After Yola Palacio and her family flee Venezuela for Trinidad, she thinks the worst is over. Sure, she and her family are now unauthorized immigrants, but they have a new life and can make it work. That is until Aunt Celia dies and Ugly, the crime boss Aunt Celia secretly owes, comes to collect. Now the Palacio family is active, if unwilling, participants in a crime ring and Yola, well, she can’t stay away from Román, Ugly’s right-hand man.

If you like romantic comedies, you will like this book.

If you loathe discussions of controversial politics, you will like this book.

If you love Netflix, you will love this book because they already acquired the rights. And here, oddly, is what redeemed the book for me. A Netflix production might be what we need to make this romantic comedy truly dark beyond the superficial gloss-over of a complicated subject and a few bad words.

The writing, while not extraordinary, was good. The humor, so heavily promoted, was not as sharp as I would have expected.

My primary complaint is how this book is being positioned/marketed. It's setting up the wrong expectations and doing the author a disservice. One Year of Ugly is promoted as a dark romantic comedy. Lemony Snicket is darker than One Year of Ugly. The only reason this book is dark is that we root for unauthorized immigrants and an illicit romance. The book is funny throughout, with Mackenzie using the sardonic voices of Yola and her beloved deceased aunt to make safe commentary on Venezuelan politics. The discussion of immigration is not dark and neither is the Palacio family's step into organized crime.

Publishers describe Mackenzie as a mix of Junot Díaz and Maria Semple and, again, this is a huge error. I was an enormous fan of Junot Díaz before the allegations, and the comparison doesn’t hold up to review. Like Semple, Mackenzie is a beach read. Anyone who reads One Year of Ugly expecting more than Where Did You Go, Bernadette will be disappointed. I would not have been able to finish this book if I held to the expectation that I would read a woman’s answer to The Brief Wondrous Life of Oscar Wao.

While #readcaribbean is “over” (as a month-long challenge), I’m excited about all of the amazing Caribbean-authored books on my TBR and will be continuing to read Caribbean all year long.

But let’s get to the good stuff. ONE YEAR OF UGLY by @carolinemackenziewrites, out July 7 in the U.S. (Thank you @netgalley, @37inkbooks, @simonbooks for the digital ARC.) This book is hilarious. Here’s my one-sentence synopsis: an undocumented Venezuelan family living in Trinidad ends up indebted to a local crime lord; shenanigans ensue. This is contemporary fiction that explores tough issues in a really fun way. It’s so hard to explain how funny and astute this book is without a couple of quotes.

〰️ “So I boarded the denial canoe alongside the twins and picked up my oar.”
〰️ “I’d have asked her about it, but she and my mother were doing this classic woman thing where they didn’t say a word but were doing everything with passive-aggressive force, slicing into baked potatoes like they were disemboweling torture victims, launching balled-up foil into the garbage with the undue force of an Olympian hurling a discus.” (Obviously this one purports a stereotype around women’s anger, which may or may not resonate with you, but nonetheless this paints a word picture.)

This book is perfect for a hot summer day or a long weekend, and I’m really glad I read it. Not only was it a fun romp, I also learned a lot about Venezuelan perception in Trinidad. While I studied Venezuelan politics in college, I’m not as up-to-date on current state; embarrassingly, I didn’t even realize quite how close Venezuela and Trinidad are in geographic proximity. I’m looking forward to learning more!

💡 Did you participate in #readcaribbean? If so, what did you read?

CWs: brief animal harm/death

I love the informal first-person format of this book. It allows you to get to know Yola and all of the characters in the text through her eyes. At the start of the novel I immediately felt like an honorary member of the Palacios family. This book was an easy read with enough suspense and shocking revelations to keep the reader interested. I am a sucker for a romance and this did not disappoint. I think the author tried to maintain a level of realistic expectations with the romance and it was appreciated. If I had a critique it would be that the Trinidadian dialect was not represented well. It seems like the author was trying to make it understandable to those who may not fully understand the dialect but in doing so it took away from the conversational tone of the book. As a Carribbean American, this irritated me a bit while reading but may not be an issue for anyone else. Although I seriously questioned the plausibility of the book at the beginning, by the end it all came together and I love the message of empowerment for women everywhere.

Thank you to the publishers for providing this book to me for free on Netgalley in exchange for an honest review

This story is about the Palacios who have fled Venezuela for Trinidad. However, their passage to Trinidad was obtained via suspicious means. And because of those suspicious means when one Aunt Celia dies, they have to clear her debt to the broker, Ugly. With Ugly, comes his right hand man, Román who our main protagonist, Yola, takes a liking to. So thus the adventure begins!

It was very interesting to learn about the plight of what is going on in Venezuela and how Venezuelans have to flee their country to live. I liked the family dynamic that the Palacios had in how loyal they were to each other and really supported one another. I really liked the relationship between Yola and Celia, although Celia is dead at the start of the story, we get to gradually learn about what she meant to Yola throughout.

The start of the story was kind of slow and it took me about 30% in to really get into the story. It kind of dragged in some places where it could’ve been shortened.

I thought the romance between Román and Yola was done well. I loved the constant angst and yearning, although it was only seen through Yola’s side. However, it could be seen from Román words and actions that he felt the same for Yola. Their chemistry was sizzling and gave me the tingles. However, that was really the only parts that got me excited. Although, the parts with Aunt Milagros were pretty exciting.

Overall, I thought the story was cool and okay. It was an interesting insight on how people who flee their home countries, essentially become illegal immigrants and have to live their lives with that.

A sarcastic, hilarious, and heart-warming refugee story about the adventures of the Palacios family during their illegal residence in Trinidad after fleeing socialist Venezuela.

After the passing of their family member Aunt Celia, they find out that she owes a great debt to local criminal kingpin, Ugly. With Aunt Celia gone, the rest of the family has to pay her debt. The story is narrated by 24-year Yola (Aunt Celia’s niece) and we see how the Palacios family’s life unfolds over the course of a year under Ugly’s orders. Whatever he says, the family must do. Or else, they may never see each other again. To add to that is Ugly’s right-hand man, Román— a dangerous man that Yola couldn’t and shouldn’t be with. But girl can’t help herself getting hot and heavy next to the man. THE STEAM IS REAL IN THIS.

With its heavy topics (immigration, human trafficking, unorganized crime), it is told through a comedic lens so this isn’t your heavy refugee story. Sometimes, humor in dire situations help culminate hope. And I think that’s what this debut novel was trying to accomplish. It’s a well-written and fun comedy read, a breath of fresh air with its quirky and sarcastic characters. We love fun family melodrama.

This is a strong 3.5-4 stars. I felt that it dragged on the middle for a quite a bit and I lost interest in some parts. Still such an enjoyable read!

One Year of Ugly tries to use lewd comedy to tell a story but I'm not exactly sure what type of story it's trying to tell. It's not a story of illegal immigrants that humanizes then and shows you there struggle or causes you to have empathy for them. At times I found myself wondering if this was a an argument to send them back. Because all the Venezuelans we encounter seem to partake in illegal activity and they all seem to have the same solid jobs people accuse them of stealing. At times I felt more like I was reading a story about white Trinis who live a good life as the minority on the island because the author made sure to showcase their world; a world she is quite familiar with versus showing us how this family interactions with the majority Black and Indian people on the island.

See longer full review on my blog
http://womenofcolorreadtoo.blogspot.com/2020/06/one-year-of-ugly-by-carolyn-mackenzie.html

The title and cover drew me in from the start, but it is known that catchy cover art can often be misleading. However, I love Mackenzie’s strong female lead and enjoyed Yola’s coming of age story. The Palacios’ family struggle of finding a new way of life after fleeing their home country is a powerful message to elicit readers’ empathy for refugees seeking asylum in foreign countries. The overall theme is heavy, but Mackenzie’s use of humor allows readers to face a stark reality in a way that’s not off-putting or too heartbreaking to read. This was a page turner for me that I couldn’t put down and still find myself reflecting on the characters and their lives !

I was surprised that I didn't really enjoy this book, dark humor and immigrants stories are usually ones I gravitate towards, but I just couldn't connect to the writing. The story felt long and rushed and I didn't find it particularly funny. It was interesting to see characters from Trinidad and Venezuela.

I received an ARC from Net Galley, so thank you so much for the opportunity to read.

I went into this book not knowing about the refugee crisis caused by the turmoil in Venezuela. While I enjoyed reading about the culture and whatnot, this book was not very memorable. The main character's story was not that interesting. I preferred the aunt's part of the story. There were a lot of characters of which I did not particularly care for or relate to. While it was a decent read, it falls into my beach books category.
Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for sending this book to me.

A interesting premise, however I found in became very difficult to follow. I would borrow if from the library but would not spend money to purchase it.

This was a fun, fast read. Great for something light and easy. My only complaint is there are a lot of characters to keep track of. But with that said it flowed well and kept my interest.

"One Year of Ugly" was a silly, fun novel but I don't think it's very memorable. I finished it last week and I can barely remember any major plot points. It's a great summer read though if you're looking for something light and breezy. My main gripe was the 0ver-abundance of characters. It was hard to keep track of all the family members. Some characters were interchangeable. The whole romance angle was kind of laughable. Decent writing is what saved most of this book. It's a mixed bag for me.

Thank you, Netgalley and Simon & Schuster for the digital ARC.

Wow. I read this book in one single sitting, because I truly could not pull myself away from it. This book is my new favorite from the year! It starts off and you learn the Palacio family is living in Trinidad illegally, as they have escaped from the horrible conditions in Venezuela in pursuit of a better life. While the underlying subject matter was very heavy and serious, the book is absolutely hilarious. Yola is twenty-four, and narrates the story as her family finds themselves stuck repaying the debt her aunt left behind when she died. Her aunt was deeply in debt to a criminal named Ugly, and he has come to reclaim the money she owed. They know they have no choice but to go along with what he asks of them or risk extremely serious consequences. In the midst of this, Yola finds herself falling in love with Ugly's right-hand man Roman. Between the crazy family antics, the drama, and the forbidden romance, I found myself desperate to find out how it would end for the family. All I have to say is that I really hope there is a second book coming! I need more resolution to the story. I also really loved the author's note at the end where she discussed writing about a heavier subject matter and choosing to make it light-hearted as a coping mechanism we all use. Especially in a year like 2020, this book was just such a refreshing read.

Despite enjoying the overall writing style and tone, I didn't end up truly liking this book. I thought both Yola's character journey and her romance plot was poorly developed - an attraction built on a wildly inappropriate moment of insta-lust that we spent very little time seeing develop into the deep love that was supposedly there at the end - and the middle third of the plot really lost the thread of it all for me. The final third really picked back up though, and I was fully hooked from the strip club chapters through til the end. It's a good premise to focus on the plight of a Venezuelan refugee family in Trinidad (a situation I had embarrassingly zero real world knowledge of) through a humorous lens, and the author has talent, but the pieces never came together for me.

One Year of Ugly is NOT your typical Women's Fiction/Romance book. The protagonist, Yola, is unlikable, as is her idol (her late Aunt Celia), however this was an ENGROSSING and beautifully written story. Despite being totally unlikable, Yola was an intriguing character whose voice practically dripped from the pages. I was completely transported to Trinidad and the plight of the Palacios. The plot, especially in the final act, had me turning pages as fast as I could.

I think that this book shouldn't have been marketed as Women's Fiction/Romance. It is more a sweeping family drama. When I think of women's fiction, I think of a protagonist whose emotional journey changes them, however Yola doesn't seem to really change, or recognize that she (and her idol Celia) have flaws to overcome. I also felt that the romance was forced. There were so many moments we didn't get to see with Yola and Roman that I think would've solidified the chemistry for me, but we didn't get those cute little moments until nearly 70% of the way into the book.

TL;DR:
I'm really torn on how to rate this book. The writing, the unique qualities, and the plot make me want to give this a 5. But the romance arc could've used "more." The parts where Roman and Yola got to know each other were summarized so that I didn't get as invested in their relationship as I wanted to, and I would've liked to have seen more awareness from Yola about her (and Aunt Celia's) flaws.

So consider this 5 a 4.5.

One Year of Ugly by Caroline Mackenzie is an intriguing book that weaves together a story of love, migration, and dysfunctional families. When the Palacio family arrives in Trinidad after fleeing volatile Venezuela, they are shocked to learn that they have to take on a family debt and do whatever is asked by Ugly until the debt is paid. The content of the book is deep, but it's done in a way that is darkly comedic.

Many thanks to NetGalley, the author, and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book. My thoughts are my own.

I loved this book more than I expected to. Meet Yola and her family that made the move from Venezuela to Trinidad. They find themselves having to pay a debt, and we get to learn more about their dysfunctional family. This held my attention from the beginning until the end and made me literally laugh out loud. This family's antics are ridiculously hilarious! This is a 5-star read to me!

Thank you @netgalley and @simonandschuster for providing me an arc copy of One Year of Ugly in exchange for an honest review!

One year of ugly is a story about a family's illegal migration from Venezuela to Trinidad. The Palacios family lived a moderate life within their means. But then they get a visit from the local crime lord who is called Ugly, it seems that their recently deceased aunt Celia owed money to Ugly. The family has to work to clear the six hundred thousand Trinidadian dollars by which ever way Ugly required them to. Ugly left them with no doubt that that if they didn't comply, violence would ensue.⠀
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There is a nice cast of vivid 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 powerful humour and the events the characters get caught up in are devastatingly funny. ⠀
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It might seem odd to say that a story about illegal immigrants who have had to flee their home country and are now living with the fear of deportation is comic but as the author herself says ‘I wrote the book as a comedic novel because there is nothing that makes even the heaviest subjects more accessible than humour.’⠀
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It was a nice change of pace for me and the usual books i tend to gravitate towards. It surprised me many times over!⠀
This in my opinion may be one of the best books of 2020. Its pub date is 7/7/20 and one to add to your tbr pile for sure! ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

One Year of Ugly is a remarkable and entertaining debut novel by Caroline Mackenzie. It is an intriguing, fast-paced read that I did not want to put down. It is funny, sarcastic, and full of heart, culture, drama, and passion. There are so many laugh out loud moments and lines, and at the same time Mackenzie is able to tackle the serious topic of Venezuelan immigrants and Trinidadian society without the story feeling too bogged down and heavy.

One Year of Ugly is told in first person narrative. Yola is a 24 year old writer and member of the Palacio family. The Palacio family are illegal immigrants who flee from Venezuela to Port of Spain, Trinidad. When the story begins, Yola's Aunt Celia has died and a local crime lord/mafioso type guy named Ugly arrives on the scene and blackmails the family into repaying the huge debt left by this beloved family member. The story covers one year in the life of this family as they attempt to settle the debt. Mackenzie weaves in an incredible cast of characters, including the late Aunt Celia who we meet through the stories in her manuscript she left to Yola, crazy Aunt Milagros, and a group of quirky immigrants that come to stay with the Palacios.

The writing is so good! Mackenzie has a way with words that made me feel as if I was right there in the Palacio home, in the countryside with Yola and Roman, at the Pink Pie, or roaming around in the night with Aunt Milagros. (Caution to readers sensitive to foul language) I loved the chapter titles! So many good ones- Unavoidable Cliches, Where's the Gewurztraminer?, and Biting into the Sugarcane, to name a few.

The author's note at the end of the book is so well done. MacKenzie explains why she used humor in a story that is ultimately about the struggles and ordeals that immigrants face. Her hope for the reader is that "you'll come away from it with a renewed thirst for life, knowing that no matter what form of ugly crosses your path, there's always a way to laugh through it." Indeed, this is a message that is so relevant to today.

Thank you to Simon and Schuster and Net Galley for providing me with a free digital copy of the book in exchange for an honest review. I highly recommend this book and look forward to more from this author.

I never received the book in my Kindle. Please send it so I can read and review it. I have my email address in my profile, so I don't know why I never received the book in my Kindle.