Reviews tagging 'Grief'

Olga Dies Dreaming by Xochitl Gonzalez

38 reviews

bella_cavicchi's review against another edition

emotional 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

I began OLGA DIES DREAMING back in February and lost the opportunity to finish it when I had to return it to the library. On a flight home, I took the chance to complete it and I'm so glad I saw it through. It's an ambitious novel, and I'm not sure it hits every mark, but it has a lot of heart and that I applaud. That this is González' debut just has me excited to see what else she has up her sleeve (!).

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Grief, Death, Homophobia, Abandonment, and Colonisation

Moderate: Cursing, War, Racism, Rape, and Infidelity

readbycarina's review against another edition

emotional reflective 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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Colonisation, Rape, Death of parent, Death, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, and Abandonment

Moderate: Homophobia, Addiction, Drug abuse, Alcohol, Grief, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Pregnancy, Abortion, and Physical abuse

katiejohns's review against another edition

emotional informative reflective tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Abandonment, Rape, Grief, Drug use, War, Sexual assault, Colonisation, Abortion, Violence, Toxic relationship, Racism, and Death of parent

hadsbaker's review against another edition

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

melodyseestrees's review against another edition

emotional reflective 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Addiction, Xenophobia, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Sexual violence, Homophobia, Death of parent, Sexual assault, Rape, Drug use, and Drug abuse

Minor: Abortion, Misogyny, Gaslighting, Grief, Genocide, Fatphobia, Alcohol, Cultural appropriation, and Eating disorder

salemander's review against another edition

5.0

wowowow this shit made my fuckin heart hurt!!! love revolution but absolutely fuck anyone who thinks that hurting the people you love is the way to get it. a beautiful combination of community and culture and fighting for justice, this book was so inspiring and genuinely heartfelt. while there were some things that took me out of it the only thing that genuinely made me mad is that Dick doesn’t get murdered and his fucking dick cut off, which is the absolute bare minimum that fucker deserves. <3 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Addiction, Death, Colonisation, Drug abuse, Sexual harassment, Rape, Emotional abuse, Abandonment, Suicide, Xenophobia, and Racism

nataliebootlah's review against another edition

challenging 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? No

4.0

This novel covers many themes—gentrification, colonialism, familial relationships, politics, cultural and sexual identity, corruption, love. Gonzalez left nothing out of the spotlight.

Olga and Prieto are siblings. Both have quietly struggled with their mother’s abandoment decades ago to support Puerto Rican independence. Although they receive letters from her, they’re typically to ridicule them for partaking in the “American Dream” or to push them towards achieving her anarchist legacy. This novel portrays Olga and Prietos’ struggles to define themselves outside of their parents’ activism, abuse, societal expectations, and their own pasts. 

While dense with political information, this novel will pull you in a few different ways. At times, I felt simultaneously sympathetic and totally aggravated with the characters. It’s a smorgasbord of sub-plots, but I enjoyed it nonetheless.

Puerto Rican politics (or PR in general) isn’t a common theme I see in books, which means I need to diversify my bookshelves. I’m reminded of how little I know about Puerto Rico. Yet seeing a congressman of Puerto Rican descent be the only one expected to talk about PR issues was uncomfortably realistic making it a good read. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Grief, Suicide, Emotional abuse, Drug use, Death of parent, Abandonment, and Rape

lizziaha's review against another edition

• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.5

Lately, I feel like I’ve been reading a lot of books about secrets. This one does that in a particularly gut-wrenching way. The way that Gonzalez let’s the reader sit with information, then draw their own conclusions about the characters motivations invited a more interactive experience for me. Gosh I really do love flawed characters. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Abandonment, Emotional abuse, and Grief

Moderate: Racism, Terminal illness, Xenophobia, Addiction, Genocide, Rape, Alcohol, Chronic illness, Colonisation, Death of parent, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, and Homophobia

Minor: Abortion, Bullying, Deportation, and Infertility

amberwinsor's review against another edition

emotional 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: Abandonment, Addiction, Grief, Rape, and Racism

zombiezami's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring medium-paced

4.75

My only issue was I didn’t like how anarchism was portrayed. I thought it was fantastic overall, though

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, Alcoholism, Child abuse, War, Classism, Drug abuse, Alcohol, Abandonment, Addiction, and Colonisation

Moderate: Chronic illness, Death of parent, Mental illness, Death, Cursing, Grief, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual harassment, Racism, and Sexual content

Minor: Slavery, Violence, Abortion, Homophobia, Genocide, Animal death, Infertility, Pandemic/Epidemic, Police brutality, Racial slurs, and War