Reviews with content warning for Rape - Olga Dies Dreaming

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.

Content Warnings

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.

Content Warnings

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

Content Warnings

nailal's review against another edition

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challenging emotional informative 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

The family dynamic in this book is wildly unhealthy and incredibly relatable. Reading about character's like Mabel, Tia Lola, and Olga's grandmother felt like I was reading about my family members and I could clearly assign each character to my family members. There is a lot going on in this book including an emotionally abusive absentee mother, an impending revolution, and despite all odds a healthy budding romance. This book is the perfect example that not everyone is meant to be a parent and deciding to have children because your partner wants them is NOT a good enough reason to bring children into this world. Not only did Olga's mom abandon her children, but she continuously went out of her way to manipulate and emotionally abuse her children. Olga and Prieto are not by any means perfect, but it is obvious that their actions are heavily influenced by the hold their absentee mother has on them. I'm happy that Prieto is breaking the cycle and is a loving and present father to his daughter. I'm happy Olga worked on her tendency to isolate when dealing with life and started to lean on her loved ones for the help she needs. I loved the ending - maybe letting her terrorist mother get away with bombing multiple places is not the responsible move - but it was a dramatic showing of just how much work she's done to distance herself from her mother. Here's to mourning people who only bring us pain and toxicity to our lives.

Content Warnings

pferdina's review

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emotional lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.0

Content Warnings

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