Reviews with content warning for Rape - Olga Dies Dreaming

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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petuniaspud's review

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fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

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rexpostfacto's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional informative reflective tense medium-paced

5.0

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steffieras's review against another edition

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challenging emotional informative inspiring tense fast-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

4.5

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lrystarr's review

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emotional inspiring reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Loveable characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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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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beckykphillips's review against another edition

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adventurous 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? Yes

5.0

This was such an incredible exploration of family, grief, politics and the interplay between all. I also did not know much at all about the history of Puerto Rico and was fascinated by the history and disappointed at the horrific colonialism puertorriqueños experience. Olga and her family were absolutely fascinating and they felt so very real, Gonzalez’s prose is just amazing at transporting you right to where her characters are. Olga’s emotional journey throughout the book was beautiful and how she learns to open up and trust again after the years of emotional manipulation by her mother. Prieto being able to come into himself was also so satisfying and left me feeling hopeful about the future in their world.

I absolutely recommend reading this book and can’t wait to read more of her writing.

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