This book was weird and at times both wonderful and creepy. This was my first time reading a novel told in verse and it definitely took a few pages to get my head around it. As a Latina & fan of Selena it was easy to connect with this book, even though it was a strange one. I feel like I didn’t fully understand this book, but I still managed to get something from it.

Melissa is uninspired by love, both her love life and those of others around her. One lonely evening she holds a seanće to bring back Selena from the dead. It almost seems like a nobrainer for her - who else would she bring back but the queen of Tejano music (anything for Selenas). The ritual involves a flash drive, a bowl of period blood & lipstick.

The Selena she brings back isn’t fully formed. She speaks in static and the sounds of consumed Netflix shows. She is only able to communicate with sound bites from her past life. As she becomes more fully formed Melissa loses a bit more of herself. She becomes pink goo. She even loses You.

I appreciated all of the pop culture references and how the author intermingled the Selena lyrics. At times I did feel a bit lost, but I’m looking forward to a second reading (possibly around Halloween time). Thank you to NetGalley & Astra House for the advance copy.

I didn’t know what to expect with this novel, it was strange but eye-opening. The format was unusual and unique, but it brought out the story and message. Can I say this novel is absurdist? I will do so anyway 😅 This absurdist novel dealt with issues that get overlooked in our BIPoC communities, especially identity crises and so forth. It was refreshing to read this novel, with the idea of celebrity praise (I too would resurrect Selena) and the impact that celebrities have on us. This book made me laugh and cry, laugh and cry, and so on.

I had an amazing evening reading Dreaming of You. I loved her collection peluda from a few years ago so I knew this would be great. It’s a novel in verse that revolves around a fictionalized version of the poet who brings Selena Quintanilla back from the dead. The title recalls the singer’s posthumous album of the same name. I absolutely loved this book and how effortlessly it switches back and forth between these dark, searing moments and these manic, funny scenes. The speaker’s voice is so clear and recognizable, and as a Brit, it was interesting to see how Selena is perceived and kind of "owned" by her fans in some ways. Very cool, check it out if you can!

This was an original read. It’s a fantastical idea involving Selena Quintanilla being brought back to life. This book was wholly a surprise and incredibly personal. I knew from reading the description that I absolutely wanted to read it and I’m glad I did.

Man, do I love what Lozada-Oliva can do with words. The concept, Selena, resurrecting someone as "an answer" to something, a la inquietud, a la incertidumbre. I really appreciated the fragmentation of the poetic voice, the She, Selena's voice, Yolanda's voice. It's a very experimental, daring book, that plays with fantasy (straight up fantasy!), with fame and myth, with the ideas of self/mirroring, and at its heart it's a look into current dynamics of new adult (hyper confessional/admission of flaw/frantic desire for You) along with the story and the undertones of Selena's story, her success and her death. Those two threads, connected through Yolanda's vague desire, through "Melissa's" constant confrontation/chase of the You and its ultimate betrayal, are the essence of this poetry book, but at times the execution gets blurry.

Precisely because it's so experimental, it flounders at times, where the You poems float along the force of the fantasy narrative, unmoored. While the "omniscient narrator", las chismosas, are announced as a sort of greek chorus, their scarce presence belies that. In some sense, I think the initial, epic setting of the book gave me some expectations that might not have been what the book aimed to be. Later, realizing it intends to be "rock opera", I do feel it was a bit misleading. Nevertheless, I enjoyed this book a lot, though. It has so much to say about elder daughters, friendship, hiding in other people's bodies. I did struggle sometimes with its meandering path, some poems, like the fucking the fish poem, were funny, but didn't really fit to me in the structure of what was growing.

And yet how incredibly beautiful are the Selena segments, found poems from interviews in all of its staticky glory, how rich and textured the "el chisme segun otros" sections. The playfulness of register in this book is my favorite thing about it, for sure.

Thank you so much Astra House and Netgalley for allowing me to read this ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Special thanks to @netgalley and @astrahousebooks for the advanced reader copy of this book in exchange for an honest review!

Dreaming of You by Melissa Lozada Oliva

Genre: Verse, poetry, magical realism

Synopsis: A lonely poet brings back to life Selena...because if she didn’t somebody else would. Upon doing so, a series of unfortunate and odd events begin to unravel. Through the use of verse and poetry, Dreaming of You is an exploration of loneliness paralleled with how pop culture icons can make us feel less lonely. But these icons aren’t our friends. They never will be. We are still alone.

Review: This is a very quick read and definitely a very strange one. I enjoyed it, especially because I don’t read poetry much. The meanings intertwined within these pages are heavy and relatable. Selena was such an icon for the Latina community so I loved seeing her come back to life, even if it was merely though the art of writing. This one isn’t out until late October but on the bright side, a book about a seance is perfect for the Halloween spirit! I gave this book four stars but am definitely going to reread it sooner to its pub date!

This novel in verse was so surreal and imaginative. I love Lozada-Oliva's poetic voice, and the resurrection of Selena is a fascinating premise. I've always been interested in the cultural phenomenon of celebrity worship and parasocial relationships, and this narrative really grapples with that. I did feel lost at certain points throughout the book, even though the poems progress in a linear fashion. Even if it was a little bit confusing at times, I'm grateful that I got to read 'Dreaming of You'; it was a strange, gripping exploration of Latinx identity, loneliness, womanhood, and queerness.

The concept is nice but this book was not for me. I did not manage to get into the story and even found it a bit confusing at times. This might be explained by the fact that I know nothing about Selena. The themes are interesting and I think you can get a lot from this book.

The concept for this novel was great, but it was not well-executed.

The author does that weird thing where sometimes you're not sure what part of the story you're in. It was also weirdly short. The whole thing was just weird. I'd still recommend it because I loved how the author described Selena when she was speaking to other people and other people's reactions to Selena.

This was such a weird book and lately I've been in a weird mood so I ended up vibing with this one a lot.

Dreaming of You is about a woman who ends up resurrecting Selena Quintanilla back from the dead.

I really enjoyed this story. This was the first book written in verse that I've ever read and I liked it very much! The concept was extremely unique. A lot of the themes of this novel also really spoke to me. Melissa struggles a lot with loneliness and I've been grappling with similar feelings these days as well. There were times when I found myself snorting and moments where certain lines of prose hit me a little too hard.

Honestly, this book was actually exactly what I needed to read today. It was wild and different and aching and I loved it more than I thought I would.

Thank you to to Netgalley and the publishers for providing this arc in exchange for an honest review!

i requested this via netgalley in exchange for a honest review, firstly this cover is absolutely gorgeous! so many great versus ,when reading this i became confused, but i don’t know much about Selena (who was one of the biggest pop stars of the 90s), which could of been why. bringing back a celebrity from the dead, definitely made me want to pick this book up. the author has suck a way with their words, tackling feminism and colonialism, lyrical and a great queer book! had fun reading it.

Dreaming of You was exactly as predicted, yet still a surprise. I had my highest hopes for this book, and it did not disappoint. I understand why this would not work for some people- it is quite experimental in my opinion- but it hit the spot for me. Lozada-Oliva, has a wonderful voice that is fully present and she does not hold back anything. It never feels like she is keeping her audience at an arms length, nor does she weirdly coddle them. The characters are very interesting and a bit confusing, but the poetry pulls it off. At times I was laughing out loud while reading, and at other points I felt my eye well up with fresh tears. Some of the poetry worked better for me than others, but I always appreciate the bearing of the soul so I cannot say any were bad. The author gracefully ricochets between critique, empathy, and an admittance of having no idea what is happening. I especially adored the most vulnerable pieces, where we can see the hearts of the characters and not just how they are perceived. Melissa Lozada-Oliva is not afraid, she keeps digging. While exploring Latinadad, Celebrity, Karaoke, she continues to be ridiculously funny and amiable. Every poem shows off her skill and intelligence, but none feel mocking or superior. I think the key that really pulls this whole shindig off is the compassion that she has for her characters and their decisions. This is not the same as agreement, but it allows each piece of plot to live freely on the page without judgement. The entire experience felt like going to the county fair late at night and continually losing and finding the people you came with- ultimately very unnerving but the relief when she reaches her peeks is visceral.

First of all, I think the cover is gorgeous. Second, the author has such a beautiful way with words. I liked the parts that tackled feminism and colonialism and I think the overall premise of the book was great. The seance and bringing back the dead part was what drew me into this book, but I don't know, maybe it's because I'm not a big fan of Selena that I felt confused during some parts. Some of the parts felt like pure rambling and others were kind of vague and didn't connect. I kinda didn't get why the main character brought back Selena and some of the characters presence and purpose were also lost on me. Overall this book was very wild and very weird and I did have a fun time reading it, so points for that I guess.

oh my, wowza! Dreaming of You is sparkling and haunting all at once! The concept is one that I would never think of in a million years, ressurrenting Tejano pop star Selena Quintanilla. Full of pop culture references and a mastery of language, this was a wild ride that I couln't put down!

Oh no..

I did not like this one at all. I felt like it was eerie, weird, creepy and sighting just for the sake of attention and not intrinsically ending not feeling natural of a text at all. I really tried to read about the premise beforehand and the woman it was based on but I still could not get on with it at all..

I am so sorry but this was not for me.

This was an interesting and quick read. I feel like I was drawn to it as a Latina and as someone who still very much loved Selena.

I found certain parts and themes to be very relatable and honest. Overall I feel a little confused though, what the messages were overall.

While I loved the way that the novel was written especially the format and the style in which it was written, I found it difficult to connect with the words. It was an easy and quick read however I was reading the book and finding it difficult to keep up with what is happening and to find cohesion in the story. I guess I was quite confused with certain things which were written especially since it focuses on the pop star Selena from the LatinX community and to be honest I have heard of her but have no idea about her story. Therefore, it was very difficult for me to understand certain themes which were in this book and the worship which surrounded the star.
Unfortunately, I didn’t enjoy this book as much as I expected to but I’m still grateful for the opportunity of reading this book. I guess the main thing about this book is that you either connect to the words or you don’t and honestly I don’t blame the author for this but myself. Maybe a lesson I should learn is not to judge a book by its cover and actually read the synopsis of the book to see if it is something that would interest me.

I liked the blurb of the book, that's why I requested a copy (and of course its gorgeous cover): *brings Tejana pop star Selena Quintanilla back to life through a seance*. I didn't know who Selena was (and I was so angry about that, I mean, she was such a big pop star at the 90's) so it was really cool to read stuff about her online before opening the book, and obviously to get to know this beautiful woman who died so young.

But that was it. I mean I don't even know how to review because I just didn't... get it? I was frankly so confused about the whole thing. I didn't feel like... it was a story? There was so many things happening and I guess for me the themes were all over the place? I didn't understand what she was talking about most of the time. I think maybe the book would function better if it was just a collection of poetry, not a novel in verse.

There were a few verses I enjoyed and identified with, here is an example:

"It's very easy to picture myself
inside
every white van I walk by; tied up on the back, twitching and screaming.
Or at the bottom of every lake."

or

"Walking back to my apartment I swear to God a car is following me. My therapist asked if I ever feel like someone is following me at night. A question that offended me, a woman in America. How much is it me and how much is it America?"

and I laughed when I read:

"You should never
bring
somebody back
from the dead;
Hasn't everybody seen the remake of Pet Sematary?
Jesu Christo."

I'm really sad I didn't enjoy this, because I had such a high expectation, but maybe in the future I will read Melissa's other books. either way thanks to NetGalley for providing me with this book*

This was definitely one of the strangest books I've read and I can't say I was prepared for the ride. That being said, I recommend you read it!

Lozada-Oliva does a good job at creating a mystical space where we could bring Selena - and inevitably other pop icons - back to "life". Her sneak disses (and not so subtle jabs) at media consumption / hyper-fanaticism / the Quintanilla family and folks who capitalize on the death of a loved one bring the book together nicely. I can't say I loved every single page because there were parts where I was like ಠ_ಠ what's goin on right now?? BUT there were gems in there that forced self-reflection and would be great to discuss with a friend / in a course / at a book club.

See below for a gem of a verse:
"And who are your friends, do you think?
And do you believe you are loved?
Tell me, is every party you throw
just to see who would show up at your
funeral? I know; you think I'm an extreme.
You think I am an accelerationist.
You think I am imbalanced.
You think I need help.
But please,
tell me the name of the person you woud
die for. Tell me about your precious career.
Tell me about your confessional poetry.
Tell ne about how you've turned everyone
you've ever met into a poem. You can't
immortalize everybody. You can't just bring
people back to life. I killed her, okay.
I killed her just to see myself better. But
what are you doing here,"

"I killed her just to see myself better. / But what are you doing here, / with your eyes?"

3.5 stars but rounded up // After reading the description of this novel in verse, I was incredibly excited. Unfortunately, the promise of the description left me disappointed. The novel starts off rather slowly and only about 25% of the way in did Selena's resurrection happen-- in my opinion, the poem "Resurrecting Selena" should have opened the book. I found the poems about the intersection of Melissa, Selena, and Yolanda's life most interesting. Some poems truly amazed me! Others fell flat, especially the ones about "You". It is a novel in verse, yet I desired more imagery (maybe the book would have been better formatted as a poetry collection).

Overall, the premise is amazing and kept me interested. I'm certain those with a deeper connection to Selena will love this book.