Reviews

Lola in the Mirror by Trent Dalton

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lmenz's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

amyapple's review against another edition

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2.0

Dalton can write. There’s no doubt about that. Lyrical and poetic at times his writing is beautiful and I enjoy that. BUT, the plot and story excessively corny.

For a lot of it, it felt like a YA plot line that makes you cringe and how the story pans out was just a little too much to be believable to me. The scenes with the mirror was not discussed enough and I felt like it was all a shallow attempt at showing the realities of homelessness, poverty, drugs and heartbreak.

The drawings through novel were interesting.

It’s won awards, people love it, but it’s just not for me. :(

angela__g's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

jess_stetson's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

kat_ellison's review

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4.0

I cannot overstate how much I adore Trent Dalton's writing style. The inherent imagination that exists in this book (which feels like a necessary component of fiction) is something I feel like I haven't read in a book in a while. It's almost like meta imagination, which I think is difficultly done (all fiction requires imagination to exist but to create vivid imagination within already-imagined characters' worlds is a whole new layer). and one that Dalton nails!

So his ability to embody creativity and innovation while also speaking of the horrors of life is commendable and brilliant. Loved it!

phoebewilson's review

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5.0

5 ⭐️ It was so slow for me at the beginning and I almost gave up but I loved ‘Boy swallows universe’ so much that I persisted and I’m so glad I did! Once I got in the rhythm I loved it! Equal parts funny, happy, sad and beautiful.