Who doesn’t love a coming of age novel? Even in my late 20s I can still empathize and relate to these types of stories, as I feel like I’m always find new parts of myself. This story is fun, entertaining but I ultimately found the way it’s written to be confusing and one sided. I love the idea of it but in practice it didn’t quite land for me.

This book probably has the most unique narrative presentation that I've come across in some time. Rather than the typical first- or third-person perspective, the story follows Luciana Domínguez through her senior year of high school by purportedly listening in on her phone calls with her sister, Mari. Readers only see Luciana's side of the conversation, alongside bits of "flashbacks" that are interspersed throughout her words.

I won't lie: it took me repeated attempts to fully settle into this style of writing. My brain couldn't quite comprehend the italicized portions, which were the aforementioned "flashbacks," and there was a sort of "emptiness" with the fact that (outside of the flashbacks) we only "hear" Luciana's voice. Despite these challenges, I think that this is a worthwhile (and actually rather quick) read. Luciana's voice is very colorful, and after "listening" to her through the first few chapters, I found it easier to better-visualize her world through her eyes. This, in turn, made the emotions very palpable— to a point wherein I could even believe that I was experiencing the unfolding events myself.

There are many limitations in presenting the story in the way it was, but I appreciate the way that it made me think, and there is still plenty to unpack, from the complicated nature of family dynamics to the difficulty of growing up and balancing one's role in a family versus their developing perception of themselves. All of this is to simply say: give Oye a chance. It won't be for everyone, but it has good potential.

My thanks to the author (Melissa Mogollon), the publisher (Random House Publishing Group), and NetGalley for providing the eARC through which I was able to read and review this book.

Unfortunately the format of the book was not for me so I DNFed but I did find the characters engaging from what I did read.

When I read it was a comedy and "a telenovela-worthy drama" I knew I had to read it and it didn't disappoint. Melissa Mogollon captures well how layered, full of drama and joyful a Latine family can be. I was most impressed by the writing style and the character development. It was unexpected as it's written like a phone call and definitely takes you at least a couple chapters to get used to it but don't give up. I'm glad I kept reading despite that initial shock, this book will take you in a journey full of emotions. Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for the ARC.

I loved this book and the fact that it was told through one long telephone call, it is a telenovella and comedy rolled into one. The one sided narrative is difficult at first but once you settle into Luciana’s voice it becomes easier to follow. Abue is hands down my favorite character and reminded me a lot of my grandmother, tough and not easy to deal with, but ultimately there when you need her. This coming of age family drama really takes you in a roller coaster of emotions!

What a special book this is! The style of writing - a one sided phone conversation - threw me off in the beginning but once I settled into the style, it was beautiful and unique and all things in between.

Luciana is the youngest daughter of a Colombian family, initially running from Hurricane Irma, but then struggling save her family from the loss of their matriarch. Her conversations with her sister go from angry to sad, confused, to frustrated, to acceptance of all the events happening around her. Luciana is the teenage girl we feel we are, unsure of ourselves, relying on the opinions and reactions of others, but wanting more from our life. She ultimately finds it through her heartache.

Oye is a coming of age, finding yourself story that crosses generations and cultures.

the overall premise of this read caught my attention right off the bat, especially as a latina I'm always so happy to see a book that I can pick up and have the chance to feel seen by! this was an enjoyable and slightly different than what I'm normally used to and cannot wait for more readers to pick this up once it's released!

I have never read anything by this author so I actually didn’t know what to expect. At first, I had a hard time getting into the format, but by the end, I felt like I was on a phone call with my sister. As a Chicana, we talk on the phone a lot with our family and often so every time I picked up this book, I felt like I was picking up my phone! The story was fantastic and it was an amazing read! Please finish it if you are like me and had a hard time with the formatting at first—it’s worth it!

I thoroughly enjoyed the unique story telling of this novel, which is told completely from a one-sided phone conversation that Luciana has with her older (away at college) sister, Mari. As Luciana struggles to finish out high school, she also has the weight of juggling her unique family dynamics, missing her sister, discovering long buried family secrets, keeping secrets of her own, and a diagnosis of her beloved grandmother that will shake everything up.

I cannot express enough the beauty and richness of the story telling in Oye. Through only Luciana's voice (and some flashbacks of conversations that she has with others), Magollon made all of the characters so vibrant and multidimensional. I'm always looking for novels that have unique ways of telling a story, and this one definitely checks that box.

In addition to the stellar narrative, the relationship that Luciana and her Abue have is so heart warming. The juxtaposition of their stories - both beginning and both ending in different and unique ways, was perfection.

My favorite book of 2023 may just be this gem that will hit the shelves in 2024! Be sure to look for a copy in the Spring!


Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for the advance copy!

This was just stunning. I truly can't believe the premise of this book even exists!? I truly believe this might be the book of the year 2024. Truly a phenomenal book that everyone needs to read, regardless of the usual genres they lean towards.

I think that this will make for an amazing audio book and should it become available on PRHAudio I will definitely try it and my review will be updated based on that format.

However, for the e-arc version, I can't get into it. The writing style doesn't lend itself to my enjoyment. I wanted to become immersed in the conversational tone that the author tried to write in, but it just didn't work and I ended up annoyed. I did DNF this book because it was not a style that I could see myself sticking with for 300+ pages.

Thank you to the publisher for this copy. I do hope it becomes an audio though, it would be perfect!

This was hard to read. The writing style did not click with me. Seems to be an interesting story, but I just could not get into a rhythm reading it.

I received a free e-arc of this book through Netgalley. I was really interested to read it based on early reviews. Unfortunately the writing style of it being phone dialogue and texts maybe was just annoying to me. I read the first couple chapters and the last couple of chapters and it just didn't make me want to get involved. As an introvert myself, I think it was just too much talking. It was telling me instead of showing me. I did think it had a sense of humor.

I thought that I would like this book and maybe I would, but the style of writing to tell the story is way too annoying to read. Frankly, I don’t care enough to find out if it has merit just because of the way Ms. Mogollon is telling the story.

There may be an audience for this and I’m guessing it’s one that is younger than me.

Conceptually, the writing style is really interesting. It feels very experimental, in a good way. The closest I’ve come to it before in my own reading has been slam poetry, although this doesn’t fall into that category. I wasn’t particularly gripped by the story and stopped after chapter 1 (6%), but I'd be open to reading other works from this author.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for the ARC.

The premise of the book is what caught my attention and the writing style was certainly unique. However it fell flat for me, I kept hoping for more of those juicy bits and what we were given was a little lackluster.

This book was very confusing. I am not sure if it was just my copy or how it downloaded to Kindle, but the lack of punctuation made it hard to follow.

This book was written as a phone conversation which was hard to get used to. It also uses very teenage language and a lot of Spanish which could be hard to many adult readers. Despite these two things, I did find this enjoyable to learn the story of the grandma unfold. Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC in exchange for my honest review

Fantastic book! Were we ever that young? Wasn't that the best time ever? I loved this. Great debut filled with family, friends, and life lessons. Don't miss this one.


Thanks to NetGalley and Random House, Hogarth for an e-arc in exchange for an unbiased review.

Who doesn’t love eavesdropping on interesting conversations? With Melissa Mongollon’s incredible novel, Oye, you can immerse yourself in some scandalous family history (and present), without fear of being caught.

In Oye, Melissa Mongollon has created a vivid, fascinating, and emotional world through several one-sided phone conversations between Luciana and her older sister, Mari. Mari has gone to college, leaving Luciana to navigate the drama of her Colombian American family.

Luciana’s Abuela, Abue, receives devastating health news, sending the family into a spiral. Abue heavily resists a visit from her sister, provoking Luciana’s interest in her family’s history. Years of heartache unfold, and Luciana reports back to an indifferent Mari. And at the same time, Luciana is dealing with her health-conscious mother’s jabs at her weight, and a crush on a cute bartender.

Once I started reading Oye, I could not stop. Luciana is a wonderful character, and the story keeps unfolding in a gorgeous way. It was like sitting down with one of my particularly animated friends. I can imagine the audiobook of Oye will be amazing. The ending made me weep; it is just perfect.

Oye is an utterly unique, incredibly special novel that brought me so much joy. I look forward to revisiting this one as often as I can.