In theory, this book is my perfect book:
-It’s character-driven, with limited plot lines
-It’s about a big family, but focusing on two sisters
-It’s very informal, where you learn all the information through the conversations between the sisters

That said, it is difficult to follow because there are no quotation marks. The only indication between a phone call or in-person phone call is by use of italics, but it’s still very unclear, which made it hard for me to enjoy the story.

Thank you to NetGalley for providing an ARC of this book!

I enjoyed this novel told through the lens of an 18-year-old Colombian American high schooler through conversations and phone calls to her older sister about the trials living with her mother and grandmother. As a child of an immigrant family, she lives with complicated home dynamics and expectations that come from generational trauma that she has no context for.

As a second-generation American myself, I loved this book - the story is paced perfectly so that you never lose interest, there aren't too many characters (and all of them have a purpose in moving the story along), and the personal growth of the main characters - Luciana (the 18 year-old, her grandmother, and to a degree, her mother - is really heart-warming. It never felt like Luciana's reactions to the events of the story were too immature or out of place, which I think is difficult when you have a character who's on the cusp of becoming an adult.

The format of the book was a little weird and it felt like it was originally planned to be a one-sided texting dialogue between Luciana and her sister and not a spoken dialogue because there was a lot of sentence fragments and text speech but once I understood the format, it was easy to lose myself in the book.

hands down - one of the best books I've read this year.

This being told through a one-sided phone call is so ... fun and innovative and cool. I was worried that a story told all in dialogue would get tiresome to read after a while but it was so engaging and the cadence of our protagonist is so natural and real - it was just a delight to read.

Luciana is such a funny complex girl and she's dealing with SO much in this book but it unravels and escalates and settles into something so life altering and beautiful - I just loved being on this journey with her.

I loved learning about this family’s background framed by conversations between two very-different sisters.

Complicated family dynamics and generational secrets are revealed in a heartbreaking and relatable way. This novel felt true to the experience of growing up in an immigrant household, and how the often difficult pasts of our family members are allowed to dictate our present and futures, even in completely different contexts.

Interesting format, it took some time for me to get into the story and the flow of the book, but once I did all I could think about was what was going to happen and when I would be able to continue reading!

Lively book! Beautiful cover. Talented author. I enjoyed the way the story came to life and the format the author chose to tell it. Thanks to NetGalley for the ARC.

Fun/ unique format and very relatable characters. This book has a lot of heart! I was surprised by how much emotionality and family history the author can expertly weave in with dialogue.

I started last night and I love this book so far! I was super confused at the narration at first - I wasn’t sure if I was reading a back and forth conversation or the conversation from one perspective. But now that I’m settling into a few chapters, I love the format. It gives it a really unique feel, and I feel like I have such a deep understanding of the layers of the characters even though I’m only 5 chapters in.

**Update: After finishing, I’m surprised I liked this book as much as I did. It’s really different than what I would usually go for. Looking back I feel like there wasn’t much ‘story’ in the writing. The big events were few and far between, and I felt like I was waiting for *something* to happen that never really came. But, I also came away with what felt like a deep and rich understanding of each of the characters and their personalities. The perspective it’s written from is so unique that it really kept me interested. It’s also a decently quick read, because of the one side conversational narration.

Thanks to NetGalley for allowing me to preview this book! I enjoyed and I am really looking forward to more work by Melissa Mogollon

Oye is a hilarious yet touching coming-of-age story, told through telephone conversations between Luciana and her older sister Mari.

I'm not going to lie, the format took some getting used to. The conversation is one-sided so the entire book is basically a monologue by Luciana, with some “real-life” conversations with others thrown in here and there. The conversations and phone calls are mashed together into the same chapters with no breaks, and it took me a bit to figure out that the italicized text is the outside-of-the-phone-call conversations with other people. And you just have to kind of figure out who the conversation is with based on the context of the phone call. Confused yet? Even at the end of the book, I was constantly having to stop and think about who might be talking.

But, somewhat confusing format aside, I really enjoyed this book. It's super funny and heartwarming and heartbreaking all at the same time. In lots of ways, it reminded me of an adult Judy Blume novel.

Abue (Luciana's grandmother) is the best character in the entire novel. She's a spitfire with an incredible ability to hold a grudge, but over the course of Luciana and Mari's conversations, the reader begins to understand why Abue is the way she is. Really, this book is just as much Abue's story as it is Luciana's, and there are parts of Abue's life that were rather tragic. As she learns more and more about her grandmother's past, however, Luciana begins to understand that she needs to live her life to the fullest … whether or not her mother and big sister approve.

If you like coming-of-age novels with a whole lot of funny, definitely give this book a read.

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

Melissa Mogollon's debut, Oye, provides an interesting and distinctive take on multigenerational relationships between a Columbian family. Though the writing style is definitely unique, I found it a bit hard to get into at first, which took away from my reading experience. Looking past that, I can say the novel made me feel all sorts of emotions and nostalgia. I do want to reread it if an audiobook is available once published.
Thank you to Net Galley, the author, and publisher for the digital copy :)

The style of this book is so much not for me that it was hard for me to get past it.

It's written as one side of a series of phone conversations, with snippets of flashbacks to scenes that the narrator is referencing. This is innovative but too non-linear for me (we are guessing what the other person said).

The storyline was good! There were parts of it that really resonated for me! But overall, the form was just too difficult for me to sink into.

NetGalley ARC.

I received an ARC from Netgalley. My first, but I am going to pretend like I've been here before.

I got about ten pages into this before realizing that I needed to start again. What a risky choice in voice and presentation! Once you get into the flow of the book, it really takes off in a downright charming and loveable way. These characters will roam around in my brain until I die. What a cast! What a story! If I saw Abue on the street I'd probably faint.

Easily a favorite read of 2023.

OMG. Well, this was something very different! Refreshing, full of laughs and tons of feels, this was a brilliantly written story told through phone calls. "Oye" means 'listen' in Spanish, which is perfect book. If you enjoy coming of age stories and books about family, this should definitely be on your bookshelf!

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the advanced digital reader's copy (ARC) in exchange for an honest review!

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC. This debut novel was a unique and unexpected format. The story unfolds through phone calls between two sisters. One home, dealing with the stress of family struggles while the other is off at college. This is a quick enjoyable read.

Oye is a great South Florida cultural family drama set in the atmosphere of an on-coming hurricane. The dialogue is rapid fire with panic as Mari trying to care for her family while she away at college is faced with convincing her grandmother, Abue, to evacuate. For anyone who has lived in Florida through hurricane preparations and its aftermath, this book nails the uncertainty and panic, topped with crazy family humor. Recommended for Florida readers when the ocean, gulf, and winds are calm.

Despite being the youngest of her Colombian-American family, Luciana finds herself being the voice of reason during her family’s unexpected crisis.

After being ordered to evacuate their home due to an impending hurricane, Luciana’s grandmother, Abue, refuses to leave and becomes the focal point of the family's stress. But the storm was a minor problem compared to Abue’s new cancer diagnosis.

After returning home and moving their grandmother into Luciana’s room, she builds upon their complicated bond. Instead of being a teenager, she soon becomes the caretaker, translator, and confidante that Abue seems to force upon her.

As Luciana’s adulthood looms, she feels ready to rise to the occasion. Is she ready, or is this yet another thing forced upon her?

I enjoyed the novel for the most part. The unique style made me feel like I was eavesdropping on a conversation between sisters at times. But as the book progressed, I found myself getting a tad bored with the format and wanted something a bit deeper in context.

I could feel the stress that Luciana was dealing with as she relayed information to her absent sister and as she tried to talk some sense into her mother. She seemed adrift amongst a family that was only interested in themselves and only cared about how each other's problems would affect them.

This was a quick read. While I would have loved something more from the novel, it wasn’t lacking in some heartfelt moments that helped move the plot along. But the dysfunctional family dynamic, while not necessarily unique, made for a fun story and helped round out some of the rougher edges.

The publisher provided ARC via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

So, so so good.
A coming-of-age comedy in the form of a phone call!

Luciana's odyssey starts with hurricane Irma and a mandatory evacuation from her Southern Florida home. She and her Colombian born mother begin a long car ride, all the while Luciana contacts her elder sister Mari to update their progress. After dodging the natural disaster, the next big drama is when the family returns and finds their beloved grandmother Abue ill. Abue is moved into Luciana's bedroom and the real drama begins!

A rollicking one sided phone conversation illustrates the story. I sort of love the idea of this as a play. It's absolutly hilarious and charming and I am sure you will love it!

If you love family drama, big personalities and unique stories, OYE is for you!
#RandomHouse #OYE #Oyenovel #MelissaMogollon #Randomhouse

not many books can make me ugly cry for a solid ten minutes straight but this one did. this is a phenomenal book and i’m super glad to have read this. it definitely has a unique writing style in which the MC is on the phone with her sister and took some getting use to for me. this story really hit home considering some major plot points and themes. it was funny, sad, overall a great read.

regardless, if mogollon has one fan, I AM THE ONE! continue to write more stories! thank you to get netgalley and random house publishing for giving me an ARC 🫶🏽

A debut novel from Melissa Mogollon that explores the multigenerational relationship within a Colombian family living in Florida.

This book was interesting largely in part because of how it was written- it follows the main character, Luciana who converses via phone calls with her sister Mari who is away at college in the Northeastern United States. The family experiences a series of challenges together- ultimately forcing Luciana to become the caretaker of her Abuela.

The prose of the novel is witty and humorous- and the references to Colombia and Colombian culture are spot on. As a Colombian myself, I could not help but laugh at references to popular Colombian pop singers, and smile at the vivid imagery used to describe the land itself.

Melissa Mogollon created characters that ooze “novella” as we learn of Abue’s family and her turbulent past, Luciana’s friends, and her sister.

This book goes from funny, to shocking, sad, to heartfelt, and at the heart of the novel, we understand the true presence and value that Abue has created in her family- and that one that will certainly never be forgotten.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House for the e ARC!

~ I received an ARC copy of Oye from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review~

The blurb of this book promises a unique tale following Luciana and her family through a hurricane and a tough medical situation. And honestly, Mogollon delivers. Oye’s structure is that of a phone call between Luciana and Mari, her sister away at college, and it spares us no details. Like any conversation between sisters, there’s laughter and sadness, tension and truth, and through it Mogollon addresses identity, family, immigration, gender and sexuality within the pages of this book. Following the women in this family was definitely a ride, but I’m glad I followed through. Oye was a joy to read.

A magnificent, unique and touching debut novel, Oye by Melissa Mogollon explores multigenerational relationships between women in a Columbian family living in Florida. The brilliant, hilarious and loving narrator, Luciana, navigates the care of her aging, eccentric grandmother and complex relationships with her mother and sister as she completes high school while also grappling with homophobia in her family.

The compelling, poignant story is told through a telephone dialogue between Lucinda and her overachieving sister, Mari, who is a college student in the Northeastern US. This unique style facilitates remarkable character development. Luciana explores her epic, outlandish, hilarious and heart-breaking family history.

I absolutely loved this book and getting to know Luciana and the dynamic women in her family.

Thank you to NetGalley and Random House for a free advanced reader copy in exchange for an honest review.