Pikiran pertama saya setelah membaca buku ini adalah buku ini bukan buku anak-anak. Isinya sedikit…errr…kurang sopan untuk anak-anak. Mungkin buku ini cocok buat remaja yang tua-an dikit *halah*.Kali ini tokoh utama kita, Lola Rose, mempunyai Mum yang sangat cantik, mantan foto model dan punya Dad luar biasa tampan, mantan penyanyi rock. Tapi Mum sangat sembrono dan Dad suka memukul. Ketika Dad mulai berani memukul Lola Rose, Mum segera membawa kabur kedua anaknya.Berbekal uang hasil menang lotre, mereka bertiga memulai hidup baru. Tapi kesenangan mereka tidak berlangsung lama. Masalah-masalah mulai berdatangan. Kecantikan dan kesembronoan Mum mulai menimbulkan pertengkaran-pertengkaran kecil. Tapi Lola Rose, Kenny, dan Mum tetap saling menyayangi.Saat Mum sakit, Lola Rose benar-benar bingung. Untunglah dia ingat kalau mereka tidak sendiri. Lola Rose nekat menghubungi seseorang yang dia yakin tidak akan pernah disetujui oleh Mum.Untungnya juga Lola Rose bersikap dewasa sekaligus masih muda *eh*. Keputusan-keputusan yang diambilnya terbukti jauh lebih bijaksana dibandingkan keputusan-keputusan Mum.Daaan bagian yang paling berkesan bagi saya dari kisah Lola Rose ini adalah saat Lola Rose berkomunikasi dengan “Suara Bencana” khayalannya. Persis seperti saya saat kecil dulu. Dan mungkin seperti kalian juga. Tahu kan saat kita khawatir akan sesuatu, sering kali ada Suara Bencana yang bicara pada kita. Membisikkan kekhawatiran kepada kita sehingga ribuan kali lebih buruk. Terus Suara Bencana itu juga menantang kita untuk melakukan hal-hal konyol. Seperti Lola Rose yang berjalan sambil menghindari retakan di jalan. Berharap kalau dia berhasil maka apa yang dia khawatirkannya tidak terjadi.Dengan cara ini, Lola Rose berhasil menghadapi ketakutannya. Si Lola Rose ini takut sekali dengan hiu. Bahkan melihat hiu yang ada di akuarium raksasa pun dia takut. Tapi demi kesembuhan Mum, Lola Rose menantang Suara Bencana. Lola Rose memberitahukan sebuah cara kepada saya untuk menghadapi ketakutan sendiri.“Ini aku. Aku si sini. Lola Rose,” aku berbisik. “Aku mampu melakukannya. Aku bisa membalas tatapanmu. Kau bisa berenang melintas lagi berulang kali. Kau bisa membuka mulutmu yang mengerikan dan memamerkan semua gigimu padaku, tapi aku takkan beranjak. Aku akan tetap di sini menghadapi kalian selama satu jam penuh. Aku akan membuat ibuku sembuh, kalian tahu.”…Aku memerhatikan mereka, tiap kali mereka berenang melintas, jantungku berdebar keras dan keringat menitik di dahiku. Aku merasa mual, aku perlu ke toilet, aku tak bis berhenti gemetar—-tapi aku tetap di sana.Aku menghitung tiap detik sampai tiba pada angka 3.600. …Lola Rose hebaaaaat. Cara ini lumayan ampuh. Saya pernah takut sama cacing, tapi setelah saya lihat saja cacing itu menggeliat-geliat di tanah selama satu jam, ternyata tidak apa-apa yah *hahhhahh*Oh ya, saya sempat terharu saat Lola Rose dan Kenny mengunjungi ibu mereka di rumah sakit. So sweet sekaligus lucu. Saya juga suka dengan ending-nya. Dan tokoh favorit saya adalah Bibi Barbara. Keren banget deh. Bibi Barbara ini pemaaf, bijak, lucu, percaya diri dan jago bela diri. Tipe bibi yang ideal deh. Dan kemunculannya menyelesaikan hampir semua masalah Lola Rose.At last, rating saya untuk novel ini adalah 5 dari 5 bintang. Jangan terlalu percaya. Soalnya saya selalu memberi rating full untuk buku-buku Jacqueline Wilson. Karena alasan tertentu, bisa membaca buku-buku beliau itu, seperti dream comes true bagi saya. So, it was amazing :D
It has literally been years since I read this novel! I was up in the attic the other day, and I found it in a bag along with a few other Jacqueline Wilson books. Up until the publishing of either 'Cookie' or 'My Sister Jodie', I'd read every Wilson book there was, and most multiple times. But since I was eleven, I'd stopped reading them, and a few months ago I gave the majority of them away, leaving just a few left; including this one. I got this copy at a theatre performance of Wilson's 'Midnight'. No one had chosen it because it was already a bit dog-eared and ripped from being carted around, but being my unwanted-book-rescuing self, I bought it. And I've never had the heart to give it away.Anyway, up until yesterday, I hadn't realized how utterly depressing it really is. I always knew Wilson dealt with serious topics in children's books, and although at the time I thought I completely understood everything, I can see now that most of it went over my head. When I finished it, my mum took one look at me and said "You feel really depressed now, don't you?". Books can affect my mood anyway, but pretty powerful ones can knock me a bit. And this is no exception. Basically, Jayni's father is a domestic abuser, and so her, her mum and her little brother, Kenny, run away to start of somewhere fresh with £10,000 lottery money. You'd think they'd be pretty safe, to a certain extent like that - but their mother is a pretty terrible mother; she drinks, she smokes, she cheats, she leaves the children (roughly ages 11 and 5) home alone for days, and spends money on ridiculous things - so of course, they get into a bit of trouble along the way. And if you didn't think that was a bit much for a child to handle, Wilson also talks about obesity and breast cancer.I do like the characters in this novel - but not love. Looking at the bad side of them, the mum is a terrible mother, Jayni is really harsh to her younger brother, and Kenny whines about everything. But I guess some families can be like that at times, and if I picked at the best parts of them, I have grown attached. Jayni is a really strong character, and I have to say I can relate to her at that age more than I'd perhaps like to.And the mum, although she had her faults, did get her act together when it was absolutely necessary.I have to say, I really respect Wilson as an author, because I don't know anyone else who takes serious topics and turns them into novels that are easy and engaging for children/young teens to understand. And not just young teenagers - I'm fifteen, yet I'm still reading it! She's a brilliant writer, and she manages to create these amazing and very different characters - no two are alike. So I think that even though children may not completely understand these issues, the characters and storyline are enough to attract them.Admittedly, I do think that possibly talking about some of these topics is a bit hard-hitting, especially since most books are aimed at children from eight to twelve. I reckon this book would have been better if it was aimed at an even older audience - maybe thirteen, fourteen year olds - because I think their perception of it would be higher than that of a younger child's. If you're around my age and haven't read this book, I think you should, just for fun! Even if their target audience is a few years younger than my age, they are still addictive.
What do You think about Lola Rose (2015)?
This was interesting. When I read the synopsis I was like "mmm, abusive dad, got it. Wait... cancer too? That seems a little bit much." And that's what it was. Too much. The author's prologue suggests that the book is mostly about the cancer, but that's not the case at all. And while Wilson did the abusive dad stuff well, the cancer stuff was not as good. It seemed like an add on, sort of an excuse to get Auntie Barbara into the picture. (I just want to break off here and state that I ADORE Auntie Barbara. I think she might be the best Auntie I've ever read.)The book rolls along at a good pace until the cancer stuff, and then it speeds up and it's sort of hard to tell how many days have gone by. And while there was a real sense of fear set up and well timed with the abuse bit (worrying he'd find them, connecting him with a shark, and so on) the cancer part fell a bit flat. But Wilson does a good job of creating the character of the mother, I thought, and the little brother as well. There were actually quite a few characters in the book I really liked. And it was a sad, sometimes frightening book that was, in the end, worth the read. But I think cancer was a bad choice. I seems like, from the prologue that Wilson wanted this to be a cancer book, and I don't know that it was. But it was a good try.
—Becky
I cried when I read this book:( The story is sad. Lola Rose-the false name-is a young girl that maybe we could call it broken home. Even if her parents didn't split up yet. But her Dad likes to hits her,and her Mum,not her little brother. He always yelled at them and always made bad situation. So,once day,they run away from him. They use false names, they run away to London,hoping he never found them. But then,they had crisis economy,Lola's mum got breast cancer,and she also had new boyfriend. And the worst part,Dad found them! What should they do? Run away or.. stay with him again?
—Vanessa Alexandra
1) This book was interesting because it was about a teenage girls story of how she had an abusive father and the way her, her mum and little brother escaped the situation.2) What I liked about this book is how its from a teenage girls point of view and its all about the way she deals with everything going on in her life and the things she does to try and forget her situation.3) I would only recommend this book to people who don't mind reading books that are sad and have drama. But overall this is one of the best books I have ever read and I like the fact that it was a sad story because that's what made it interesting and a good read.
—Isabella P.
