Ages 8+1-min guideFantasyLossFamily
Lola
by Karla Arenas Valenti
Read togetherFine for 8 and up, and best read together. A rich, magical quest that is really about grief. A death in the family is at its heart.
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What it’s about
Ten-year-old Lola lives in a Mexico City house built around a magical tree. Since The Thing That Happened, her brother Alex has been sick. Now the tree is getting sick too. With Cualli, a chaneque only she can see, Lola enters Floresta. It is a hidden magical world where she hopes to find a cure.
The ending
What might come up
Death and lossA lotThe story turns on a death in the family. A twist near the end makes it clear.
Big feelingsSomeAlex is stuck in a deep sadness he calls the Darkness. The book explores grief and depression.
Scary momentsA littleNo violence, and the magical creatures are kind. The sadness may scare some kids.
Hard to readA littleFloresta has lots of detail, and the ending is a bit open. Some kids find it confusing.
LanguageNone
RomanceNone
Why kids like it
A house built around a magic tree, tiny nature spirits, and a hidden world.
Free printable quiz
- 1How old is Lola?
- 2What city does Lola live in?
- 3Who goes with Lola into Floresta?
- 4What is the hidden magical world called?