Lola Rose

by Jacqueline Wilson

Fortunately for Jacqueline Wilson fans, her new books seem to come along a lot more regularly than JK Rowling's do, and for this latest, fantastic bittersweet slice of life offering they should again be grateful. Lola Rose is typical Wilson--a story of normal family strife, situations and feelings bound together with extraordinarily uplifting solutions that leave the reader with a tear in their eye and a smile on their lips.

Lola Rose is definitely one for her older readers, however. Jayni, her mum and little brother Kenny are forced to flee their family home when Jayni's dad starts hitting her too--as if it wasn't enough that he battered his wife about already. A desperate flight to London is made bearable when Jayni's mum wins £10,000 on a lottery scratch card and treats everybody to whatever they want. It's a chance to start again and have an adventure--and to forget. They even get to pick new names so that they can hide better. Jayni picks out "Lola Rose"--an exotic-sounding name she finds in one of the magazines she is so fond of cutting up and pasting into her scrapbooks.

But the lottery money doesn't last forever and Lola's mum finds it harder than she thought being away from her husband. However, it's definitely the start of something better for everyone despite a few hiccups along the way.

Jacqueline Wilson is a mega-star among children's authors. Her books are consistently unputdownable and Lola Rose exemplifies her skill at stirring the emotions in an unforgettable story that is sure to win her even more accolades. (Age 12 and over) --John McLay

Genres: Childrens, Young Adult, Fiction, Contemporary, Middle Grade, Family, Teen

288 pages, Paperback

First published March 6, 2003

About the author

Jacqueline Wilson was born in Bath in 1945, but spent most of her childhood in Kingston-on-Thames. She always wanted to be a writer and wrote her first ‘novel’ when she was nine, filling in countless Woolworths’ exercise books as she grew up. As a teenager she started work for a magazine publishing company and then went on to work as a journalist on Jackie magazine (which she was told was named after her!) before turning to writing novels full-time.

One of Jacqueline’s most successful and enduring creations has been the famous Tracy Beaker, who first appeared in 1991 in The Story of Tracy Beaker. This was also the first of her books to be illustrated by Nick Sharratt. Since then Jacqueline has been on countless awards shortlists and has gone on to win many awards. The Illustrated Mum won the Guardian Children’s Fiction Award, the 1999 Children’s Book of the Year at the British Book Awards and was also shortlisted for the 1999 Whitbread Children’s Book Award.

Double Act won the prestigious Smarties Medal and the Children’s Book Award as well as being highly commended for the Carnegie Medal. The Story of Tracy Beaker won the 2002 Blue Peter People’s Choice Award.

Jacqueline is one of the nation’s favourite authors, and her books are loved and cherished by young readers not only in the UK but all over the world. She has sold millions of books and in the UK alone the total now stands at over 35 million!

In 2002 Jacqueline was awarded the OBE for services to literacy in schools and from 2005 to 2007 she was the Children’s Laureate. In 2008 she became Dame Jacqueline Wilson.

Reviews

[Alex · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perhaps my love for this book is dumb, mainly because it was such a comfort to me when I first read it. I was eleven and had just come out of Saudi Arabia to England; I had few friends in England and thought we'd shortly go back to Saudi (we didn't). In some ways, we'd done our own runner, evacuating from Saudi as the Iraq War began, and we didn't know how long anything would last. Lola Rose was the newest Jacqueline Wilson book and I had to get it, because I loved all things Jacqueline Wilson. Lola Rose became one of my closest friends, silly as that sounds, and I started making a scrapbook after reading it for the second or third time. Looking back, there's probably a bit too much ground covered in the story, but it also felt satisfying and emotionally real. I don't know, it's still one of my favourite Wilson books.

Update, 2020: just re-read this and wow, it's WAY more brutal than I expected it to be. Victoria is my age with two kids, 11 and 5 -- when I first read this I was Lola Rose's age, and I had zero concept of what it was like to be in one's twenties (makes sense, I suppose). Domestic abuse and cancer -- a real double whammy. Also the fact that Victoria dates a 20-year-old student at one point. Babies! All babies! So this is just to say this was better than I expected it to be based on my memories, and I'd still recommend reading it if you've never read it. It's pretty good.

[Sanaz · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lola Rose by Jacqueline Wilson

Why I decided to read this book:
I was given this novel as a birthday present many years ago and I couldn’t remember if I had read it or not so I decided to give it a go. I had previously been a huge fan of Jacqueline Wilson novels in my younger years, and I can recall being very fond of her books so I wanted to see how this would compare also.

Which category on the bingo board this book completes:
This book completes the category “A book with a main character”
This category was an easy category to review and subsidise a book for as most novels either have a male or female main character.

My Favourite quote from this book (and why):
“We’re going to live happily ever after, Mum and Auntie Barbara and Kendall and me. Fingers crossed.” Despite having gone through so much with Lola leaving her dad and her mum having cancer, this quote shows that there is always hope and that you must always remain positive and have a positive outlook on life. There is no point in dwelling on your sorrows and making others around you suffer to be miserable, positivity is key and no matter what life throws at us we all need to remember nothing lasts forever.

Something new I learned from this book is:
Sometimes staying a kid is what is best for you. With the unexpected challenges thrown at Lola Rose, she was forced to grow up and fend for herself and her brother. I sometimes take for granted the limited responsibilities I am proposed with, I should be lucky to only have a limited amount and not be suddenly thrown at the deep end and learn to take care of myself, although independence is vital, it is important the we don’t grow up to fast, we have our whole lives to be old and be entitled to eternal freedom, but we only have a limited time to be young.

A character or setting in this book that was interesting to me (and why):
At the beginning of the book, Lola Rose states the she prefers to live in a caravan with purple velvet fitted sofas and matching purple curtains appose to a “great big mansion” I found this interesting for her to state as most of us would crave the opposite. I found this a great opening as it created an interesting start in comparison with other books that start off slow.

[Nemo ☠️ (pagesandprozac) · Rating 4 out of 5]

this book is the bane of my life because if i have a daughter i always wanted to call her dolores (lola) rose and now i'm just going to be thinking of this book godDAMN IT

[Nina · Rating 3 out of 5]

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.

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book focuses on a particularly difficult topic, even by Wilson standards. Domestic violence affects thousands of families, and it is captured sensitively in this book through the eyes of a young child. When Jayni, her brother and mum are forced to leave their house suddenly due to the fathers violence, they decide to take on false identities and begin a new life.

For Jayni and her little brother, this all begins as an adventure. They travel all the way to London, into a hotel and have new experiences. Jayni loves the fact she is free to choose a new name - any name - that she likes, so she settles for the glam-sounding Lola Rose. She feels like a whole new person. But when the elaborate plan to create a new life goes awry, what happens to Jayni and her family? What if dad tracks them down?

Some parts of this book are scary, although not graphic, making it suitable for the intended audience. It may cause the reader to question difficult topics, which I suppose the author advocates as nearly all her books focus on similar issues.

[[ J o ] · Rating 1 out of 5]

Read as part of The Infinite Variety Reading Challenge, based on the BBC's Big Read Poll of 2003.

Yeah, okay. Something different to the dross that is usually aimed at teenagers, but I don't like the writing style or narration at all.




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[Molly Robson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Found at family home, read over one night and loved it all over again. A nostalgic, sad & happy preteen drama.

[Chloe Reads Books · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 STARS
Is this my second favourite JW book (clearly My Sister Jodie can never be beat!). This one was incredibly tragic, as with all these books, but I felt like it dealt with the situations in very productive ways. There might be a few too many traumas jam-packed into one book, but by the end my heart genuinely ached for poor Lola Rose. I definitely think this is one I need to hold on to.

[Mollie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was probably my favourite Jacqueline Wilson book when I was a child…I wrote the date on the back cover every time I read it again. Was obsessed and always found it so comforting.
So interesting and weird reading it as an adult and understanding that Lola Rose is only eleven and her Mum is around the age I am now.
Even when I was little the Mum in this book reminded me so much of my own in many aspects (thankfully Jay does not remind me AT ALL of my Dad) and it’s bittersweet reading it now. Auntie Barb is such an icon, especially for her love of choccy. It’ll always be such a special book to me and most importantly, the reason my favourite ice cream is still a white magnum

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

“Well, I didn't need them. I didn't need anyone. I was Lola Rose. I just wished I looked more like my idea of Lola Rose.”

Jayni, lives with her mum, dad and brother Kenny. Life at home can be good, but sometimes it can be bad. Jayni's dad has a bad temper which results in him lashing out and physically abusing her mum. Following a particular assault after finding out they had won £10,000 on a scratch card, Jayni's mum has had enough so they flee their home and start up a new life in London. The family create false identities, Jayni is now Lola Rose, a glamorous name for the glamorous life that she truly desires. However, inevitably money runs out and reality kicks in, but what are they going to do next?

Jacqueline Wilson is an author that I avidly read as a child. There was not a book of hers that I had not read. I keenly remember Lola Rose being my favourite at the time. I decided that as an adult I was going to restart my collection and reread each one to see how I felt as an adult. I distinctly remember Wilson discussing important topics in each of her books which is something that interests me even more now I am an adult.

Lola Rose is no exception to key important themes being discussed. Key themes include; domestic violence, poverty and cancer. Very strong subjects that may affect children and young people, but subjects that they may not actually know a lot about. Domestic violence affects thousands of families on a daily basis, Jacqueline Wilson explores this topic sensitively and through the eyes of a child witnessing the abuse. She puts out the message that this is not okay, and that there is a way out if this happens. I really liked the way that Wilson approached this subject.

Cancer is also something that affects thousands of families, if not millions. It is explored again through the eyes of a child watching their parent struggling with the disease. Lola Rose struggles to cope with daily life whilst her mother is going through this. She contacts her Aunty Barbara in order to ask her to help her and her brother whilst her mother is away from the home in hospital. Whilst the subject of cancer is very much a side issue and not the main theme discussed I feel like it was an important one to include which was done sensitively and very well. I feel like the key message for this theme was that it is okay to ask for help, and that you do not have to suffer in silence. I feel like children reading this who may be going through this at home will be able to realise that they are not alone and there are people for them to talk to throughout their journey.

I really enjoy Jacqueline Wilsons writing style, I find that she is an author that makes things easy to follow and understand. Putting myself in the shoes of a child reader, I feel like I would understand this book and not struggle to follow any aspects of it. As a child the themes weren't as obvious to me and were in fact very subtle, however as an adult their purpose and importance screamed out to me.

Overall, I feel like this was such a good read and aimed at the correct audience. I would recommend reading this as a child and as an adult because there is definitely a distinct difference when it comes to reading experience.

[Imas · Rating 3 out of 5]

Jayni, adiknya Kenny dan ibunya Nikki melarikan diri dari rumah karena sering dipukuli oleh ayahnya. Pelarian bermula dari lotere yg dimenangkan Mum, awalnya mereka sepakat tidak memberitahukan Dad soal keberuntungan ini. Dad, ayah yang pemarah suami yang selalu punya banyak alasan untuk memukul Mum. Tapi Mum selalu berlaku bodoh jika menyangkut tentang Dad. Mum akan melakukan apa saja untuk Dad,persis seperti yang diperintahkannya.

Mum akhirnya memberitahu dad soal uang lotere itu saat dad pulang setelah bertengkar dan keluar dari tempat kerjanya. Dad pada awalnya gembira, namun tiba-tiba menjadi emosional ketika menyadari mum tidak langsung memberitahunya soal uang itu. Untuk pertama kalinya Jayni turut menjadi korban karena membela Mum. Mum tahu, sekali Dad telah memukul Jayni, maka itu adalah untuk seterusnya.

Mereka bertiga kabur,tinggal dikota lain, merubah nama dan mengarang cerita untuk menghindar dari pencarian Dad. Jayni menjadi Lola Rose, Kenny menjadi Kendall dan Kenny menjadi Victoria LUck. Keberuntungan menjadi harapan besar mereka. Pada awalnya semua baik-baik saja, namun hari-hari ceria tidak berlaku setiap hari. Masalah datang,mum sakit, kekurangan uang membuat kehidupan Lola Rose menjadi rumit. Beruntung ada bibi Barbara, tante raksasa yang menjadi peri untuk mereka semua.

Buku ini disebut Novel anak-anak, tapi aku sendiri berfikir novel ini untuk remaja, banyak adegan yang belum cocok untuk anak-anak. Mengharukan dan juga kocak, bagaimana keluguan Lola Rose dan Kenny, kenakalan2 mereka bahkan keluguan Nikki. Like it..

[Becky · Rating 3 out of 5]

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.

[Vita Luna · Rating 4 out of 5]

The writing in this book reads very smoothly, but it's not always an easy read because of the intense things that happen in this book.

Some parts of the book were a bit dated, but I was hooked from the start, and really cared about the characters. It's also interesting to see how non black-and-white the mum character is - she is not perfect by far and sometimes takes things too far. Although the word is never mentioned, Lola Rose's Voice of Doom reminds me of OCD, and is an interesting way to introduce issues like this in a way younger readers might recognize - though not too young because this book can get intense at times!

Now to think whether I should read I Dare You Tracy Beaker next, or first read Little Darlings?

[Hazel Beddows · Rating 3 out of 5]

Never read this one as a kid which is a shame because its probs the best I've read from my JW marathon so far

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was at home sick so I picked up this book and decided to re-read it. It’s crazy to revisit JW works as an adult because the themes are so dark, but it’s still one of my favourites of her books!

[Kelly · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is becoming a favourite. I was too young to read this when I first got it. It has cancer in it. When I first read it I knew I'd have cancer in my family, like a sign.

[Jade Woods · Rating 4 out of 5]

Enjoyable read even as an adult. Deals with sensitive topics such as domestic abuse from a child’s POV very well.

Tries to touch on body image issues however this is dealt with poorly and not addressed directly, resulting in it essentially being characters calling themselves fat/ saying they need to diet with no REAL resolution. Not a great message for the intended age group.

Overall an enjoyable story accompanied by Jacqueline Wilson’s entertaining writing style.

[Emily · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think oh yeah I'll re read a JW book how nostalgic, and then i remember the trauma on top of trauma these poor children have to go through, it makes my teacher heart sad (and my normal heart) - but credit to JW for always writing about tough subjects

[Genevieve · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jacqueline Wilson also had me in a choke hold throughout my childhood. I wish she still wrote books like this and not just children's Victorian era circus novels

Me at 10 years old reading about heavy domestic violence , abuse, cancer, running away: good soup

Always was, always will be an Auntie Barbara stan. One of the best characters in fiction perhaps ever? I said what I said

[anoosh:3 · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book is about how three of them get Away from their abusive father/husband. Now that was nice but I didn’t like how lola hated the fact that she was fat and her brother, kenny was sexist! He was small, I understand, but still sexist!🌹🥀

[Hannah · Rating 5 out of 5]

I decided to re-read this book recently and fell in love with the story. I always remembered how the plot went, however I still found myself enchanted with what Jacqueline Wilson presented for my mind to consume.

Lola Rose is about a girl named, Jayni who loves with her mum, Nikki, her dad, Jay and her little brother Kenny. However, after winning the lottery and another tough night, Jayni finds herself on the run with her mum and little brother from dad in hope to recreate themselves and start a new life. This turns the 'boring old Jayni' into fabulous Lola Rose, a brave girl who isn't scared of anyone. The family find themselves embedded in luck and happiness, however as you get deeper into the book, the deeper the story becomes. Lola Rose finds herself face to face with a situation involving hospitals as well as an abusive father.

The structure of the book is about ten page chapters however there are 24 chapters in total. There is not too much drama mushed into one chapter so you are always processing the information before turning the page. However, this book is full of drama and is continuously forcing you to read on because your heart is entwined with the painful upset of what is happening to Lola Rose and her family. Jacqueline touched on the subject of an abusive father really well, outlining how most parents who are being abused don't go to the police because after prison the abuser would be set free again. Jacqueline has created powerful characters who allow you to see the heartfelt subject in more perspectives then one. She also has the subject of cancer in there and talks about a parent having cancer. Jacqueline makes this bold subject a very upsetting theme however you are giving a great deal of empathy to the characters and Jacqueline has presented the illness well without making it too dramatic and keeping it as what it is - cancer. She has written it beautifully and allows you to process everything and become more educated on how a child who is going through this would feel. You have a great deal of sympathy for the characters by the end of it.

It's a really beautiful book. Maybe not for the youngest of readers however I think that some young readers could tackle it without having too much upset.

[Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely love Wilson's work and was thrilled to be able to meet her a few years ago when she visited Australia (mind you there was still quite a lot of travel involved). I have to say that I think maybe, just maybe, this might be one of my favourite Jacqueline Wilson books. Then again, I really don’t want to say that because I love so many of her books.

The story focuses on Jayni, her mother and her brother as they try to escape her abusive father. The issue is handled with care by Wilson, but is (as always) realistic. There are many twists and turns throughout the story however one message is clear by the end: there is nothing more important than family. This is illustrated by the reunion of Jayni's mother and her aunt who Jayni hasn't seen since she was little.

I have read this numerous times over the years - really it's just one of those books you can curl up in the corner with on a cold day. Each time I read one of Wilson's books there is a strange sense of comfort. I think the key to Wilson's appeal is that although her stories are aimed at children and teens there seems to be a timeless quality which just gets better and better. Lola Rose is no exception. This was a beautiful story to read, another Wilson masterpiece.

[Abbeyo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lola Rose is a beautifully written book. It starts out with Jayni, plain, mousy, babyish and plump. She lives with her mum Nikki, little brother Kenny and abusive father, Jay. When one night Jay hits Jayni, Nikki won't have it. When Nikki wins the lottery of 10,000 pounds, they're off. After living in a hotel for a while, then getting a council flat, Jayni changes her name to Lola Rose, while Kenny morphs into Kendall and Nikki settles for Victoria. They also change their last name to Luck (to symbolise how lucky Victoria was when she won the lottery).

But then Victoria gets breast cancer. Things start spinning out of control for Lola Rose and out of nowhere pops Barbara, Victoria's sister. She will take care of Lola Rose and Kendall.

But what about Victoria?

(No I will not give out spoilers)

[Sophie Crane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jayni’s dad has a violent temper and his family live in fear of his outbursts. When Jayni’s Mum wins some money on the lottery, she decides not to tell him but he finds out and is furious with her for keeping it a secret. Unfortunately he takes his anger Too Far when he Assaults Jayni which forces Jayni’s mum to make the decision that she and the children should flee to London. It’s the start of a new life for them and to begin with, staying in a hotel and changing their names (Jayni becomes Lola Rose) is almost exciting. However, the move is just the start of many ups and downs for them. This is a well-written book with lots of tension and drama although the theme of domestic violence would make it suitable for older readers.

[Alannah Clarke · Rating 4 out of 5]

I absolutely loved this book, I remember falling in love with the name on the cover and begging my mum to get it for me. The name Lola was given to my dog after the main character.

The storyline was so hard-hitting, it made me cry at times.

However looking back now, I don't think I was anything like Lola when I was eleven years old. I was not thinking about boys or make-up at all. I don't think her mother was a great mother and Lola's brother Kenny was a whiny brat. But then again, they were realistic characters. Overall there were a lot of issues dealt with in this book. But that's kind of what I liked about this book.

[Nav (she/her) 🌧 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Positives:
- The domestic violence scenes were well written and I really felt for Lola Rose, her Mum and brother.
- It was interesting seeing Lola's creative side throughout the story.

Negatives:
- I didn't like the way Lola Rose's Mum teased her as it felt quite childish.
- The headteacher didn't behave professionally with the paperwork and this didn't feel very believable to me.
- The story isn't too memorable for me and I don't think I will be thinking about it in years to come.

[Nicolle · Rating 4 out of 5]

A touching story about a girl with an abusive father given the chance to make a new life for herself. One of Jacqueline Wilson's greatest works.

[Mariam Abood · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was sad and bravely touched upon the topics of domestic violence and cancer.

[Chantelle Melia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely loved this there’s a few bits that made me thing omg really? And I even ranted about it. This is an amazing book and I honestly recommend it ❤️

[Cookiemonsterr · Rating 2 out of 5]

Jacqueline Wilson, what HAPPENED in your childhood???