What I can't get over as I think of Melissa Mogollon's debut, OYE, is the unique and intriguing storytelling structure. The story of Luciana's family and her grandmother's illness is told all through one-sided phone calls from high school senior, Luciana, to her sister, Mari, who lives several states away for college. The format, though maybe not technically epistolary, reads in a very similar way.

We 'hear' Luciana share with Mari everything that's happening at home – frustrating family antics, diagnoses, Luciana's own anger at Mari for being so distant, newly-revealed family history – but part of what I found so fascinating about the format is the way that we are 100% only getting Luciana's take on things. Even reactions people have to Luciana are told to us only as Luciana perceives them, in a way that felt even stronger than a typical first-person novel. This means as readers, first off, we connect and identify with Luciana in a unique way. Secondly, what's left between the lines is a chasm a mile deep. We can only guess how Luciana's mom feels or what her sister really says or why she's keeping the family at arms-length. I thought that form of silence in the story was really rich.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for a free review copy of this book.

for the girls who like gossip

Luciana is a young girl who has been left behind to deal with a huge family emergency since her big sister Mari, left for university. overwhelmed with all that is happening around her she begins to vent to her sister about the things going on at home, all mostly having to do with their grandmother. a feisty woman who does what she wants, including not evacuating at the threat of an incoming hurricane.

the book is formatted in a way that’s wholly original as it’s made up of a conversation over the phone, told completely through Luciana’s POV with Mari on the other side, listening, just as us — the readers.

oye really kicks off when the grandmother is diagnosed with an illness, forcing Luciana to act as a caretaker. the duo spend more time together than ever and it is during this time that Luciana learns about her grandmother’s dark childhood who’s never quite left her.

this was SO funny, Luciana is the funniest character ever. I was cackling on each and every page and even when this book veered towards more dark themes like Luciana’s queer identity, the grandmother’s illness, and family drama it still felt like a light read.

ultimately oye is a very sweet coming of age that focuses on family, acceptance and love. I couldn’t help but think of my own abu while reading this, she has a lot of characteristics as the grandmother in oye, both are strong, wild women who do what they want.

Thank you net gallery for the advanced copy of this book. Way too much drama for me. Way too much venting. I did not find this book enjoyable at all, it felt like work.

Nothing better than a laugh out loud filled coming of age story. Easy, one sitting read. I look forward to reading more.

As the youngest in a large Colombian American family, Luciana is rarely the one taking charge of anything. But with her older sister Mari away at college, it's now up to her to help evacuate when a hurricane is heading toward her South Florida home. In the middle of this storm, Luciana and her mother try to evacuate, but it becomes a journey and a chance to learn about family stories.

Spanish for listen, the title Oye lends itself very well to the frequent phone calls back and forth within the novel. This sets up the tale to be something of a conversation that the reader is listening in on. There are no actions, no dialogue tags, and no descriptions. It runs the way conversation does, with occasional sidebar talk, and occasional italics for the other side of the conversation, but it's primarily Luciana talking to her sister beginning as she evacuates from Hurricane Irma. It takes a little while to realize how the novel is formatted, as it's different from what we're used to. Even so, conversations are still the way we share stories with each other, including important family information.

Luciana is a teen when this happens, and is less interested in family stories shaping them and more in what will happen in her senior year of high school. She doesn't want to deal with her mother, the casual homophobia, or being stuck in close quarters for an extended period of time. Following the hurricane is a health emergency that Luciana's mother wants to hide. She wants everything to be out in the open and true, and her mother goes into "beast mode" to hide the truth and put the best possible spin on everything. Being physically close to her grandmother, she learns more about the generational trauma that was hidden; each source has a slightly different variation on the truth, and we see the ripple effects down to Luciana and can extrapolate to her sister Mari. Each conversation gives us a greater picture of the family and how closely tied to each other they are.

I really liked Luciana and her voice, and what we see of her grandmother. She's a feisty lady, ready to take on everything on her own terms. We slowly see Luciana absorb this viewpoint, becoming more confident in herself and closer to the family members she initially resented. She grows up, and I'm sure she and her family will handle the challenge together.

This was such a FANTASTIC debut about a queer Columbian American woman dealing with her grandmother's recent cancer diagnosis. Told through a series of mostly one-sided phone conversations we get to know Luciana, who misses her sister off in college and is trying to hold the family together as they deal with a liver cancer diagnosis with their grandmother. Full of complicated family dynamics, disability rep (IBS, endometriosis, and ADHD) and laugh out loud humor, this is great on audio and perfect for fans of authors like Xochitl Gonzalez. Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an early digital and audio copy in exchange for my honest reveiw!

📚Book review📚 :: Oyé by Melissa Mogollon

Story premise: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Character development: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Writing style: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Ending: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

With Oye, Melissa Mogollon delivers one of the most genuine portraits of young women breaking the cycles of generational trauma I have ever read. And she does it while making you laugh out loud.

The entire book is told through phone conversations between 17-year old Nana and her older sister, Mari, who is away at college. But here's the thing. We only hear Nana's side of the call. Nana calls Mari with updates on the failing health of their grandmother, Abue. It starts off lighthearted. Two girls griping about their wild and unpredictable grandmother, their burdensome mother and each other. But as Abue's health declines, the truth of their family's past starts to reveal itself. And it's more painful than Nana and her sister were prepared for. The weight of the information is heavy and we start to see how the two sisters internalize pain very differently.

This book is about the women in our families, our matrilineal lines. It's about the weight women carry from their pasts and their mothers' pasts (and their mothers' mothers' pasts, you get it). It's about the pain we hide from one another and the way it shows up without our permission. It's about the capacity for love and understanding that we don't always expect to see in our foremothers but that is, more often than not, there.
It's an attempt to look at and truly see the roads the women who came before have walked and maybe, when necessary, get on to another path.

This book was the most joyful pain (or painful joy?) I've experienced in the form of a novel. Mogollon wrote Nana's dialogue so real, so true I could hear it. It wasn't like I was listening in on their conversation but like I was the one on the other end of the call. It was healing in a way I did not expect.

I connected to Nana and Mari's story more than I'd like to admit. As a daughter and a sister, it's impossible not to see yourself in one of the characters (and sorry to say, but wow, I am such a Mari!). It's unreal to me how much depth Mogollon gave to her characters without ever breaking from the phone call structure. Somehow, while Nana is sarcastically berating her big sister, we're also uncovering empathy, identity and growth. It's bountiful and mind-boggling. It's a masterclass in how to write dimensional, young characters true to their time period without being trite or ridiculous. In the same breath, she talks about the end of her grandmother's life as being both romantic and a "nod to Bad Bitch Incorporated." Because this is the only way we, Fall Out Boy listening, elder millenials, ever learned how to cope: whimsy and sarcasm.

The end of the book tore my heart to pieces but promptly put it all back together. It was tragic but cathartic and hopeful. It's how I wish all of our stories would end. With a little bit of peace.

And with that, I think there's some healing I have to go do. Thanks, a lot Mogollon.

Oye is told from one-sided phone conversations that our main character, Luciana, is having with her sister Mari, who is away at university. When the novel opens, Luciana and her mother are on an adventure to avoid Hurricane Ivan, which is headed straight for Miami, but quickly transitions to dealing with concerns around the family's aging matriarch. The entire book felt like I was eavesdropping on someone else's life, but I didn't want to stop!

The writing structure was challenging to get into at first, however after a few chapters, it started to feel very natural. I would recommend powering through if you are struggling at first.

Because this was told from a teenagers point of view, it felt very YA in exploration of themse. As someone who does not typically love YA, I felt some of the themes were very surface level, Additionally, I would have liked to see additional exploration of immigration, aging, and LGBTQIA+ themes which were mentioned, but did not have much impact on the overall story arc.

Overall, I enjoyed Oye, and felt the reading experience was very unique. If the premise is interesting to you, I would give it a read.

Thank you to NetGalley, Random House Publishing, and the author for allowing me to read the ARC of OYE, in exchange for an honest review.

To be honest, I was not a big fan of the one-sided phone call style because I kept trying to change their voices in my head and lost track of who was saying what to whom. I definitely felt sympathy for a teenager, Luciana, having to take care of her stubborn grandmother, who won’t leave home due to an impending hurricane. With Abue living in Luciano’s bedroom, Luciana begins her journey into maturity and finds there are lots of challenges and family secrets she has to understand. Abue is lucky to have such a strong granddaughter. This story is fun to read, just take your time.

Oye by Melissa Mogollon is one young woman’s story as she deals with family drama among high school drama and an incoming hurricane. Luciana is the baby of her very large Colombian American family. She is usually pushed to the sidelines; however, she suddenly finds herself front and center as the voice of reason during an unexpected crisis. As South Florida residents are ordered to evacuate as a hurricane heads their direction, Luciana is left to deal with Abue, her eccentric grandmother, who refuses to leave. When a crushing medical diagnosis forces Abue to move into Luciana’s room, the two find themselves on a personal journey neither wanted. Forced into the role of caretaker, translator and keeper of Abue’s secrets, Luciana finds herself facing adulthood and ready for the challenge.
Billed as a “coming-of-age comedy. A telenovela-worthy drama. A moving family saga. All in a phone call you won’t want to hang up on,” I found the premise of Oye to be intriguing. With an eye-catching cover, I could not pass on this story. However, I was quickly confused as the story is told mostly as a one-sided phone conversation and series of voicemails. I could not find the comedy, the telenovela drama or the family saga. Perhaps I am simply not the audience for this story to fully appreciate its unique format. While labeled as adult fiction, I feel it belongs in the young adult category. Overall, I found it hard to enjoy this story. However, if you think you may enjoy a story told in an unique and unconventional format, I recommend giving Oye a try.


Oye is available in hardcover, eBook and audiobook

Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC of Oye. I liked this book and storyline but I struggled with the way it was written. I did not realize it was a one-sided phone call between the main character Luciana and her older sister Mari who is away at college. There are other conversations within the book between Luciana and her parents, grandmother, and others. Once I understood the format of the book, I was able to start again and read it. I liked the storyline and the growth of Luciana as a character but again I struggled with the format.

The core of OYE by Melissa Mogollon is interesting: beloved and headstrong matriarch refuses to leave hurricane-threatened Miami. Only her favorite grand daughter has a chance of persuading her to flee to safety, where loving and kind ones will take care of her. I found the premise gripping -- there is nothing like a stubborn older person willing to meet their Maker doing something so profoundly wrong in your eyes to set you off into crazy attempts to save them from themselves. However, the relating the story through a one-sided conversation did not work for me. I kept hoping that there would be some straight narrative, something to break up the effusive and revealing text to tell the story straight -- as I said, I was hooked with the basic idea. Ultimately, I forced myself through the book, wanting to see what happened next, but having a rough time navigating an unnecessarily dense and off-putting story structure. I received a copy of this book and these thoughts are my own, unbiased opinions.

I really like this book. Would have been a 5 star review but It took a while to get used to the format as the whole book in a one sided phone call with some other conversations thrown in at random times without indicating so.

This was probably the best reading experience I’ve had all year. Melissa Mogollon took a creative risk and and stuck the landing so hard.

I don’t want to give too much synopsis but Luciana is about to enter her senior year of high school when hurricane Irma is about to make landfall and begins a series of events for her family of which she recounts in one sided phone calls to her older sister Mari who is already away to college.

Luciana is the daughter that doesn’t feel quite good enough. She isn’t good enough at school like her sister or popular like her, she isnt straight enough and though she has tried coming out her mother is in denial. Her body is not thin enough and she struggles with her mother’s policing of it. And yet also is often put in the middle of managing her family whether as the translator or peacemaker. Her one respite is her Abue. Abue is a riot. She does what she wants and she is going to look good doing it.

Though it’s a one sided phone call you still feel so connected to the characters in the book. So much so that I got emotional by how much I could feel Mari on the other side of the line. I was the older sister that left home and didn’t look back while my younger sisters had to face some challenges on their own and I remember how torn I felt but also knowing I couldn’t come home and they would have to manage.

The antifatness Luciana experiences through her mother who means well but also is still harming her daughter made me feel all the feels as I’ve never been straight sized and struggled with comments from family who just “meant well” throughout my life.

This book has so much heart. There is so much love here. Even though Luciana struggles with her familial relationships the center is a binding love that she stays connected to even as she grows in her confidence and sureness of her identity.

I also might use this to teach voice because Luciana’s voice is so strong and distinct I hear her in my head and I didn’t audiobook this one though that I’m sure will be incredible too. Her sarcasm and wit. She is such a teenager. She is as endearing as she is dramatic, frustrating, and sometimes you want to shake her a bit and tell her to stop being selfish. Yet these qualities make her character ring so true, she is an adolescent who is growing up sometimes forced by the circumstances and some of it just natural maturing. All of which making her one of my most memorable characters l've read this year and one l'll be thinking about for a long time.
I was sad to leave this family's world and got emotional at the ending but what an ending. It made me want to go hug my grandmas and sisters really tight.
Go read this book. It's worth every penny. I need to go get my copy. And was so grateful to be gifted a digital ARC through @netgalley and @hogarthbooks.

This one can be hard to get into! I can see a lot of people abandoning it because of the format - I must admit it took me a few dozen pages to commit.
The story is told from the point of view of Luciana, a high school senior who is telling her sister, away in college, about family updates and drama back in Miami. She is the only narrator and we hear the story in a series of one-sided phone conversations where cursive is the only way to figure out when another point of view or voice is being introduced. Sort of like overhearing a phone call, but we are reading a transcript of it.
Luciana is opinionated, outspoken, and gay but feels that her family and community do not accept her. She misses her sister, and she is worried about her grandmother, who first refused to evacuate during Hurricane Irma in September 2017 (my apartment was in evacuation zone A for that one - I can relate; it was scary for a bit) and then found herself dealing with some serious medical issues. Her mother is driving her crazy, and her dad is largely a supporting character, letting all the women in his life steer the boat (and stir the pot).
Despite the unconventional format, the characters are well-rounded, and the story is deep and engaging. The book deals with generational trauma, abandonment, immigrant upbringing, and family secrets.
Overall, I was glad I stuck around - give it a try!

Thank you, NetGalley, Melissa Mogollon, and Penguin Random House, for providing an e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Oye presents the ramblings of a teen-aged girl told in a series of one-sided telephone conversation between Luciana (Nana) and her big sister Mari regarding their grandmother’s family history. The monologue focuses on the grandmother’s medical problems and how the family was coping (or not coping.) Occasional mini-conversations between Nana and others were recorded in italics or in different fonts. Maybe my Kindle didn’t differentiate those distinct fonts as well as a print book might have because it took me a long time to figure out that these were separate conversations interspersed with Nana’s monologue.

I found the format of this book to be very bewildering, making it a challenging book to read. Although I ultimately finished reading Oye, I almost gave up on this novel after about 20 pages. Instead I started it over again, using what I had learned in those initial pages to better figure things out. While there are many 4- and 5-star reviews, this novel did not resonate with me.

Structured as a series of one-sided phone calls, Oye follows seventeen-year-old Luciana as she and her family try to convince her grandmother to evacuate ahead of Hurricane Irma only to come across a much more formidable foe - illness.

Thankfully, since the story is a series of phone conversations and told entirely in dialogue, the voice is incredibly strong. Luciana is a singular character and her spunk and complexities support a story that jumps between past and present. I’m not sure the concept always works, and it is often interspersed with bits of pertinent dialogue, but it is a quick, entertaining read with a ton of heart.

Interesting set-up. It is all done in phone calls, one sided. For me this was confusing and too much work. I waded through but I don't think I would choose to read another book like this. Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for the digital ARC. This review is my honest thoughts.

I don’t remember the last time I read a book structured in this way, but I realized early on that I needed to pay attention and so I did.

At the beginning of this book, it's the Fall of 2017, and Hurricane Irma is looming over Florida, and Luciana, our main character, family is evacuating from Miami.

Told in a series of phone calls this book was a little hard to follow in the beginning but once I got used to it, it turned into a joy to read. The story is told through Luciana as she calls her sister who is away at college. The backstory of the family is what brings the story to life.

This turned out to be a great read filled with colour and drama.

Oye A Novel by Melissa Mogollon

This is a very different novel from any other I’ve ever read. Funny and touching, it will take you on a journey with a Miami family as Abue (for abuela, Spanish for grandmother) faces her mortality.
Knowing some Spanish may help you laugh a little harder, but is not necessary, as short phrases and words are soon translated.

Granddaughter Luciana, also known as Nana, is Abue’s favorite, so she struggles most. Seventy-five years old and very vain Abue unloads her family’s secret history as the story grows, and what a history it is! You will be entertained every minute throughout this book.

Following the streaming conversations and texts among family members Elena, Mari, Abue and Luciana is a little difficult as the font is either italicized or in print and it’s easy to lose track. No worries! It all works out fine. I recommend this novel for anyone not offended by the “f word,” and rate this original debut novel 5 stars.