4 stars

A unique novel about family, love, identity, and belonging. It’s funny, it’s sad, it’s irreverent, & a lot happens.

[What I liked:]

•Olga & Prieto’s sibling bond is very touching, as is Olga’s relationship with Matteo. It was hard for me to like Olga, but I started to after seeing her through the eyes of her loved ones. There is a lot of depth in this story, especially in the family relationships, as messy as many of those are.

•Wow, the cast of characters in this book is great! Even the side characters like Olga’s annoying cousin and the rapper dude are memorable.

•The themes of identity (sexuality, ethnicity, family relationships, finding a career with meaning, etc.) give so much depth to this story, & are developed in narratively satisfying ways.


[What I didn’t like as much:]

•Olga is a hard MC to like. She’s selfish, untrustworthy, materialistic, & very cynical. She does have some character growth towards the end, but it was barely enough for me to sort of like her.

•Certain elements of the story (namely the terrorist cell & the fact that the FBI wasn’t on top of something that well organized & well armed) were hard to swallow.

CW: sexual assault, terrorist, homophobia, blackmail, suicide, child abuse/neglect, substance abuse

[I received an ARC ebook copy from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. Thank you for the book!]

I knew I was going to love this book and I'm glad I predicted correctly! This book is many stories in one - political, social, cultural, familial. They all wind together to tell one story the stories of Olga and Prieto.

The author does a great job of with a contemporary storyline that includes Peurto Rican culture and many issues that the characters face throughout including racism, sexual assault, white privilege, misogyny, and their own personal family drama. The author really took her time hashing all of these out. None of them felt rushed or pushed into the storyline senselessly. They were well-blended with the plot.

This book is slow-paced but character driven with a great plot that keeps you sucked in. I wanted just a bit more from the ending, it felt a little rushed, but I would definitely recommend it, especially to those that enjoy literary fiction.

"A blazing talent debuts with the tale of a status-driven wedding planner grappling with her social ambitions, absent mother, and Puerto Rican roots—all in the wake of Hurricane Maria."

I have never seen blurb that was so accurate while also just not even capturing the book at ALL-in a good way! There isn't a way to describe the different parts of this book that will do justice to the story as a whole- it's too much. It blows my mind that this is a debut.

There is a lot political and social commentary/satire in this novel, but it is skillfully woven in with some incredible characters. Does it sometimes veer towards "teach-y"? Yes.
But:
1. I learned a ton and I'm glad I learned it, and
2. the amazing characters are so worth it- this is where Gonzalez really shines.

Special shout-out to the character's names. Loved them.
Even special-er shout-out to the cover designer. Amazing.

Many thanks to Flatiron for the review copy!

Trigger warnings: drug addiction, suicide, sexual assault, racism

Olga and her brother, Prieto, were raised by their grandma in Brooklyn after their mother left them to continue her beliefs in freeing Puerto Rico and their dad couldn’t overcome his drug addiction. Now, Olga works as a wedding planner for the elite in New York, while Prieto is a congressman who wants to use his position of power to improve life for the marginalized. Olga’s and Prieto’s lives are not as they seem on the outside, however. Things come to a head in 2017, in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria and the devastation it wrought on Puerto Rico.

At first, I wasn’t sure about the writing and the story, but as I got to know the characters, I got wrapped up in this story. Gonzalez did a great job showing the siblings grappling both with their personal lives, and the way they are still dealing with the trauma of their mom leaving them, and their place in a society that does not value their people. I was shocked to learn this is the author’s debut novel. I can’t wait to see what else she writes in the future! I listened to the audiobook version of this novel, and Almarie Guerra, Armando Riesco, and Inés del Castillo all did a phenomenal job narrating the book. My only complaint would be that the everything seemed to be swept together at the end to fix in one quick scoop. Despite that, I highly recommend checking out this debut novel!

Many thanks to NetGalley for providing me an audio ARC of this book.

It took me a little while to get into the rhythm of Olga Dies Dreaming. However, once I was settled in I was fully engaged. Olga is the central character around whom the book revolves. Her parents, brother, neighborhood, relationships, job, culture and more swirl around her, Olga Dies Dreaming is enlightening, interesting and well written.

To be fair, I went into Olga Dies Dreaming completely blind, and when it opened like a scene out of J Lo's The Wedding Planner, it went zooming in different direction in the best way possible. From family drama, to political intrigue and some scathing commentary on American / Puerto Rican relations, I adored every page of Gonzalez's debut novel. The characters were lovable and multi-faceted, drawing us in and forcing readers to really think critically about how we present ourselves to the world and our families, and where our loyalties lie when push comes to shove. I'm eager to see what will come next from Gonzalez!

*Thank you Netgalley and the publisher for providing me with an early copy of this book for review all opinions are my own*

This is a very important book, I think all the themes portrayed in this story are very relevant.
Buy the writing was something I didn't like, I found it difficult without having to be.
And some themes worked in this book, such as politics, economics, and the history of Puerto Rico and even the United States, I did not understand, as they are not topics I usually read about or know about, so I admit that when these themes were mentioned in the story I read without understanding half of what was happening.
It was a very tiring book to read, we don't have a plot here so to speak, we follow the lives of Olga and Pietro, their family, and the people around them, but the book manages to be very political, economic, and even historical sometimes
As I said, these are not topics that interest me, even though I know they can be important to be discussed.
I didn't mind the lack of plot as I really liked our main characters and following their lives.
I would say that this is not a book for everyone, but even if you don't like it, you will get something very important out of this story, as it has very interesting reflections.

This was a hard book to get in to. It’s very slow and simultaneously there is too much and not enough going on. It’s not a plot driven story. It was meh at most.

OLGA DIES DREAMING was a surprise to me. The cover gave me a mysticism or historical fiction feel, but this is a very contemporary story about a young woman's life in NYC and how her choices, relationships and situations have been shaped by her parents and the family's roots in Puerto Rico.
There were moments and people I really enjoyed and cared about in this book, including Olga who is a complex character that is unabashedly honest and doesn't feel compelled to conform to most people's expectations. I liked the mechanism of the letters from their mother, which provide tremendous insight into why Olga and her brother are who they are. However, I felt like there was just too too too much to this story. I would have liked a more focused story on Olga and her relationship hang ups. I felt this book didn't quite have a clear identity: is it contemporary romance? women's fiction? political or cultural story?
Overall, I enjoyed it, but it wouldn't be the first I'd recommend this year.

Olga Dies Dreaming was packed full with political intrigue, quality character development, family dynamics, culture, and propulsive plot. I loved it!

I was really looking forward to reading this book because I love Brooklyn-based stories. I’m Brooklyn born and raised even if I haven’t lived there for decades. I even grew up in the neighborhood next to Sunset Park, where Olga and her brother Prieto grew up. Unfortunately I almost quit reading at about 30% because I was bored. Not much had happened by that point. Another reader encouraged me to keep going and I’m glad I did. The plot finally picked up and it kept my interest, although I confess I wound up skimming through some parts.

Olga is a wedding planner, mainly catering to New York City’s upper classes, and her brother Prieto is a Congressman representing the district they grew up in. He is gay but is closeted, hiding his identity. The two of them have far-ranging effects of having been abandoned by their mother while they were teens and having lost their father to drug addiction and eventually to AIDS. Their heritage is Puerto Rican and their mother left them to pursue her goal of an independent Puerto Rico. She is a very mysterious figure for most of the book.

I did really enjoy the author’s portrait of a changing NYC, charting the changes in the neighborhoods lived in by “everyday” New Yorkers, with all the gentrification pushing out the residents.

Thank you to NetGalley and Flatiron Books for the opportunity to read an advance readers copy of this book. All opinions are my own.

Olga Dies Dreaming by Xochitl Gonzalez is officially out in the universe, what a treat!

Where are all my fellow boricuas at? This one right here is for us! 🇵🇷

This is a witty and beautifully crafted story. It highlights the richness of Puerto Rican Culture. It is narrated by our outspoken protagonist Olga and her charming closeted politician brother Prietro. The two siblings must face their own struggles to get to where they want to be.

This one feels so modern and contemporary. I went into this one blind, and I think that it made the book more pleasurable for me. So I won't give anything else away so you can have the same surprise that I did, but I want to mention that I really appreciate the PR 🇵🇷 representation. It felt so authentic to our culture which I deeply appreciated.

If you enjoy contemporary books or enjoy character-driven stories this one is worth checking out. 😊

I heard a rumor that it has been or is in talks to become a Hulu show?! You better believe I will watch it. Also, watch out for Xochitl Gonzalez mark my words, she is a wicked talented writer.

A special thanks to @flatiron_books gifting me the arc of this book in exchange for my honest thoughts.

This book is well-written, introduces rounded, vivid characters, and showcases an obviously beloved Brooklyn as its setting. While the romance aspects of the book feel realistic, they are but a sideline to the themes of Puerto Rican culture and history, family bonds, family trauma, gentrification, self-worth, and home. This novel incites me to read more about the island's history, politics, and culture, and I'm looking forward to Hulu's adaptation of the novel, with Aubrey Plaza in the title role.

[Thanks to Flatiron Books and NetGalley for an opportunity to read an advanced reader copy of this book in exchange for my opinion.]

I included this book in Apartment Therapy's January New Book Roundup! You can see it featured here: https://www.apartmenttherapy.com/best-book-january-2022-37020994

With the purse comes the strings' - Olga

Gonzalez has written an utterly entertaining contemporary novel, filled with snark, snappy dialogue and recollections, interesting characters and interactions, while also managing to speak to social, familial, intimate and racial issues.

Olga is savvy and her ambitions keep her pushing, she will tweak a process here and appropriate some napkins there. All in the fairness of turning a profit.

The absent presence of Olga's mother is so strong that her revolutionary and socialist ideals and beliefs are felt through her letters and in the ways we see Olga respond to and conduct herself in the rich circles in which she has fought to climb into.

The more we glean from letters written by their mother helps the reader to question the deeper, concerning ideals still being held so close to heart by our main characters. Olga searches for her worth through the attention and patronage from the rich for whom she creates lavish weddings and other events, to her brother, an educated and intelligent congressman who holds harmful internalised views on sexuality and identity. Which is worrying with respect to what felt like a glossing over of the queer presence within the narrative.

Although the revolutionary passion of Olga's mother is appreciated, how she decides to show support to her kids is worrying. She berates Olga for following her dreams, yet encourages Prieto to not let family or familial obligation keeping him from his aspirations. To me that read of an inherent bend towards boosting a son more than a daughter. But this is all an agenda to utilise for her own means.

The story of Olga and her brother Prieto is about family and patriotism and really just a wonderful story about two siblings trying to do the right thing and overcome the childhood given them by a drug addict father and revolutionary mother who basically abandoned them. That's a lot, isn't it? But somehow this book doesn't feel pushy or self-righteous. Instead it is a solid reflection of how we all grow up reacting to external forces and trying to balance out our own wants and desires with how the world sees us and how we want the world to see us. I thoroughly enjoyed being immersed in their struggles and reading how they stood by each other. While the book didn't shy away from controversy, particularly around how the US government treats Puerto Ricans (they are US citizens!!) and dealt with the hurricanes in the past decade, the book never felt preachy. Instead it was caring and heartwarming and felt like family.

Read this one. Culture and family and gentrification and home are tenets of this wonderful debut novel. I learned so much about Puerto Rican culture and viscerally felt the familial push and pull the characters felt within their positions in life and in the decisions they made. At times the plot and tangents felt like too much - it reminded me of the old fashion adage I’d get dressed and accessorize and then take off one accessory…this novel, for me, has too many accessories. I wanted it pared down a bit. Heartfelt thanks to Flatiron Books for the advanced copy. I’m so grateful.

The synopsis intrigued me and weirdly enough after reading the story I can’t even really describe what the book was about. There is a lot going and not enough at the same time. The “plot” was not focused to me, so it wasn’t an enjoyable reading experience because I couldn’t determine what the point was. To me the story was just getting a glimpses into the messed up life of Olga. Her dad died of aids, her mom abandoned her, her love life is trash, she hates her job, she is at odds with her brother…it’s just again unfocused. I did like the hurricane Maria history and portrayal along with the representation of how Puerto Ricans have been wronged by the American government. Thank you to Netgally and Flatiron Books for the eARC.

3.5 stars rounded up!

OLGA DIES DREAMING is a story that absolutely grew on me. When I first started, I thought it would be painful to finish since Olga and I got off to a rocky start. For a “no-nonsense wedding planner,” she was quite immature and way too brass for my liking.

But as the story moved away from her career and more into the political landscapes of Puerto Rico and NYC, I was intrigued. González weaved in a lot (no really, a lot) of different storylines that felt important to the book, but at the same time, a little bit chaotic. I felt as if I was standing on the side of the street, watching cars speed by, unsure of which way to look.

This is a layered family story that is connected to recent real life events. There were so many cultural and social aspects among the character growth that overtook most of the story. While I liked this story, I think the amount happening could have readers in question of what the true importance of this story is. Because again, there are a lot of different topics, but I wish it was a little more focused on only a few.

Overall, I recommend this story and think it’ll be a hit this year.

Big thank you to Netgalley, Libro FM, Flatiron for the e-ARC and ALC!

Content Warnings: rape, suicide, death of parent, HIV, homophobia, racism, abortion

Already set as one of my best books of 2022. Family, community, finding oneself. As a mother who was adopted, and her name given at birth was “Olga,” I felt drawn to this book. It was everything that I needed. And I can’t wait to handsell.