Reviews tagging 'Homophobia'

Olga Dies Dreaming by Xochitl Gonzalez

142 reviews

goldenjunegem's review

emotional hopeful informative reflective 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Infidelity, Pandemic/Epidemic, Racism, Addiction, Colonisation, Emotional abuse, Death of parent, Sexual harassment, Violence, Abortion, Gun violence, and Rape

khakipantsofsex's review against another edition

funny informative reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Suicide, Sexual assault, Homophobia, Racism, Sexism, and Drug abuse

Minor: Death of parent and Cancer

teatunesandtales's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective sad tense slow-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

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Homophobia, War, Death of parent, Classism, Colonisation, Racism, Xenophobia, Outing, and Infidelity

Minor: Abortion, Drug use, Rape, Pandemic/Epidemic, Terminal illness, and Addiction

astoriareader's review

slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

2.5

SYNOPSIS:

• Olga & Pedro (“Pierto”) Acevedo are siblings, who were born & raised in Brooklyn. Olga is a wedding planner for rich folks, and Pierto is a Congressman. They are in their 40s.
• Both siblings are smart, savvy, educated, and Puerto Rican.
• Their father died when they were young, and their mother abandoned them prior to their dad’s death. Their mother is an estranged radical, who is fighting for the liberation of Puerto Rico.
• When Hurricane Maria hits, many issues come up for the siblings.

MY THOUGHTS

• I wanted to like this novel, as it nice to see Puerto Rican representation in literature, but this fell flat for me. Although, clearly, I am an outlier with the rave reviews.
• There were too many plots going on at once.
• The writing style felt very juvenile, YA to me.
• I didn’t find the two main characters very likable. I also didn’t like how the author portrayed them.
• I didn’t find being closeted in NYC in 2017 to be very believable.
• Some of the characters felt like caricatures & not realistic.
• I appreciated a lot of points made about colonization & Puerto Rico, but I felt the author wasn’t clear where she actually landed. The “radical” group of revolutionaries are vilified throughout the book, and government intervention is equally criticized. It makes it unclear what route people should support.

TL;DR: ⭐️⭐️.75. Meh, fell flat for me.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Colonisation and Abandonment

Moderate: Racism, Sexual harassment, Emotional abuse, Death, Drug abuse, Homophobia, Sexual assault, Rape, Suicide, Sexual violence, Drug use, and Classism

Minor: Abortion

ashwaar's review against another edition

challenging emotional 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? Yes

4.0

It took me months to finish reading this book! When I began it was very strong and I loved the sharpness of the writing but near the end, I thought it was floundering around. It became a bit over-the-top and dramatic for me but I do think that overall it’s a really strong character story on family, community, trauma, and gentrification.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, War, Colonisation, Death of parent, Self harm, Classism, Cursing, Abandonment, Alcohol, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Alcoholism, Sexual harassment, Suicide, Sexual assault, and Sexual content

Moderate: Addiction, Homophobia, and Racism

Minor: Pandemic/Epidemic

alisonfaith426's review

DNF at 34%

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Homophobia, Sexual content, Cultural appropriation, Death, Addiction, Classism, Drug abuse, and Abandonment

Moderate: Cursing and Colonisation

crabbytaco's review

emotional informative 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Xenophobia, Emotional abuse, and Colonisation

Moderate: Rape, Homophobia, and Sexual violence

Minor: Addiction and Drug abuse

schang's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse and Colonisation

Moderate: Homophobia

Minor: Rape and Gun violence

brichneyfloss's review against another edition

emotional funny 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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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault

Moderate: Death, Homophobia, and Rape

hadsbaker's review

dark emotional informative mysterious 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Death of parent, Abandonment, Addiction, Grief, Sexual content, and Alcohol

Moderate: Rape

Minor: Abortion

Discussion of HIV/AIDS and death from it