Reviews with content warning for Homophobia - Olga Dies Dreaming

Reviews tagging 'Homophobia'

Olga Dies Dreaming by Xochitl Gonzalez

139 reviews

hellokaley's review against another edition

challenging slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.5

I had much different expectations for this novel. There were quite a few different storylines and I found it a little hard to follow. The political storyline was the least interesting to me and probably the most prevalent throughout the story. I don’t have a ton of context or understanding around the history and current state of politics in Puerto Rico, but I also can’t say I learned a lot with this read because it wasn’t easy to separate fact from fiction.

Shoutout to the excellent narrators though- I thought the audiobook was really well done!

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sachachi's review against another edition

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challenging emotional informative 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

3.75

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emily_koopmann's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful informative lighthearted reflective tense fast-paced

4.75

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humblej's review against another edition

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dark informative reflective slow-paced

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

2.0

I couldn’t have gotten through this if not for the audiobook. Some of the writing was beautiful and it was nice to see how different generations interacted. Aunt Lola was my favorite.

But it was difficult to connect with the characters. The disdain Olga had for everyone did not make her likable, and Pietro’s crisis was boring. Matteo is not 3D, and neither is Blanca. The

rape

was completely unnecessary. It added nothing to the story. She could have easily had the same

breakdown after failing her mission and being disregarded again by her mother

. The ending also brings into focus the selfishness of both leads.

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renharms's review against another edition

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emotional reflective medium-paced

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

3.5

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zxnaida's review against another edition

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emotional reflective medium-paced

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

3.5

I have been putting off writing this review for a while because I feel conflicted about my rating. Olga Dies Dreaming starts off strong, with chapters alternating POVs of two main characters, and letters from a secondary character also serving as another POV. The characters felt real and personable. I enjoyed how I went back and forth with really disliking some of the characters and yet still rooting for them. However, some plot points felt sort of just thrown in there with no relevance. This bugged me. With all these things considered, I would rate it a 4. However, there is a scene towards the end of the book that seemed very unnecessary, and it really threw me off, and I don’t feel like it’s a 4 anymore, it’s more of a 3.5 to me, I think. I plan to read Xochitl Gonzalez’s next book which is set to release this year.

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starlily's review

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emotional informative reflective sad 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? It's complicated

4.0

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cass_ward's review

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adventurous challenging emotional hopeful reflective 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? It's complicated

4.25

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hazelgirl21's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad 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

4.0

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bella_cavicchi's review

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emotional funny 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

4.0

I began OLGA DIES DREAMING back in February and lost the opportunity to finish it when I had to return it to the library. On a flight home, I took the chance to complete it and I'm so glad I saw it through. It's an ambitious novel, and I'm not sure it hits every mark, but it has a lot of heart and that I applaud. That this is González' debut just has me excited to see what else she has up her sleeve (!).

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