This book excels at approaching a serious topic related to the struggles of immigrants and cloaking it in humor and wit. A Venezuelan family flees to Trinidad in this riveting yet entertaining debut novel. The story follows the misadventures of the family after their Aunt Celia dies and they find out about a debt she owed to a local crime boss- now they are expected to clear Aunt Celia's debt. A charming tale of family, dysfunction, and the ties that bind people together in family and in love. Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to review this book.

This book caused many emotions to flow while reading it. Shoes the lives of illegal immigrants are hard no matter what country it's in. Great read.

I think the reason I liked this book so much is because it was so different from any other book I've read lately. When I first started it, I thought it was just a humorous tale of the Palacios, a Venezuelan family taking refuge illegally in Trinidad. But it eventually took a turn and touched on several issues and themes. I found it to be funny, heartwarming and thought-provoking.

The protagonist is 24-year-old Yola, a member of of the Palacios family. She is dealing with the death of her favorite aunt, Celia. The family learns that Celia owed a lot of money to a bad guy, named Ugly. He shows up at their home, and in no uncertain terms, informs the family that they must pay off Celia's debt by working for him. Through Yola's narration we follow the cast of characters through the year they spend under Ugly's control. They are forced to take in illegal immigrants and work in a gentleman’s club, which make for some funny stories. Through her narration, we learn about their struggles of living as illegal immigrants and their fierce loyalty to family. A favorite character of mine was Roman, Ugly's right-hand man, The love story between him and Yola is sweet and I love the character development of this "bad guy".

Thanks to NetGalley for the advanced copy of this book.

One Year of Ugly by Caroline Mackenzie
3/5

This novel follows a Venezuelan family that flees to Trinidad where they are illegally living. It follows the protagonist, Yola, after the death of her Aunt Celia. Little did the family know that Aunt Celia owed a lot of money to a local criminal named Ugly.

This novel follows Yola and her family after they are dragged into criminal activities. Some of the things that happen in this novel are a bit outrageous, while others are more believable. Underlying the whole story is Yola and her Aunt Celia’s bond due to them both being writers.

This novel is not written by an Own Voices author which irked me a bit, yes the author is from Trinidad, but this story follows a Venezuelan family that lives in Trinidad. Overall, I thought that this book was entertaining.

A huge thank you to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for this e-book.

Thank you so much for the opportunity to read this book. I'll be posting my review on Goodreads and Amazon

I loved this book! This incredible story about a family of Venezuelan refugees that finds a new home in Trinidad under somewhat shady circumstances is told with great humor but also great reality. As improbable as this story about the Palacios family’s entanglements with Ugly, the fact is that these are the conditions many refugees, the world over find themselves in when seeking a better, safer life for themselves and their families.

A fun lighthearted book about an immigrant family that leaves Venezuela and heads for refuge in Trinidad. I was happy to see that the focus stayed in the Caribbean as their final stop rather than the US. Cute read.

This book was very revealing as the author exposes problems that immigrants experience when they arrive in a new place. Yola Palacio's family is fleeing the problems that their country, Venezuela, faces. Confronted with such a threat, they decide to move to Trinidad, but the difficulties are just beginning because Yola's aunt Celia, all of a sudden, dies. Furthermore, her family did not know that the aunt owed a lot of money to a criminal who was known by the name of Ugly. The Palacio family has to see how to get the money, otherwise, the consequences could be fatal. I really liked the narration of the story from Yola Palacio's perspective, as she describes her family's concern for this difficult situation. Undoubtedly, the decision to move from one place to another is extremely difficult and adaptation to the new place does not always occur. I believe that this book is important to learn about the situation that others live. Yola is a very brave girl who wants the best for her family, but she also wants to be able to help mend this big mess that her aunt Celia created. I thank NetGalley, Simon & Schuster, and 37 Ink for providing me with a copy of the book in exchange for my honest review.

I really enjoyed this novel. It’s was a surprise in that, I thought it would be a lot more serious, instead there were some lighter themes that ran through. I love reading about life in other countries and have never read a book based in Trinadad before. I recommend this book for those that like family dramas and romance. I feel like some people may be sensitive to some of the subject matter as the writing style is a little crude at times, but I found it quite enjoyable.

Yola’s family has emigrated from Venezuela and taken illegal refugee in Trinidad. Everything is going okay until she finds out her recently deceased aunt left their family in debt to a criminal- Mr. Ugly. To pay off the debt, they take fellow refugees into their home. As Yola despises the situation, she finds herself attracted to Mr. Ugly’s henchman assigned to watch her family. ⁣
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This book did take some time for me to get into. It has a unique style of humor that I had to used to it. About half way through it really clicked for me and I began to find the writing and characters hilarious. I am very glad I stuck with it and didn’t show my usual DNF impatience! There was lots of drama, but the humor kept it very light hearted, even while some major characters were grieving and going through hard times. It got into a culture and some Venezuelan politics that I had no idea about; it’s always interesting learning of a new culture. The chapter names were absolutely hilarious and made me really look forward to finding out the meaning behind the title. This was a fun, dramatic read that I was not expecting to enjoy as much as I did. ⁣
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One Year or Ugly came out last month and is available now!⁣
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“𝘕𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳 𝘭𝘦𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘺𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘭𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘪𝘴𝘯’𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘱𝘰𝘵𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘶𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘢𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘴 - 𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦.”⁣
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“𝘞𝘩𝘰’𝘥 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘥𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘭𝘶𝘵𝘵𝘺 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘮𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘧𝘦𝘦𝘭 𝘴𝘰 𝘭𝘪𝘣𝘦𝘳𝘢𝘵𝘦𝘥? 𝘔𝘢𝘺𝘣𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘧𝘳𝘰𝘮 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘪𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘧𝘵𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘭𝘭.”⁣

Have you ever read a book and could clearly picture the actor in your mind who you thought would play a specific character? That is what happened with this little gem of a book. From the moment that Roman was introduced, I imagined Manny Montana (Good Girls, The Mule, Graceland). With that being said, this book had a little bit of everything - family, love, illegal immigration, human trafficking, birth, etc. It was interesting in the fact that it followed a family who moved to Trinidad from Venezuela illegally to get away from their crumbling country and had done so as an entire family - aunts, uncles, cousins, the works. After an aunt passes away the family discovers that some debts needed to be paid and the family sticks together to make sure that they are, well, really they have no choice due to Ugly and his crew breathing down their necks.

The story is told from the point of view of Yola, the 20-something daughter, and the manuscript that was written by the dead aunt, which gave this book a very unique perspective. Enter Roman, Ugly’s right-hand man. He may be Ugly’s enforcer but that doesn’t stop Yola from feeling the attraction between them. Honestly, so many things happen to this poor family that you just can’t help but route for them to come out on top. It really is an eye-opening book that amongst the humor really tugs at your heartstrings.

A good book and I recommend it if you have the chance.

What is wonderful in this book is the writer’s point of view on such a series issue which she turns into an incredibly funny, off-beat story. The immigrant experience and what it entails told through raw and dark humor sometimes had me totally in stitches with laughter. There is a delightful cast of fully fleshed characters, ranging from the philandering brother and the drunken uncle to the prim and proper aunt who morphs into a cigarette smoking, gun toting vigilante. The story is told with great wit and humor and the events the characters get caught up in are devastatingly funny.
This book while addressing a serious issue has the ability to make one laugh even though the family's situation is dire at times. It reminds me of another book (My Sister the Serial Killer by Oyinkan Braithwaite) that gave the reader a warm and humorous look at the what is politically unacceptable.

While the main theme of One Year of Ugly sounded quite serious, I was surprised at what an amusing and entertaining read it turned out to be. That is not to say “everything was coming up roses” throughout the story. Considering the subject matter of a family who fled Venezuela and entered into Trinidad illegally, there were some serious situations. However, the story was overall a fun read. I very much enjoyed this contemporary debut novel written by Caroline MacKenzie.

Loved this hilarious, sassy, and slightly crude story. After escaping a crumbling and dangerous Venezuela, a family finds themselves in Trinidad living the tumultuous life of illegal immigrants. The humorous story of what happens when you deal with the wrong smuggler and have to pay the consequences will leave you laughing and pondering our world views on what we would sacrifice for a safe life.

My only complaint about this book is I did not want it to end. Such a great story full of colorful characters. Great book.

Wow! I loved learning about Yola, her recently deceased Aunt Celia, and the rest of her middle-class family as they are living illegally in Trinidad. When they are suddenly thrust into Ugly’s criminal underworld, Yola’s dark humor and sarcasm provide a bit of levity to the serious situation of illegal immigrants in Trinidad (and everywhere) and what these families must endure in order to have a worthwhile life. And, can I just say Aunt Milagros… what a dark horse she is!!

The romance between Yola and Roman was wonderful and I really hope to see a future book featuring these two. Looking forward to reading more stories from this writer.

I loved this book so much and wish I could somehow become a member of the Palacio family! 😍 Thank you to @netgalley and @boroughpress @harpercollins for giving me a copy of this fantastic book!

This book starts out with a bang. Literally. The Palacio Family has just escaped from the unrest in Venezuela to come to Trinidad and are now living illegally in the country. Their aunt Celia made this journey possible and she dies soon after their arrival. Well it turns out she made a deal with a Trinidad gang kingpin named Ugly who is now not-so-politely insisting that they have to pay Celia’s massive debt. And by not-so-politely, I mean at gunpoint.

The description of this book absolutely does not do the humor of this book justice. Yes, there is some tough stuff going on in this book - violence, refugees, grief, but our narrator Yola approaches everything with sarcasm and wit. I laughed out loud so many times while reading this book. The writing feels so REAL.

I fell in love with the Palacio family while reading this book. No matter what work they have to do to pay off the debt their family owes, they are EXTRA about it. Housing illegal refugees? Let’s host a huge dinner to make them feel welcome! Staffing the kingpin’s fancy strip club? Let’s keep the books meticulously and become family with the strippers! They go above and beyond to show love and hospitality to everyone around them regardless of the circumstances.

One of the best parts about this book was learning more about Venezuela’s and Trinidad’s cultures. Venezuela is still in their hearts in everything they do even though it had become too dangerous for them to remain there. They begin to meld these two cultures together as they become more at home in Trinidad.

Y’all will NOT be disappointed with this read, I assure you. Go get it!

One Year of Ugly is funny, raunchy and slightly crazy. I quite enjoyed Caroline Mackenzie's writing style. I found the setting highlighting the Venezuelan immigrant experience in Trinidad fascinating. The whole idea of a super close knit family is not new to me. South Asian families live in each others pockets too, so I could relate to a lot of the Palacio family's craziness.
All in all an interesting read.

Yola and her family are illegal immigrants from Venezuela living in Trinidad. They are living a middle class existence when Aunt Celia passes away and they find out that she owes $600,000 to Ugly, an organized crime boss. In order to pay off her debt he has the family work for him taking in other illegals until they can be moved to another location. There is an instant attraction between Yola and Ugly's right hand man, Roman. throughout the book Yola, who is also a writer, is reading her Aunt Celia's autobiography. Aunt Celia who is quite risky as a young adult.

It was a serious story. They were terrorized by an crazy man, forced to take strangers into their home. They couldn't call the police so they did what he told them to do. It was an easy story to read.

What a joy! I absolutely adored this book. "One Year of Ugly" is the debut novel for Trinidad-native, Caroline Mackenzie, and tells the story of Yola Palacios's family and how they navigate one year living under the harsh direction of a crime boss who exploits their illegal status as Venezuelans who escaped Maduro's rule to try to to create a better life for themselves in Trinidad. The ensuing tumultuous year is at times dangerous, thrilling, hilarious and sweet.
Mackenzie's writing is magnificent and I can't wait to read more from her. She does an exceptional job in "One Year of Ugly" portraying the depth and connectedness of the Palacios family. I enjoyed reading about their little squabbles but also how they supported one another and showed the love they feel for each other. It is so real to the complicated nature of living in a large family. This line might be one of my favorites in the book: "Because when your family members are cruising along a river of bullshit, sometimes it's best not to tell them how to navigate. The only thing to do is help them paddle ahead into clearer waters and leave the bullshit behind".
I highly recommend this book. Mackenzie brings to life an often over-looked human rights issue that is still happening in Venezuela and to large groups of people who flee their home countries looking for better lives. These groups are truly at risk of exploitation and that is something Ms. Mackenzie expertly highlights in such a real, raw way. 5 stars.