability to entertain any other theories about her sister or the fact that she could have misremembered something from five years ago was incredibly frustrating. The big reveal didn’t really do anything for me which was a letdown because my curiosity was what kept me going with this book. Also, a minor annoyance, but one that came up several times: I’m very liberal in my political views, but it felt like every other page, the author had to make sure we knew how liberal they were. It felt VERY out of place most of the time. I will say that the scene with Officer Militia was hilarious though. Again, I wish I had enjoyed it more, but it was very slow paced with very little payoff so I was disappointed overall.
TW: rape threats, online bullying, drug abuse, panic attacks, adult/minor relationship, religious bigotry
Thank you to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for an advanced digital reader’s copy in exchange for an honest review.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Bullying, Drug use, Religious bigotry, Sexual harassment