Reviews with content warning for Grief - Olga Dies Dreaming

The book is character driven and told through third person POVs, switching mainly between Prieto and Olga. We do also get some other character POVs plus letters between the two MCs and their mother. The character development was very well done, they felt so believable and multi dimensional watching them grow! I also enjoyed the writing style, making it feel like I was at the weddings and in the Hamptons or New York City.

Mainly a story about family, grief, American dream, corruption, colonialism, and how people pleasing/constantly seeking validation from outside sources can affect you. I really related to how both Olga and Prieto feel the need to do what makes everyone else happy or proud of them, and in the process losing yourself and your own sense of fulfillment!

There was one moment of telling over showing moment that really rubbed me the wrong way 🫣 We are 300 pages into the book and without spoiling/full context-It read like the first paragraph of a first page the way it presented a “revelation” like I’m not an idiot, I know Olga is his sister you don’t have to say “Olga his sister” this far into the novel.

It didn’t affect my rating though because overall this was such a beautiful exploration of family dynamics and expectations! I didn’t want to put the book down and it’s an extraordinary debut novel, so I can’t wait to read Gonzalez’s next book.

TW/CW: abandonment, death of parent, cancer, racism and racial micro aggressions, homophobia, AIDS, drug abuse, addiction, emotional abuse, sexual assault, infertility

Rep: Puerto Rican MCs, biracial (white&Black) and Jewish side character, Afro-Latino side character, Gay characters, Latina author, positive disability rep (specifically HIV)

Content Warnings

sierraclimbs's review against another edition

Go to review page

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

Content Warnings

steffieras's review against another edition

Go to review page

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

Content Warnings

zxnaida's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional reflective medium-paced

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

3.5

I have been putting off writing this review for a while because I feel conflicted about my rating. Olga Dies Dreaming starts off strong, with chapters alternating POVs of two main characters, and letters from a secondary character also serving as another POV. The characters felt real and personable. I enjoyed how I went back and forth with really disliking some of the characters and yet still rooting for them. However, some plot points felt sort of just thrown in there with no relevance. This bugged me. With all these things considered, I would rate it a 4. However, there is a scene towards the end of the book that seemed very unnecessary, and it really threw me off, and I don’t feel like it’s a 4 anymore, it’s more of a 3.5 to me, I think. I plan to read Xochitl Gonzalez’s next book which is set to release this year.

Content Warnings

More...