Reviews

Lola: A Ghost Story by J. Torres, Elbert Or

rachelhelps's review against another edition

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3.0

A cute graphic novel about a boy who goes back to the Philippines for his grandma's funeral.

thatgirlwho_reads's review

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2.0

Really enjoyed the Filipino folklore elements! The last panel was a chilling way to end. The plot felt a little lacking in places though, would have liked to see more of folklore and concept explored a little deeper.

cheesehead_reader's review against another edition

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3.0

A creepy graphic novel about a young boy going back for his grandmother's (Lola's) funeral. Lola had a gift of seeing the dead and the weird. Poor Jesse seems to have inherited his gift (?). He does not want it and does not want to tell anyone what he can see. On the trip back for Lola's funeral, he sees his dead cousin, Jon Jon. and is able to restore a little peace to Jon Jon's parents by finding a lost toy. Sweet, right? But the end had me saying WTF?? I need more! What happened at the airport?

raethereviewer's review

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4.25

I enjoyed this a lot. It was a great depiction of guilt and grief, perfect for a young audience.  I wasn’t expecting to but I did find myself tearing up at the end.

woodendress's review against another edition

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2.0

I found this book really cryptic and didn't realize that Jesse was "seeing things" until the middle. I feel like the plot was a little vague, and well, it wasn't really much of a plot at all? It seems to be set up for a sequel with the open ended ending.

casanovamacleod's review

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adventurous emotional lighthearted fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

titalindaslibrary's review against another edition

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lighthearted fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

jenlabrador's review against another edition

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4.0

Graphic novel ghost story about a boy who sees ghosts and supernatural beings. Despite the monsters it was a sweet story with good monochrome artwork. I liked being introduced to the mythology/demonology of the Philippines. 4 stars for a graphic novel.

littles_librarian's review against another edition

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dark mysterious fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No

4.0

xaijar's review

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dark mysterious sad fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character

3.5

My wife found this at out local library. It's called 'Lola: A Ghost Story'. It's a graphic novel of a boy who goes back to the Philippines for his Lola's funeral. It's covers folklore on ghosts and myths that are believed by the local people. I'm so interested! I love learning mythologies and folklore from different cultures. I even asked my Filipina mother-in-law about these ghost stories and she knew them well. Some of them are quite scary. It's great to see the accuracy of the legends told in this book.