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nicoleisalwaysreading's review
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
had a lot of interesting layers of family, politics, aspirations/dreams and identity, and its pace and tone was precise and well-executed. (I haven't disliked a character as much as I hated Olga and Prieto's mom in a while!!!)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Alcohol, and Death of parent
Moderate: Sexual assault
bluberrybooks's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
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? It's complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Alcohol, Drug abuse, Homophobia, Xenophobia, and Colonisation
Moderate: Death of parent and Emotional abuse
Minor: Abortion, Rape, Infertility, and Physical abuse
chelseab2190's review
challenging
dark
informative
reflective
sad
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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Emotional abuse, Rape, Abortion, Colonisation, Abandonment, Death of parent, Drug use, Homophobia, and Terminal illness
kdailyreads's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
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? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Death, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Homophobia, Rape, Xenophobia, Racism, Suicide, Alcohol, Violence, Terminal illness, Colonisation, Drug abuse, and Grief
Moderate: Sexual content, Cursing, Infidelity, and Classism
Minor: Abortion, Infertility, Racial slurs, and Pregnancy
marthaiselin's review
emotional
funny
informative
inspiring
reflective
relaxing
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? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Xenophobia, Sexual violence, Addiction, Sexual harassment, Homophobia, Sexual assault, Drug abuse, Grief, Racism, Colonisation, Suicide, Sexism, Rape, and Mental illness
Moderate: Abortion, Alcohol, Infertility, and Alcoholism
iwantamonkey's review against another edition
5.0
Prescient to read about Sunset Park now, after the subway shooting. Engaging. Relevant.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Racism, Homophobia, and Alcohol
pandora_rose_reads's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
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? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death of parent, Addiction, Alcohol, Abandonment, and Drug abuse
Minor: Rape and Physical abuse
nestofwordsandblankets's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
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
I was pleasantly surprised by how this book navigates family dynamics, culture, colonialism, and internal conflict. Set in New York during the early 90s through the aftermath of Hurricane Maria, Xochitl Gonzalez did not go for the cheap grabs that many...not just Puerto Ricans...faced during this period. This book dares to look deeper into the relationship with Puerto Rico and its tumultuous history with the USA.
How do you strive for the "American dream", support change, and continue to support the traditions of the previous generation?
Olga Dies Dreaming is a medium-paced, character-driven narrative. The plot points in the story were interesting, but there were some questionable gaps that didn't distract me. While the end felt a bit rushed, the characters showed growth throughout the narrative and the conclusion felt satisfying. The colloquialisms throughout the book were not distracting at all and brought a familiar sense of community to the narrative.
Recommendation to review trigger warnings.
How do you strive for the "American dream", support change, and continue to support the traditions of the previous generation?
Olga Dies Dreaming is a medium-paced, character-driven narrative. The plot points in the story were interesting, but there were some questionable gaps that didn't distract me. While the end felt a bit rushed, the characters showed growth throughout the narrative and the conclusion felt satisfying. The colloquialisms throughout the book were not distracting at all and brought a familiar sense of community to the narrative.
Recommendation to review trigger warnings.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Rape, Racial slurs, Abandonment, Alcohol, Colonisation, Death of parent, Sexual violence, and Suicide
flossiepalmer's review
adventurous
challenging
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
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? Yes
3.0
I wanted to enjoy this book a lot more than I actually did.
As Gonzalez's debut novel, this book had a lot of potential. However, I didn't enjoy the writing style of the book. I found that it read similarly to fan fiction, and I found quite a lot of the dialogue cringey.
I also found a lot of what happened in the book to be very random, includingMatteo's hoarding and quite predictable, such as: Prieto's AIDS, especially because we explored his grief narrative after regretting not saying goodbye to his father as he died in hospital from AIDS and Olga's sexual assault and abortion, as she is a woman always in control who uses her body as a weapon to get what she wants. I couldn't help but feel that these very important themes were randomly dropped into the narrative for a shock-factor, with Olga's experience of sexual assault being less explored than Prieto's AIDS and a little brushed aside despite its very important and traumatic effect. I think there could've been room here to discuss these experiences in a developed commentary, but the writer sadly chose not to, instead leaving these parts of the novel feeling underdeveloped and random.
That being said, I think Gonzalez's exploration of Latin-American history was extremely important and introduction a new variation of "the personal is political" to the contemporary fiction genre in a well developed way. I also appreciated the diversity of characters, as all of the protagonists were POC, and one of the narrators is gay.
It was very telling that a lot of Olga's life experiences were modelled on that of the writer herself, such as Olga's close relationship with her grandparents and her career as a wedding planner, as these elements of the book were some of the most touching and interesting. The exploration of how political duty can be bound up with identity, which is especially the case for the Latin-American characters within the book, was an especially nuanced and well developed thread which ran throughout the entire book and affected each and every character, even more minor characters such as Matteo. I also though that the focus on how neighbourhoods are becoming gentrified and popularised through the erasure of cultural history was a very prominent and relatable part of the novel which causes the reader to reflect on the society they live in, as this is something which can be seen everyday across the globe, even by myself in my home-city of Bristol.
For me, the book was quite difficult to read up until Pietro's visit to Puerto Rico. However, once we got to see what the novel was building up to, I quickly paced through the rest of the book in just a couple of days.
One of the biggest let-downs I personally felt when reading was my lack of attachment to the characters; I didn't really care for them, or their relationships, and I found Olga and Matteo's relationship quite forced and cringey. I had no real fondness for either of the two narrators (Pietro and Olga), and even the mysterious aura surrounding their absent mother became tiring and predictable after a while. However, I think the writer pulled off creating a likeable character in Olga's supportive grandmother, and made us as the reader despise any mention of Olga's mother when she excused her absence in her children's life with her "greater purpose." Gomez's re-negotiation of this sense of political duty which is so entwined with race and identity through Pietro and Olga's characters instead made the topic very understandable and accessible. As a reader who loves books which focus on identity and complex relationships, this theme underlying the entire novel was a huge delight to uncover.
As Gonzalez's debut novel, this book had a lot of potential. However, I didn't enjoy the writing style of the book. I found that it read similarly to fan fiction, and I found quite a lot of the dialogue cringey.
I also found a lot of what happened in the book to be very random, including
That being said, I think Gonzalez's exploration of Latin-American history was extremely important and introduction a new variation of "the personal is political" to the contemporary fiction genre in a well developed way. I also appreciated the diversity of characters, as all of the protagonists were POC, and one of the narrators is gay.
It was very telling that a lot of Olga's life experiences were modelled on that of the writer herself, such as Olga's close relationship with her grandparents and her career as a wedding planner, as these elements of the book were some of the most touching and interesting. The exploration of how political duty can be bound up with identity, which is especially the case for the Latin-American characters within the book, was an especially nuanced and well developed thread which ran throughout the entire book and affected each and every character, even more minor characters such as Matteo. I also though that the focus on how neighbourhoods are becoming gentrified and popularised through the erasure of cultural history was a very prominent and relatable part of the novel which causes the reader to reflect on the society they live in, as this is something which can be seen everyday across the globe, even by myself in my home-city of Bristol.
For me, the book was quite difficult to read up until
One of the biggest let-downs I personally felt when reading was my lack of attachment to the characters; I didn't really care for them, or their relationships, and I found Olga and Matteo's relationship quite forced and cringey. I had no real fondness for either of the two narrators (Pietro and Olga), and even the mysterious aura surrounding their absent mother became tiring and predictable after a while. However, I think the writer pulled off creating a likeable character in Olga's supportive grandmother, and made us as the reader despise any mention of Olga's mother when she excused her absence in her children's life with her "greater purpose." Gomez's re-negotiation of this sense of political duty which is so entwined with race and identity through Pietro and Olga's characters instead made the topic very understandable and accessible. As a reader who loves books which focus on identity and complex relationships, this theme underlying the entire novel was a huge delight to uncover.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol
Minor: Abortion and Rape
blainereads's review
emotional
informative
inspiring
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
Pa’lante <3
Content Warnings
Moderate: Rape, Alcohol, Emotional abuse, Abandonment, Addiction, and Death of parent
Minor: Outing, Racism, and Racial slurs