Reviews tagging 'Death'

Olga Dies Dreaming by Xochitl Gonzalez

40 reviews

siobhanward's review against another edition

emotional medium-paced

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

3.0

 This book had so much potential and it felt like it felt short in a lot of ways. While parts of the book dragged, the ending felt rushed, which meant that the protagonists did not get a real wrap-up that made sense with the story. I understand a lot of Olga and Prieto's motivations for why they did what they did, but it didn't necessarily make it better. A look into the US government's failure in responding to Hurricane Maria's devastation of Puerto Rico from the POV of two Puerto Ricans in mainland America was interesting, but it just didn't feel like it was executed as well as it could have been. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Terminal illness, Racism, Death of parent, and Death

Moderate: Sexual assault and Abortion

taratearex's review against another edition

funny hopeful informative reflective medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Racism, Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, Death of parent, Xenophobia, and Suicide

Moderate: Abortion, Death, Homophobia, Alcohol, Rape, Sexual assault, and Classism

kelly_e's review

challenging emotional informative medium-paced

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

4.0

Title: Olga Dies Dreaming
Author: Xóchitl González
Genre: Contemporary Fiction
Rating: 4.00
Pub Date: January 4, 2022

T H R E E • W O R D S

Layered • Messy • Dynamic

📖 S Y N O P S I S

Brooklyn, 2017

Olga is a successful wedding planner for Manhattan's elite, despite employing some questionable business practices. Her brother, Prieto, is a Congressman representing their gentrifying Latinx neighborhood, and with many secrets of his own.

Despite alluring public lives, the effects of their mother's sudden departure to advance a militant political cause twenty-seven years earlier continues to impact their lives in so many ways. In the wake of Hurricane Maria, the most devastating hurricane in Puerto Rico's history, they will come to understand their Puerto Rican heritage and challenge everything they know and feel when their mother comes barreling back into their lives.

Olga Dies Dreaming is a story that examines political corruption, familial strife and the very notion of the American dream--all while asking what it really means to weather a storm.

💭 T H O U G H T S

Olga Dies Dreaming fell into my hands while I was attempting to complete an A-Z author challenge this year. I must say I was pleasantly surprised by this complex and layered debut novel, which combines romance, political strife, and family drama.

From the beautifully written first chapter, I instantly knew the propulsive writing style was going to grip me and take me on a messy ride into family dynamics with these flawed and fully developed characters. Not only was I transported into the novel, but I came away having learned about Puerto Rican history. There is no denying that the writing is the heart of this book weaving together a complex multigeneration history of both family and country. It demonstrates how childhood trauma continues to wreck havoc on personal development when our emotions aren't processed.

And while I enjoyed my time with this book, the ending was a little too tidy, especially considering how messy the plot was. It was an ending that felt unrealistic and a little rushed, which definitely took away from the whole experience.

Olga Dies Dreaming unpacks a lot, but overall I was pleasantly surprised by this beautiful debut novel. If you're looking for a lighthearted millennial story, this isn't the book for you. As a reader you must be ready to get messy with Olga and her brother. I cannot wait to see what Xóchitl González has on the horizon.

📚 R E C O M M E N D • T O
• fans of the family saga
• readers look for a LGBTQIA+ Story
• bookclubs

🔖 F A V O U R I T E • Q U O T E S

"You must remember, mijo, even people who were once your sails can become your anchors."

"It’s dangerous at your young age to be surrounded by people who don’t value who you are. Who don’t understand you. A child can become lost."

"Women are born with barometers in our belly that make us more sensitive to the climate around us and because we're so often on the lowers rung of any ladder, we're naturally inclined to look out for the least among us." 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Homophobia, Outing, Abandonment, Sexual violence, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Death, and Death of parent

Moderate: Classism, Sexual assault, Cursing, Drug use, Alcohol, Rape, Grief, Racism, Xenophobia, Drug abuse, and Addiction

Minor: Abortion, Terminal illness, Gaslighting, Misogyny, Infertility, and Colonisation

lolamosk's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Chronic illness, Colonisation, Death, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcoholism, Emotional abuse, Racism, and Drug abuse

Moderate: Sexual assault, Suicide, and Rape

Minor: Abortion, Homophobia, and Infertility

torturedreadersdept's review

challenging emotional funny hopeful reflective medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Murder, Racism, Rape, Sexual content, Abandonment, Addiction, Alcohol, Blood, Body horror, Chronic illness, Colonisation, Infertility, Cursing, Grief, Homophobia, Death, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual assault, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Abortion

bootsmom3's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Colonisation, Death, Death of parent, Grief, and Cursing

Moderate: Sexual content, Alcohol, Racial slurs, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexism, War, Misogyny, Racism, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, and Outing

Minor: Abortion, Deportation, and Homophobia

avvai's review against another edition

informative reflective medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Addiction, Abandonment, Rape, Sexism, Racism, Grief, Emotional abuse, Death of parent, and Toxic relationship

sdupont's review against another edition

I had heard so many good things about this book but unfortunately I didn’t have the same response. Perhaps if I kept reading the story would’ve fallen into place more. I just felt that by page 89 there should’ve been a solid plot line occurring. What I found what that this book really would’ve benefitted from editing. There was a lot of detail about Olga’s business, there also seemed to be some plot around her romantic/sexual relationships, her congressman brother appeared to maybe have his own storyline, and then there was her activist parents particularly her mother. I think this book tried to do too much at once and it prevented the plot from being clear and evident to the reader. 

 Also, as a side note I don’t understand what purpose Jan’s death served. As someone who works in the field of HIV care, I was saddened to see a character who was set in 2017 commit suicide after seroconverting. This was jarring at the beginning of the book. Maybe this would be unpacked later and discussed with nuance but it would be nice to move past the narrative of HIV being a death sentence (with medication people can live long and relatively healthy lives).

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment

Moderate: Homophobia, Death of parent, Suicide, and Death

kristinallard's review

emotional hopeful 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? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Rape, Sexual violence, Addiction, Sexual assault, and Drug abuse

Minor: Abortion, Abandonment, Death, and Death of parent

gracescanlon's review

challenging emotional hopeful medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse

Moderate: Rape, Sexual assault, Death of parent, Abandonment, and Addiction

Minor: Drug use, Racism, Homophobia, Drug abuse, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Chronic illness, Classism, and Death