A review by daniellekat
Olga Dies Dreaming by Xochitl Gonzalez

emotional reflective tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

I’m having a very hard time rating this book. 
Overall the writing was excellent, especially at the beginning. I loved the first half of this book. The organization of the book was engaging with the multiple POVs and the letters interspersed. I was invested in the characters and loved all their interactions especially as the book grappled with the theme of identity. 
But as the book went on,
the turning point was after Mabel’s wedding
I started to feel like the author was taking the easy way out. A lot of the conclusions just felt simple and almost unnecessary based on the book up to that point.
I really disliked Preito’s coming out story. It felt like his positive HIV status served only as a purpose for him to come out. Same with the SA, it was an easy way to write Olga’s “breakdown” and that part of the narrative could have been driven in another way.
 
Finally, two things that are personal pet peeves that this book hit were books that have chapter titles but no table of contents and books with pointless epilogues. Ugh. 

I will add that the audiobook narration was 10/10. The multiple narrators and the way they spoke carried so much of the attitude of each of the characters. Would highly recommend that format for anyone looking to read this! 
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