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snarkywench's review against another edition
3.0
There are some authors that have a specific turn of phrase, rhythm and humour that appeal to me...William Kostakis is one of them. Unlike some YA authors, he's actually got his finger on the pulse of the teens that he's writing about as he's pretty much their age (19). He's not recollecting that time in his life, adding some modern vocab and pretending to know about the teens of today - he is the audience. I liked that, I liked it a lot.
That being said, it started off bumpy for me. The depiction of Chloe as the wannabe girlfriend of Courtney's deceased boyfriend unsettled me, primarily due to the that fact that she was overweight. Then I got over it when the characters begin a competition to out-mourn one another at a funeral. This book has a very healthy, snarky, sardonic sense of humour that appealed to me greatly - my blog's title is purposeful. Teens today are extremely jaded and both the humour and the voice of this novel was very true to the age group that it was depicting, while being accessible to those who aren't.
Kostakis' characters are all realistically flawed. It's these flaws, and that of the protagonist, that provide most of the basis of the insults that induced my too-loud cackling. What can I say? I have a mean sense of humour. Katie, a character that I loathed on sight, was one that flip flopped and had endeared me by the end. Jackson, an inclusion I was highly suspicious of, turned out to be not what I expected and Chloe, well she just cracked me up. All these characters, including Courtney, were highly identifiable, relatable and rounded. I do wish that Tim got a little more page time, as he's a character that I very much related to.
Loathing Lola has a cracking pace that feels feather light with the occasional king hit of a joke. While on the surface it may sound like it's a run of the mill, contemporary, teen dramedy, there are some great observations on the cost of fame, the basis of friendship and moving on (whether from grief, anger or guilt). Some elements I could see coming but there were story turns that I didn't anticipate, which really drew me into Courtney's life.
As a reality television addict, I really gelled with the use of it to further complicate a complicated teen's life. Courtney is a teen who wasn't ever going to confront her father about his mistreatment of his family and yet Real Teens created a great foil to push it to the fore. Loathing Lola is a great story with a relatable protagonist, snappy dialogue and a grasp on the random and ridiculous. Guaranteed to make you chuckle and ponder on the machinations of reality television!
That being said, it started off bumpy for me. The depiction of Chloe as the wannabe girlfriend of Courtney's deceased boyfriend unsettled me, primarily due to the that fact that she was overweight. Then I got over it when the characters begin a competition to out-mourn one another at a funeral. This book has a very healthy, snarky, sardonic sense of humour that appealed to me greatly - my blog's title is purposeful. Teens today are extremely jaded and both the humour and the voice of this novel was very true to the age group that it was depicting, while being accessible to those who aren't.
Kostakis' characters are all realistically flawed. It's these flaws, and that of the protagonist, that provide most of the basis of the insults that induced my too-loud cackling. What can I say? I have a mean sense of humour. Katie, a character that I loathed on sight, was one that flip flopped and had endeared me by the end. Jackson, an inclusion I was highly suspicious of, turned out to be not what I expected and Chloe, well she just cracked me up. All these characters, including Courtney, were highly identifiable, relatable and rounded. I do wish that Tim got a little more page time, as he's a character that I very much related to.
Loathing Lola has a cracking pace that feels feather light with the occasional king hit of a joke. While on the surface it may sound like it's a run of the mill, contemporary, teen dramedy, there are some great observations on the cost of fame, the basis of friendship and moving on (whether from grief, anger or guilt). Some elements I could see coming but there were story turns that I didn't anticipate, which really drew me into Courtney's life.
As a reality television addict, I really gelled with the use of it to further complicate a complicated teen's life. Courtney is a teen who wasn't ever going to confront her father about his mistreatment of his family and yet Real Teens created a great foil to push it to the fore. Loathing Lola is a great story with a relatable protagonist, snappy dialogue and a grasp on the random and ridiculous. Guaranteed to make you chuckle and ponder on the machinations of reality television!
demonsreadtoo's review against another edition
3.0
Perhaps having read Will’s later published books first left me at a disadvantage going in to this. It was hard not to compare the differences and notice how much he has grown since this book. Loathing Lola, while not feeling as polished, did still have a fun plot. It was kind of like Degrassi in its tone, along with the high school setting taking the forefront, but very much Australian. Had we gotten to know the characters a bit better, to see what made them tick, I think I would have enjoyed it more. Although, taking it for what it was, it had more than enough humour and angst to keep me turning the pages.
Read the full review on my blog, Demons Read Too
Read the full review on my blog, Demons Read Too
khakipantsofsex's review
3.0
2.7 stars
Definitely not Will's best book (The First Third still has my vote) but it'd be worrying if you couldn't see any change in his writing from this his first to The Sidekicks. Fun and humorous but basically just entertainment, nothing deeper. Impressive for an 18/19 year old though like damn.
Definitely not Will's best book (The First Third still has my vote) but it'd be worrying if you couldn't see any change in his writing from this his first to The Sidekicks. Fun and humorous but basically just entertainment, nothing deeper. Impressive for an 18/19 year old though like damn.
snarkywench's review
3.0
There are some authors that have a specific turn of phrase, rhythm and humour that appeal to me...William Kostakis is one of them. Unlike some YA authors, he's actually got his finger on the pulse of the teens that he's writing about as he's pretty much their age (19). He's not recollecting that time in his life, adding some modern vocab and pretending to know about the teens of today - he is the audience. I liked that, I liked it a lot.
That being said, it started off bumpy for me. The depiction of Chloe as the wannabe girlfriend of Courtney's deceased boyfriend unsettled me, primarily due to the that fact that she was overweight. Then I got over it when the characters begin a competition to out-mourn one another at a funeral. This book has a very healthy, snarky, sardonic sense of humour that appealed to me greatly - my blog's title is purposeful. Teens today are extremely jaded and both the humour and the voice of this novel was very true to the age group that it was depicting, while being accessible to those who aren't.
Kostakis' characters are all realistically flawed. It's these flaws, and that of the protagonist, that provide most of the basis of the insults that induced my too-loud cackling. What can I say? I have a mean sense of humour. Katie, a character that I loathed on sight, was one that flip flopped and had endeared me by the end. Jackson, an inclusion I was highly suspicious of, turned out to be not what I expected and Chloe, well she just cracked me up. All these characters, including Courtney, were highly identifiable, relatable and rounded. I do wish that Tim got a little more page time, as he's a character that I very much related to.
Loathing Lola has a cracking pace that feels feather light with the occasional king hit of a joke. While on the surface it may sound like it's a run of the mill, contemporary, teen dramedy, there are some great observations on the cost of fame, the basis of friendship and moving on (whether from grief, anger or guilt). Some elements I could see coming but there were story turns that I didn't anticipate, which really drew me into Courtney's life.
As a reality television addict, I really gelled with the use of it to further complicate a complicated teen's life. Courtney is a teen who wasn't ever going to confront her father about his mistreatment of his family and yet Real Teens created a great foil to push it to the fore. Loathing Lola is a great story with a relatable protagonist, snappy dialogue and a grasp on the random and ridiculous. Guaranteed to make you chuckle and ponder on the machinations of reality television!
That being said, it started off bumpy for me. The depiction of Chloe as the wannabe girlfriend of Courtney's deceased boyfriend unsettled me, primarily due to the that fact that she was overweight. Then I got over it when the characters begin a competition to out-mourn one another at a funeral. This book has a very healthy, snarky, sardonic sense of humour that appealed to me greatly - my blog's title is purposeful. Teens today are extremely jaded and both the humour and the voice of this novel was very true to the age group that it was depicting, while being accessible to those who aren't.
Kostakis' characters are all realistically flawed. It's these flaws, and that of the protagonist, that provide most of the basis of the insults that induced my too-loud cackling. What can I say? I have a mean sense of humour. Katie, a character that I loathed on sight, was one that flip flopped and had endeared me by the end. Jackson, an inclusion I was highly suspicious of, turned out to be not what I expected and Chloe, well she just cracked me up. All these characters, including Courtney, were highly identifiable, relatable and rounded. I do wish that Tim got a little more page time, as he's a character that I very much related to.
Loathing Lola has a cracking pace that feels feather light with the occasional king hit of a joke. While on the surface it may sound like it's a run of the mill, contemporary, teen dramedy, there are some great observations on the cost of fame, the basis of friendship and moving on (whether from grief, anger or guilt). Some elements I could see coming but there were story turns that I didn't anticipate, which really drew me into Courtney's life.
As a reality television addict, I really gelled with the use of it to further complicate a complicated teen's life. Courtney is a teen who wasn't ever going to confront her father about his mistreatment of his family and yet Real Teens created a great foil to push it to the fore. Loathing Lola is a great story with a relatable protagonist, snappy dialogue and a grasp on the random and ridiculous. Guaranteed to make you chuckle and ponder on the machinations of reality television!
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