Reviews tagging 'Terminal illness'

Olga Dies Dreaming by Xochitl Gonzalez

27 reviews

sha's review against another edition

challenging 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Chronic illness, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Racism, Rape, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Police brutality, Abortion, Outing, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Colonisation, and Classism

sierraclimbs's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring 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? It's complicated

4.75

This was a fantastically written story. I highly recommend the audio book. It’s a full cast & is just really well done. 
This book just reinforces my identity of enjoying mundane books. When I say that, it doesn’t mean this story doesn’t have a lot of intrigue and/or value. In contrary, I think this is an incredibly important life perspective for people to read from. What I mean by mundane is that there is nothing “fantastical” or “surprising”. It’s just people living life full of struggle, love, heartbreak, happiness & all of life’s other complexities. 
This story tells the story of a Puerto Rican American family growing up with split identity & the struggle that comes with that. 
It’s very raw & real, but also funny & lighthearted at times. 
So glad it was picked for my book club because I hadn’t heard of it before then. 
10/10 recommend 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Racism, Toxic relationship, Grief, and Outing

Minor: Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Death of parent, and Alcohol

steffieras's review against another edition

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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Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Terminal illness, Grief, Sexual harassment, and War

Minor: Child abuse, Abortion, Death of parent, and Alcohol

iris3271's review against another edition

emotional hopeful 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape and Colonisation

Moderate: Drug abuse, Homophobia, Terminal illness, Death of parent, and Outing

teatunesandtales's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective sad tense slow-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

Moderate: Homophobia, Infidelity, Racism, Xenophobia, Death of parent, Outing, Colonisation, War, and Classism

Minor: Addiction, Drug use, Rape, Terminal illness, Abortion, and Pandemic/Epidemic

ferboss2023's review against another edition

emotional tense 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Emotional abuse, Racism, Terminal illness, Death of parent, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Colonisation

Moderate: Homophobia, Rape, Suicide, Outing, and Classism

julieriley99's review against another edition

emotional informative reflective

• 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

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Content Warnings

Minor: Addiction, Drug abuse, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Terminal illness

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

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

Minor: Bullying, Infertility, Abortion, and Deportation

madzsmiled's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful inspiring 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

Olga Dies Dreaming is an excellent study of generational trauma, duty versus self-fulfillment, and the Puerto Rican Diaspora. 

Olga and Prieto are the pinnacle of the American dream - grandchildren of immigrants who find success along all the right pathways, much to the chagrin of their revolutionary mother. I think more than anything this book demonstrates the complexities of cultural identity and the importance of creating a supportive family (whether that's by blood or not). While at points it meandered through the plot, the story was not about Blanca the revolutionary, but rather Olga and Prieto coming into their own as individuals. They each find happiness in honesty and fighting the good fight in their own ways. I really loved it.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Drug abuse, Death of parent, and Abandonment

Minor: Rape and Terminal illness

heather_palmer's review against another edition

1.0

I wanted to love Olga Dies Dreaming, but was sadly disappointed. 

This was a very ambitious book that proposed to tackle a lot of important themes and issues, but it fell short in its execution. There was too much going on with no real time spent fleshing out these different elements. Due to this, the book felt crowded. The readers were not given enough time and space within the novel to successfully cover everything the author wanted to explore in her narrative or to really connect with it. Leaving me let down by the end. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, and Abandonment

Moderate: Addiction, Death, Misogyny, Suicide, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Grief, and Death of parent

Minor: Infertility and Abortion