A review by nailal
Olga Dies Dreaming by Xochitl Gonzalez

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. 
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