I came here for the chisme and this book definitely delivers. I loved the format of the book, which is a one-sided phone conversation that reveals all the drama that unfolds for a Colombian American family. That being said, it did take me awhile to get into the book at the beginning, but I switched to the audio version and that definitely brought the story to life. I wanted to love this one, but I wasn't a big fan of the main character's dramatic flare, so it fell a bit short for me.

This was a pretty charming read, although it took me awhile to get used to the format. Told exclusively from the voice of Luciana, the plot is told entirely through her side of phone calls to her older sister, Mari. You can gauge Mari's responses based on what Luciana says, but it means it is a fairly one-sided story and depiction of the family. There are bits where she is recounting conversations with others, so you can somewhat get a sense of the other characters, but this is SOLIDLY Luciana's story. She is a dramatic but compassionate teenage girl, dealing with coming out, changing family dynamics, and her grandmother's illness.

I wondered, about 30% in, if I should keep going because I was not loving this unique but challenging format, but I'm glad that I did. As Luciana gets more information regarding her family's history, everything became clearer to me. It would have been interesting to get Abue and Luciana's mother's perspectives, just to flesh out the storyline more (the mother comes across particularly terribly, but again - it's through the lens of her teenage daughter, so take it with a grain of salt).

It has a satisfying, bittersweet end, and I would be interested in a sequel - maybe told from Mari's end of the phone calls next!

I was intrigued by the description of this book by Melissa Mongollon. " A young woman reckons with her rowdy, unpredictable family and the revelation of their long-buried history in this wildly inventive debut."

I found the idea of this book to be highly fascinating. An entire book written as one side of a phone conversation. Very creative.

Luciana is the youngest of her Columbian American family. To say the the family is complicated is an understatement. The story starts with the evacuation of the area due to a hurricane. Luciana and her mother leave town leaving Luciana's grandmother, Abue, behind because she refuses to leave. Abue ends up moving in with Luciana and her mother and sharing a room with Luciana.

No matter what different techniques I tried, I could only hear Luciana's voice in a very frantic pace. I tried to literally slow down my reading so I might hear the main character in a more calm dialogue. But despite all of my attempts, I could only hear her rambling. I was exhausted by the pace of the story.

Possible triggers: Body shaming, parental fixation on weight and appearance.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
All thoughts and opinions are my own.

2.5 stars rounded up to 3.

Oh my gosh, a five star-er! Loved this book beyond words. A very interesting style where the main character has a series of conversations with her sister but the only dialog belongs to the main character. Modern day Florida, where questions of immigration surface, and questions of whether to acknowledge a daughter who just declared she is a lesbian surround the story of a dying grandmother. Told in hilarious prose, the struggles are downplayed with laughter. I absolutely loved this book.
Thank you NetGalley for a ARC!

A story told entirely through phone calls from younger sister Luciana to her older sister Mari. Luciana is often at odds with her mom and she is trying to deal with her grandma getting sick, all told via conversation with her sister. Overall, an interesting format concept, although it was hard to follow at times to determine who was speaking. Due to the formatting, the book felt like it could have been a little more concise to keep it from dragging.

A unique coming of age story. The author's choice of telling this story in the form of a phone conversation is very unique. To be able to tell the story in this manner is an incredible talent. Hard to believe this is a debut novel! A good recommend for HS students. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance reader copy in exchange for an honest review.

A truly enjoyed this. A very solid read that I think speaks to many readers. Really colorful and well developed characters and writing.

I almost gave up on this one when I started and realized the format what one side of a phone call — how could that possibly work? But the positive reviews and @whatsjennareading convinced me to persist, and I was very quickly sucked in by the narrator’s voice. I ended up absolutely loving how the story was told, and what these conversations told me about Luciana and her relationship with her sister, her grandmother, her mother and the rest of her family. It had me laughing at some points and in tears occasionally, and will absolutely be one of my favorite novels of the year. I partially listened to the audio, and it was perfection. Get your hands on a copy.

Once I got used to the format of this charming coming of age novel, I fell in love with Luciana and her family. The story is told as a series of telephone calls, but only from the side of Luciana, the youngest child in a large immigrant family in Florida. The feisty character of Abue stole the show - she's Luciana's grandmother and the keeper of family secrets. As Luciana cares for Abue, they both come into focus as strong, bonded women. I found myself feeling really proud of Luciana, and I would like an invitation to have dinner with this family, especially if I could sit by Abue! Thank you to NetGalley and Hogarth Books for the advance copy of this book!

Thank you for this ARC!

A very moving story about a POC’s coming of age.
I really saw a lot of myself in these characters and their circumstances and found it to be a very compelling story.

Thank you @netgalley for the Advanced Reader Copy of Oye by Melissa Mogollon. This is a coming of age story told by a Florida teenager with Colombian heritage. Her grandmother is sick and she finds herself being the caretaker. I got about 30% through it and decided to DNF, it was not holding my interest.

Such a unique mode of storytelling and I hope the book has a lot of success and readers love it.
The cover is stunning and the characters were well thought out.
I have learned that I do not fair well without conversation quotes (I can't tell the difference between words being said, thought, or are part of the story)

First of all, I was very excited to read this ARC of a book in exchanged for an honest review of this book. The premise sounded like something I would enjoy: the daughter of Colombian parents travels with her mother up the coast away from Hurricane Irma in 2017 and finds out that her Abuela is sick and the family has to care for her, but there is generational family drama? Sounds SO relatable.

Secondly, there are so many people who will love this novel as written.

Thirdly, I fully believe that if it were not written as a series of one-way cell phone text messages I would have loved this novel.

Forth, I was surprised that I didn't like this format.

So in summary, I wanted to love this novel, I expected to love this novel, but I did not, ultimately end up loving this novel. In fact by chapter four I was struggling to want to finish the novel. Ultimately, I wanted to see if Abue and her sister made peace, and that's what kept me going until the end.

Oye is such an unexpected gem of a book, and I am so grateful I picked it up.

I will admit, it did take me a while to get used to the narrative structure! The first time I started the book, I actually read the first chapter and then put it down for about a month, waiting for the moment in which I felt I could give the story the attention and care it deserved. When I eventually did pick it back up, I was completely captivated.

The tense and often conflicting relationship between the narrator and her sister rings deeply true to my own experience as the older sister who went far away for college, and it made me reflect on the first few years in which I was away in a new light.

Though steeped in Colombian immigrant culture, there are elements of the story that are universally relevant, such as the desire to know everything about your ancestors, and the shock that comes from hearing any story that reminds you they’re real people who were once young and mistreated. Additionally, the discussion of queerness is nuanced and never feels forced.

It’s a deceptively simple story about family, love, and loss, and I cannot think of anyone who wouldn’t find something to love in the novel.

Thank you so much to NetGalley and the publisher for the ARC!!

I got an ARC of this book.

I couldn't tell who was talking ever. It was not clear what was part of the voicemail or what was story. I only knew they were supposed to be voicemails based on the description. It was just a badly formatted book.

While it took me a bit to get into this book, I really enjoyed the way the story was told from on sided phone conversations between Luciana and her sister. Through the narration, we learn about Luciana's family: her mom, Abue, sister, and extended family. We see how generational trauma has affected the family and how as a high school senior, Luciana is working to live her life - except her family continues to have issues that are keeping her from being herself.

Funny and emotional, I really enjoyed this book and look forward to more from this author.

DNF

I'm not sure if the formatting of the eARC had anything to do with it, but the structure of the writing in the beginning was confusing. This also made it hard to get into the writing itself.

It took a while for me to get the flow of reading this. I enjoyed the plot, but had a hard time keeping up with the phone conversations and who was talking.

I wasn’t sure what to expect from reading Oye as it was the first novel that I’ve read that exclusively tells a story through phone calls. I’ve read books where stories are told in verse, email, texting, but this format was new and refreshing to me. Though jarring at (first I had to get the hang of Luciana’s cadence) what awaits readers in this novel is a coming of age story about family, growing up, finding your identity, and telling your story.

Oye is an incredibly heartfelt and emotional book as there are some serious moments due to Abue’s declining heath, Luciana struggling with her sexuality, and the strain that the past as well as distance can put on a family’s relationship. But most of all this novel is full of hilarious moments that will make the reader laugh out loud and put a smile on your face. Abue, by far, is one of the most memorable characters I’ve read so far in 2024 and her character alone was one of my favorite parts of the novel. I loved her vivacious nature and sassiness when it comes to interacting with family and anyone she comes across. Her strong spirit reminded me of my own grandma who passed away and I think Abue is someone who will resonate with many who read this novel.

Luciana, who narrates the story, is also an entertaining protagonist and as readers get to know her they become more engrossed into the story. I was curious to see how her journey would progress through the novel as navigates through her own life while being thrust into the role of a sort of caregiver for her grandma. This novel also delves into generational trauma that has been passed down and how it’s also greatly had an impact on Luciana’s life. Learning about her family not only helps her become more closer and understand her family, but also to be more confident about the woman she wants to be.

All in all, this is a wonderful novel about family and choosing to live life on your own terms. My only complaint is that the novel is a bit longer than it needs to be due to writing style. This is a novel with a lot of heart!

From the publisher:
"Yes, hi, Mari. It’s me. I’m over my tantrum now and calling you back . . . But first—you have to promise that you won’t tell Mom or Abue any of this. Okay? They’ll set the house on fire if they find out . . .”

Structured as a series of one-sided phone calls from our spunky, sarcastic narrator, Luciana, to her older sister, Mari, this wildly inventive debut “jump-starts your heart in the same way it piques your ear” (Xochitl Gonzalez). As the baby of her large Colombian American family, Luciana is usually relegated to the sidelines. But now she finds herself as the only voice of reason in the face of an unexpected crisis: A hurricane is heading straight for Miami, and her eccentric grandmother, Abue, is refusing to evacuate. Abue is so one-of-a-kind she’s basically in her own universe, and while she often drives Luciana nuts, they’re the only ones who truly understand each other. So when Abue, normally glamorous and full of life, receives a shocking medical diagnosis during the storm, Luciana’s world is upended.

When Abue moves into Luciana’s bedroom, their complicated bond intensifies. Luciana would rather be skating or sneaking out to meet girls, but Abue’s wild demands and unpredictable antics are a welcome distraction for Luciana from her misguided mother, absent sister, and uncertain future. Forced to step into the role of caretaker, translator, and keeper of the devastating family secrets that Abue begins to share, Luciana suddenly finds herself center stage, facing down adulthood—and rising to the occasion.

As Luciana chronicles the events of her disrupted senior year of high school over the phone to Mari, Oye unfolds like the most fascinating and entertaining conversation you’ve ever eavesdropped on: a rollicking, heartfelt, and utterly unique novel that celebrates the beauty revealed and resilience required when rewriting your own story.

Oye by Melissa Mogollon was released May 14th, 2024 from Hogarth.

My thoughts: The format takes a little getting used to, but it's worth the effort. Most of the book is Luciana talking to Mari over the phone with occasional snippets of conversation between her and Abue or her and her mother. These other conversations appear in italics. The phone call itself is in regular print. While it is an unusual format, it works for this story.

My favorite characters are Luciana and Abue. Abue is definitely on the eccentric side of things. Unfortunately she is dealt a difficult hand. While Luciana and her mother were out of town from evacuating from Hurricane Irma, Abue turns yellow. This requires a trip to the hospital. And this is where Luciana starts to shine. She was good before, but the situation has her rising to the occasion. Abue's backstory is very much like a tele novella. And I would definitely say that Abue lives rather than just exists.

I gave this book 5 out of 5 stars. The story moves along at a decent pace. The characters are likable and interesting. And the format is interesting. I wasn't sure I was going to like the format. It was a little confusing at first. But, once you get the hang of it, it's definitely worth the effort.

I received a copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley. This did not affect my review.