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A review by lesserjoke
Lola by Melissa Scrivner Love
3.0
I want to like this novel a lot more than I do. The premise of a Mexican-American woman leading an L.A. street gang is strong, and it's great when Lola confronts the limitations that society puts on her gender and class. I also really like the parts with the protagonist's unofficial foster daughter, and how she balances being a parent and a ruthless crime boss. We could use more antiheroines like that.
Unfortunately, a lot of the plot development is clunky, and Lola seems to get by largely on luck or on other people making bad decisions -- which could be a fine narrative choice for this character's arc, but not when the author continually frames her as such a stone-cold criminal mastermind. The result is a decent story that falls short of its potential. (Trigger warning for graphic gangland violence, as well as discussions of rape and child molestation.)
Unfortunately, a lot of the plot development is clunky, and Lola seems to get by largely on luck or on other people making bad decisions -- which could be a fine narrative choice for this character's arc, but not when the author continually frames her as such a stone-cold criminal mastermind. The result is a decent story that falls short of its potential. (Trigger warning for graphic gangland violence, as well as discussions of rape and child molestation.)