Reviews tagging 'Terminal illness'

Olga Dies Dreaming by Xóchitl González

23 reviews

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

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

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

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

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

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

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. 

Spoiler

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: Abandonment, Death of parent, and Drug abuse

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: Sexual assault, Rape, and Abandonment

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

Minor: Abortion and Infertility

nabecker13's review against another edition

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Racism, Addiction, Grief, Rape, Death of parent, Physical abuse, Terminal illness, Violence, Abandonment, Suicidal thoughts, Chronic illness, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Gun violence, Sexual assault, Classism, Colonisation, Cultural appropriation, Homophobia, and Racial slurs

Minor: Abortion

ciwanski's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring 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? Yes

4.0

Despite the hard themes and topics in this book, it was very easy to read. Gonzalez is a very smart author who knows how to keep a very easy pace with her writing. The environment and the characters felt so real, as I was reading I felt like I was right there beside them. I also loved that this book focused on adults still finding their way in the world and not on 17 year olds figuring everything out somehow. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment

Moderate: Death of parent, Rape, and Terminal illness

thebookwormkatie's review against another edition

challenging informative reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Gaslighting, and Abandonment

Moderate: Terminal illness and Racism

Minor: Homophobia, Abortion, and Rape

siobhanward's review

emotional 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

3.0

 This book had so much potential and it felt like it felt short in a lot of ways. While parts of the book dragged, the ending felt rushed, which meant that the protagonists did not get a real wrap-up that made sense with the story. I understand a lot of Olga and Prieto's motivations for why they did what they did, but it didn't necessarily make it better. A look into the US government's failure in responding to Hurricane Maria's devastation of Puerto Rico from the POV of two Puerto Ricans in mainland America was interesting, but it just didn't feel like it was executed as well as it could have been. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Terminal illness, Racism, Death of parent, and Death

Moderate: Sexual assault and Abortion