Reviews - Lola | The StoryGraph

92 reviews for:

This story is visually beautiful. If you're going to take anything away from my review, let it be that. I'm stunned and awed at how the story pulled me in by visuals alone (and of course, later with the words. Those are important too!).

About the story:
Our lead, Jesse's Lola (Grandmother) scares them - she's quite odd yet everyone seemed to love her. The family travels back to the Phillipines and things seem different and scarier. After a scary story, a rumour is spread that Lola had visions... And Jesse might too.

My positives:
1. I did not know Lola meant Grandmother in Tagalog. I love learning new things, so that was a bonus for me.

2. The visuals and illustrations are just magical. They're soft in colour but so fulfilling. Honestly, that was one of my favourite parts of this book. I think the pictures suited the story very well.

3. This is a story of loss and grief but also supernatural ties. I think it had a very good mix of showing emotion and weaving in a narrative. I applaud J. Torres. I was truly hooked to this story.

My negatives:
1. I really enjoyed this little story, but it was just too short. I wanted more! It's not short in a bad way - the narrative finishes and feels final. I just truly wanted more. This story was magical.

All of that being said, I definitely want to read more by J. Torres. I'm truly intrigued with this story and art style. With such a lovely story behind it, this graphic novel is sure to be a smash.

Five out of five stars.

Thank you to NetGalley and Oni Press for giving me access to this book.

briarsreviews's review against another edition

5.0

jilljemmett's review

4.0

Jesse has inherited his grandmother’s ability to see ghosts. When his grandmother dies, his family travels back to their home country of the Philippines. He revisits some of his memories of his grandmother and his cousin, who died when he was a kid.

I didn’t know about this Filipino folklore before reading the book. There were some creatures in the graphic novel that were so creepy. There were some that were used as explanations for birth complications, and those “creatures” targeted pregnant women. All of the different kinds of creatures were listed in a glossary of these creatures at the end of the book.

This book was also dark at times. I found the ending really creepy.

This was a great, ghostly graphic novel!

Thank you Oni Press for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

alisonannk's review against another edition

3.0

A nice enough little graphic novel. The illustrations are colorful, clear and the font is easy to read and follow.

I learned a few things about Philippine mythology and legends which was nice.

There wasn’t much of a plot other than that and what plot there was didn’t really amount to much or get me engrossed.

I feel there are other graphic novels, such a Bryan O’Malley’s Seconds, which explore ghosts and supernatural in a much more intriguing way.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC.

mrs_eileen's review

4.0

Graphic novels have become another way to pass down folklore in a visually captivating manner. As they are stereotyped as silly comics the reality of the medium is intense facial expressions, wide range of emotions including pain, and my personal favorite thought out color choices. While I turned from page to page eagerly I never settled into the book. I don't believe I was supposed to. Jesse our main character is on edge so often you find yourself nervously along for the ride. Which is why I suggest you read this twice. Death, family, anxiety, ghosts; it all comes down to are you willing to brave accepting who you are to feel relief from pretending? Children ages 11 and up will enjoy this Filipino ghost story.

anthroxagorus's review

4.0

Amateur, but still a cute story. I have such a pet peeve about characters with one eye covered and writers that refuse to draw backgrounds.

Still, I'd love to read more about this family. It has a lot of potential and all the stars for being culturally diverse.

This works great as a sampler but I want to see this expanded and really fleshed out.

karcitis's review

1.0

This wasn't what I hoped it would be. I feel like the art was a bit vague - I didn't catch expressions and feelings as well as I would have liked and that made the story hard to follow. For example I didn't realize why Jesse was so jumpy until about halfway through the book. I also would have liked more depth in the characters and family relationships, more background too.

merer's review

3.0

Perhaps it was because I didn't read this in one sitting, but I found the story to be confusing. It was hard to tell that one of the characters was dead, and I couldn't figure out exactly what was going on with the protagonist's special abilities. He could see dead people, but I guess he could also foresee the deaths of others? What was up with that scene in the church where he kept seeing everyone as zombies? Were they people who were going to die soon? They would have to be, because if they were just normal people then wouldn't his whole family have looked like zombies to him?

Also, that panel at the end when he foresaw the crashed plane and burning people at the airport scared the sh*t out of me.

jennjenn10's review

2.0

I liked the artwork, just wish there was a little bit more to the story.

acornsbooksandcoffee's review against another edition

4.5

adventurous dark emotional slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

It is not often that I find myself actually gasping aloud at the end of a graphic novel. This book really was tantalizing start to finish, with a rich family element, and a fascinating portrayal of the processing of grief. While the content is kind of dark, I found it almost therapeutically so.

More...