A brilliant and innovative work of fiction narrated through one-sided phone calls.

It's reminiscent of a daytime telenovela, brimming with relatable family drama. The story offers an authentic portrayal of modern family dynamics. Exceptionally well-written, this novel deserves all the acclaim it's receiving.

Oye is structured as a one-sided phone conversation between Luciana, a senior in high school, and her older sister Mari, a sophomore in college. Over the course of the year Luciana calls Mari to vent, complain, and share updates about their grandmother, Abue, a fiercely stubborn woman who has recently been diagnosed with caner. After Abue’s diagnosis, she reluctantly moves into Luciana’s bedroom and regales her with long-lost family secrets from her life in Colombia, which Luciana dutifully relays to Mari despite frustration over Mari’s absence. Every conversation with Mari seems to begin with Luciana’s disdain that Mari has chosen to stay away rather than be near at the end of Abue’s life, and because the reader is never given Mari’s side of the conversation, the dramatic angst emanating from Luciana can become tiring. I appreciated that Mongollon was trying to be unique in the way she wrote the story, but the amount of spoken “OMGs” and “LOLs” verged on unbelievable. If you’re going to read this book, I recommend listening to the audio because the narrator puts on a performance.

Oye by Melissa Mogollon is the story of two sisters and their story unfolds in a phone conversation.that the reader experiences in the back and forth between them.. The technique is a creative one that didn't altogether work for me but others may really enjoy it. This book is a mixed bag for me, it's well written but I just didn't love the format.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance copy in exchange for an honest opinion. Oye is available now.

READ THIS BOOK AS AN AUDIO. Elena Rey makes this book come to life in a way the paperback can’t.

Literary coming of age might be one of my fave genres and stories like this one are why. I’m not the youngest or Hispanic but I really enjoyed Nana as a character. She was a bit chaotic, funny, rude but secretly caring and trying to figure out how to express herself. Her journey. I would’ve loved to see her find herself a bit more through fashion and love but understanding who she was with and without her family was beautiful. I think keeping things from her POV was interesting and made me empathetic to my younger siblings. The other characters and general story felt realistic. I’d definitely recommend this one to those with complicated familial relationships and trying to find themselves.

I really wanted to love this book, but the writing style didn’t resonate with me. The use of phone calls to reveal the plot was an interesting approach, and I appreciated the FMC's quick wit and the vibrancy she brought to the storytelling. However, overall, the characters felt one-dimensional. Thank you to the publisher for an e-arc is this book.

Such beautiful story. I am grateful to have had the chance to read it. Thank you for this arc. I hope that everyone who reads this takes away the same love I held for this book for themselves.

I did enjoy this book the format did take me a little bit to get into. I will admit it was hard for me to get into due to the format and long conversations but once I was finally able to get it that when I was able to really enjoy it.

I came to a point where I read multiple examples of various themes, plots, eras, and characters. Now you can get my attention with different writing styles (Janice Hallett got me hooked up with her emails, texts as prose). Melissa Mogollon did this by telling her story as one side of the phone conversation. It's stream of consciousness. It's one sister venting to the other on the other side of the phone.

Storm was about to hit Luciana's town. Her mom lost it and decided to start to trip to north just to get out of the storm's way, but her grandma did not want to leave her home. Story starts there. Then we dove into Luciana's phone conversations with her sister in college about their weird relatives. their mother's episodes. Luciana's troubles, and Mari's absence in this process. Slowly, conversation would change from storm to Abue's (grandma) health issues taking an emotional turn.

I saw bits of every family in this book: how our certain relatives drive us crazy, yet how we still show up for each other. how our siblings or cousins are closest confidants, and how elders do what elders want to do. I did not have any expectations starting this book, but I was pleasantly surprised with characters I met.

3.5 stars
It took me a bit to get used to the format of this book. The idea of the entire story being told as a long conversation was intriguing at first, then a bit confusing, and then I finally settled into it. In the beginning, I wasn't sure if the gimmick overshadowed the plot. Would it have been better in a more traditional, straightforward way? I don't know, but I will admit the format did make for a quick page turn.

The reader is privy to limited information here—we hear what the narrator tells her sister, then, some of her sister's words are repeated as the narrator reflects back on what she's said, and then there are some conversational flashbacks to explain action that may have occurred between calls. So yes, a format that looks deceptively simple ends up being complex. But here's the thing. At the same time I'm reading this I am also reading a Gertrude Stein short story with George Saunders in his Story Club; arguably the queen of circuitous storytelling. So I am going to give Mogollon credit for this invention, and I'm going to recommend you give it a try. The family dynamics are lovely—moving, raw emotion that's not whittled down to cliche. Beautifully depicted relationships. Looking forward to whatever Mogollon comes up with next.

Unfortunately I found it really difficult to get into this book, I DNF about halfway through. The writing felt chaotic, fractured and difficult to follow.

Luciana is the baby of her Colombian American family. Her mother is always on her about her weight and planning for her future. Her sister (Mari) is away at college and, as it seems to Luciana, is leaving her family behind. Her grandmother (Abue), it turns out, is quite ill and has been either downplaying or hiding it. Oh, and she came out recently, but it seems like everyone is just going to be pretending that never happened. So, basically, Luciana is feeling alone, and overwhelmed, and as her grandmother gets worse and her sister gets more distant and her mother’s “help” isn’t what she actually needs…she’s facing down oncoming adulthood in formidable fashion.

Well, the little blurb that promised drama and originality was right. I have never read anything at all like this one-sided phone conversation narration and it was so incredibly creative and unique and compelling AF. It moved with speed and interest and it sucked me in so strongly, I couldn’t have pulled out of the stream if I’d wanted to. Luciana’s voice – a sort of hypochondriac, low-key-out-but-not-really queer, second sibling with overbearing mother, senior year of high school and unsure of the future, Colombiana living in Florida vibes – is marvelously frantic. I loved the random connections/remembrances/stories, narrated in a stream of consciousness way on frenetic phone calls to fill her sister in on everything that’s going on (in the recognizable way conversations between boisterous family members can be). It’s like a Mrs. Dalloway for the modern day and I was totally here for it.

Thematically, this was such a fantastic view of the nuances of female family relationships – intergenerational and international and all dealing with complicated situations and emotions in such dramatically different ways. The sister dynamic is gorgeously authentic, flawed but still tender at heart. And the grandmother-granddaughter relationship (Luciana and Abue) was just spectacular. An absolute jewel of complexity and humanity and it did some very real things to my heart. And in all cases, as we do in real life, each woman does not always seeing how each other is handling life as “legitimate” or “correct.” Especially our narrator, whose perspective we have the most insight into, as she is drowning in fear and grief and confusion, over her sisters distance and mother’s overbearance and grandmother’s illness and her own future and identity (and inability to openly acknowledge it), and feels so alone with it all. Luciana’s voice is one that will resonate will many readers; it certainly did with me.

Finally, the plot was absolutely hella telenovela-y. The twists and turns of Abue’s story about her youth/family were so melodramatic, so good. And it self-recognized the melodrama, which I extra appreciate. Just, incredibly entertaining. Overall, this was just a phenomenal coming of age. For a narrative style choice like this, the nuance of character development for all these women is stunningly full. And it was truly great as an audiobook (shoutout to the passionate voice acting).

This was a laugh out loud take on a sad goodbye. Teenage Lucianas beloved Abuela is dying and her spastic mother and self obsessed sister are of literally no help to her during the hardest time of her life. Its her senior year of college, her mother is resisting her attempts to come out as gay and her sister avoiding coming home at all costs. Luciana has no choice but to update her sister of whats going on over telephone and the book is written in the style of their conversations. Luciana is super witty and I really enjoyed this book because of her humor 😆 Probably not the best writing style for everyone but it was fast paced and funny!

Oye is a truly captivating read that draws you in with its unique storytelling approach. Told entirely through phone conversations, it took me a little time to adjust but once I did I found myself completely immersed. The narrative style may be unconventional, but it works beautifully, adding a layer of intimacy and immediacy to the characters' interactions.

The book blends humor, drama, courage, and love in a way that feels both authentic and engaging. Each conversation reveals more about the characters and their lives, making you feel like you’re right there, eavesdropping on their most personal moments. The mix of emotions kept me hooked from beginning to end, with just the right balance of lighthearted moments and more serious undertones.

One of the strongest aspects is how it manages to tell such a vivid and complete story with dialogue. The lack of traditional narrative didn’t take away from the depth of the characters or the plot—instead, it made the story feel more real. I flew through the pages, eager to see how the story would unfold, and was left satisfied and wanting more.

An interesting story told through phone calls talking about family. Love, loss, and mostly memories between the two sisters, a different ways to look at some of the topics that were spoken about. I liked the book.

One of my favorite books of the year! This was an incredible story about love, loss and family. I loved the way the story was told through one sided phone calls. I found it easy to indulge and and interesting literary device. I have been recommending this to everyone!

A wonderful debut novel. Very creatively written as a telephone call between two sisters. The character of Luciana is so well written, as are the other characters. This story is fabulous, fast moving and a lot of fun even while dealing with serious issues. Thank you NetGalley for providing the ARC.

This book - I have so many big feelings about this book. Oye is creative, honest, chaotic, real, and full of spirit and emotions. In this coming-of-age novel, we are introduced to Luciana. Luciana is, at many times, all over the map in a way many teenagers are and supposed to be. Its her senior year, she is missing her sister Mari, who is away at college, terribly, and she is scared and stressed when it comes to her Abue's health and struggles.

This book really reminds us that so much of who we are is tied to who are family is. The story is told through phone calls from Luciana to Mari, though we do not read Mari's thoughts. Some of the writing is very feverish in that way that teenagers can be when they are overwhelmed and trying to process stress and fear and the unknown, but it allows you to really connect with Luciana. While the phone calls are the main format of the writing, the story gets interjected dialogue from their family members - as if Luciana is relaying these stories directly to Mari. It truly was a creative way to tell this story, but I think it takes some time to get use to the writing style - this story may be best served for some readers in audiobook format, which I eventually listened to and LOVED.

This book is really about how beautiful and messy our lives and our loved ones are and I am so glad I read this book. Melissa Mogollon was able to capture so clearly who everyone really is in Mari's life even through this creative writing voice.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers of this book for a digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

The format of the one sided telephone conversation was hard to get into. I am thankful there was so much humor in the book to keep me going!

A teenaged protagonist struggles with her unpredictable family through a hurricane and other family trauma. I loved the unfolding of the grandmother's story as the protagonist learns how much of her family's history affect her still today

This book had me crying in public. This is a five star for sure.

The narrative style of this book is so innovative. All we read is Nana's side of phone calls with her sister, who is now an undergraduate student out of state. It's great to see how Nana grows during her senior year and deals with feelings of betrayal when her sisters doesn't go home, being disconnected from her parents, and her grandmother's disease.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Hogarth Press for providing me with an advance copy of this book to review.