💭 MY THOUGHTS: I was intrigued to learn that the story of Oye is told in the unique format of a one sided phone conversations between sisters. Unfortunately for me the format was confusing and too hard to follow. The entire book is written completely in one-sided dialogue and felt unnatural and awkward. Ultimately I just couldn’t finish the book and guys, I literally despise DNF-ing books.

I cant speak to the story since I only got a little ways into it. I will say I feel like listening to this as an audiobook would make much more sense and I’ll probably give

Read For:
📞 One-sided Phone Conversation
🎭 Telenovela Worthy Family Drama
💫 Coming of Age Story
📍 Florida Hurricane

❌ DNF ❌ / 5

4.25⭐

Oye by Melissa Mogollon is an incredibly moving and immensely enjoyable coming-of-age story told through the voice of a Florida Columbian-American teenager as she navigates hurricanes, dysfunctional family dynamics the imminent loss of a loved one and much more over her senior year in high school.

Luciana has a lot on her plate. As if her senior year in high school and concerns over her own plans for the future isn’t stressful enough, her mother’s reaction to her coming out deters her from being open about her sexuality and when her seventy-five-year-old Abue Emilia is diagnosed with a terminal illness, she struggles to hold her family together. Initially a reluctant confidante to her Abue, who knows exactly which buttons to push to get her own way, Luciana gets know significant facts from her family history gaining a better understanding of the women in her family and the generational trauma that has been passed down to the present day and how that impacts her as not only a member of the family but as individual on the cusp of adulthood.

The narrative, told through mostly one-sided phone conversations, follows Luciana as she shares her frustrations, aspirations and revelations with her sister Mari, who is away at college and whom she misses dearly. Luciana is an endearing protagonist, and I was invested in her journey. The author captures her angst, insecurities and confusion and inner conflict perfectly. Abue is an interesting ( to put it mildly!) character and I loved how the author depicts her as a strong-willed woman who chooses to live life on her own terms. The author deftly incorporates Abue’s family history into the storyline, depicting how secrets and suppressed trauma can affect family members across generations and how openness, communication and sharing one's stories can help heal emotional wounds and fractured relationships.

The format took a while to get accustomed to, but once I did, I flew through this novel. With not a boring moment, at times laugh-out-loud funny yet insightful and deeply thought-provoking, this is an exceptionally well-written novel and a promising debut. I look forward to reading more from the author in the future.

Many thanks to Random House Publishing Group - Random House for the digital review copy via NetGalley. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.

This book was fantastic! It is written in such a unique way and I really felt a part of Luciana’s family. Oye is a coming of age story about a young Colombian American girl and her family as they navigate the possibility of losing the matriarch of the family, their beloved Abue. You are told the story through a series of phone calls that Luciana makes to her older sister, Mari.

The story was heartfelt, funny, and relatable! Listening to the audiobook, I was immediately drawn into the family and drama and loved every second of it. I want to drive down and hug Abue, gossip with Luciana, and call Mari up and give her a piece of my mind! Oye also has great Latinx and queer representation. I highly recommend the audiobook but the cover is too gorgeous not to grab a physical copy too! Read this one today!!!

3.5-4 stars
Story and backstory of a multigenerational Columbian American family. The format was confusing: it's one side of a teenager's telephone conversation with her older sister, with a few in-person conversations sprinkled in. I think the story probably would have worked just as well if it had been structured more traditionally and would have saved the reader from trying to guess who was talking to who at various points.

I did enjoy meeting the characters and learning about their current lives as well as the grandmother's past. Sometimes funny, sometimes heartbreaking, sometimes touching.

Thanks to the publisher for a free e-ARC of this book.

Thank you NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for this digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Right off the bat we start off strong with a Fall Out Boy reference. Mogollon has reeled me in! The writing is different from what I’ve experienced. I found it to be a refreshing change of pace and cadence that I didn’t know I needed to avoid me going into a reading slump.

Luciana, aka “Nana”, is on the phone with her older sister, Mari, keeping her apprised of all that’s going on while Mari is away at school. That’s it, that’s the format - a one sided conversation, and let me tell you, it’s a fun way to read. Tell me your hearing doesn’t get a little sharper when you overhear someone talking on the phone about something GOOD.

The pace is fast, so buckle up. This book was my favorite read of May. And I’m still mad at myself for waiting so long to read it. The writing is so well done that it feels as if I’m a teen again, mad at the world. We as readers are only getting Nana’s perspective, so we are going to see the situation only as she sees it (to a degree). What I’m saying is, despite how much empathizing we do for the other characters, Nana’s emotions flow through us - which is a credit to Mogollon’s writing skills.

There are maybe 3-4 primary characters, but Abue and Luciana are the main characters for me, despite Mari being the one Luciana is talking to the entire time. Abue’s character doesn’t change much, if at all, throughout the novel. However, Luciana, on the edge of becoming an adult, has endured so much that she comes to a revelation some adults I know still haven’t learned.

There is so much I can say about certain parts of this book, particularly the interpersonal relationships and handling of medical autonomy -


[SPOILER ALERT AHEAD]

Let’s start with the first one that gave me pause - medical autonomy. By this I mean the patient’s right to be in charge of their own health course. I was infuriated by how Nana’s mother decided to handle Abue’s medical diagnosis/prognosis by keeping it from her. That is not ok, ever! I understand her reasoning, but there are ways to circumvent the issues she posed as her argument for keeping Abue in the dark.

Medical interpretation is on par with my previous grievance. Being someone who has been put in this situation countless times, I’ll say it once - family members (ESPECIALLY CHILDREN) should not be used as interpreters when discussing medical information. Family members are there for support, not to work as the intermediary between doctor and patient. There are many problems that can arise when a family member (no matter the age), is used to interpret. First being, they likely are not medical professionals, they don’t know the information being explained and are learning for the first time what’s happening. How dare anyone expect a family member to explain new concepts that’s confusing and new when they haven’t had time to wrap their own mind around it. Second problem is that information will literally get lost in translation, and then patient’s end up more confused than before. Third, and what is seen here, is omission of information that is important for the patient to know in order to make educated decisions about THEIR OWN BODIES. The sole responsibility of a family member or friend of a patient is to provide support to the patient, not be utilized by the medical professional! [End of rant - this is clearly a trigger for me].


[END OF SPOILER ALERT]

The dynamics between the women in this family is so dysfunctional it’s actually relatable to a degree. And I think this is partly what makes it such an easy read - a quien no le gusta un poco de chisme? Whether it’s between mother and daughter, or sister and sister, it’s present in each generation, and Nana is slowly breaking that cycle. I will say, Mari and Nana seem to have a close sisterly bond, but the way Nana speaks to Mari really grinds my gears, it’s beyond disrespectful. I get that she’s hurt and that Mari has been distant/not as involved as Nana would expect, but there is a line that she crosses constantly. But I also understand that Mari could have been more present (we just don’t get to see her side of the situation). In Nana’s defense, as the younger sister, she is now placed in the oldest daughter role and has to traverse the trials of a loved one’s health condition alone.

Regarding her illness, Abue’s personality shines through, and I believe this is a critical point in the novel. Nana is able to see that an illness does not change who someone is at their core. Nana also learns that there are things in Abue’s past that has made her who she is today, and in discovering her history, she is able to understand her grandmother’s reasons for certain actions that may seem harsh. There is actually a lot of parallels between Abue and Nana, and maybe that’s why they are such kindred spirits. [SPOILER WARNING] One of the most fundamental parallels between the two is losing their most beloved person at a young age and not having anyone to turn to [END OF SPOILER].


There are multiple layers of sadness in this book. One of the ones I found most subtle, but not any less heartbreaking is when Nana is discussing how life used to be when Mari was still living at home and life had been simpler. We are caught on the precipice of a such a crucial time in Nana’s life. Everything is changing and she can’t stop it. A simpler life she knew is escaping her grasp during her senior year, when she’s supposed to be preparing for the rest of her adult life. She doesn’t get that opportunity to slowly get into it, real life lessons are thrust upon her. This concept of ‘simpler times’ brought upon memories from my own childhood years where my siblings and I all still lived with our parents, and it hit me that we are now all adults (I’m the oldest, and my youngest sibling just now on the verge of leaving home). Though sufficiently sad that it warrants a box of tissues, this novel does provide levity in the form of comedic relief.

One downside of this book is that I wish Mogollon delved into the mother’s character - I really wanted her to have a sort of redemption in my reading experience. I think I just admitted i wanted the book to be longer.

I highly recommend this book. I think there’s a little something for everyone. Just prepare the tissues.

TW: unhealthy obsession with exercising + dieting, maternal control, refusing someone to be in charge of their own medical decisions

Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for an advanced reader copy. I enjoyed the book and was enthralled by the characters and the plot line. I appreciate writers of color so much.

This was an interesting book for me. I really liked the overall story, but the storytelling method was a bit exhausting. We hear this whole story as if we are listening to a one sided phone call between two sisters. Kudos for creativity and doing something original, but I did find it a little bit annoying at points. Our MC was also a bit difficult for me too. She is ultimately struggling with her relationships within her family, but I just wanted her to stand up for herself at some point. She eventually gets there, but it's a lot of whining and guilt tripping along the way. I did really like that the family is Colombian, but I wish a bit more of the culture was included in the story. There were few references outside of the mother trying to make healthier Arepas by mixing chia seeds into the masa. I did really like the discussion of how the grandmother ended up the way she was and I think her coming to terms with her life was probably the strongest part of the story. Overall, not a bad read, but not quite what I was hoping for either.

3.5 stars rounded up for the strong ending

It was the title and the cover of this book that first caught my attention, and the premise that made me want to read it. Although I had read the description, it didn't occur to me until I started reading that the whole book is like listening to one side of a phone conversation. And at first I was confused trying to figure out what was going on. But then I went back to the beginning and listened to the audio while reading along, and the combination of the audio and the font clues really helped.

This book is Luciana talking to her sister Mari on the phone, telling her about what's going on. But sometimes it's just Luciana's voice and then her response to what Mari must be responding. But other times she's quoting something that her Abue or her mother said, and Mari may or may not respond to it, but you don't hear Mari even if she does respond. It sounds a bit confusing, but the big thing is that when Luciana is quoting someone or a conversation, that part will be in italics. Often that voice will be Abue's, but it's occasionally someone else. The narrator does change her voice for that part and it definitely helps. I didn't always get a chance to read along, so I would occasionally have to backtrack to follow the story. After making my way through most of it with the combination, I would highly recommend that method of reading this book. It's a clever and unique device and it mostly works.

There were times when I got exasperated with Luciana because I felt like she was being overdramatic, but as I thought about the book, I realized that she was a teenager in high school who always struggled with academics, was being told on the one hand to work hard in school, but at the same time being given all these responsibilities for her Abue, being the black sheep for coming out, and having to do all this with her older sister and best friend being away. I honestly felt bad for her.

In the end, the ending was what made this story for me. Luciana did a LOT of growing up, but I believe that her family did as well, as they each accepted her for who she was. I loved her relationship with her Abue, and I totally cheered her on as she fought for her at the end.

Overall, I would recommend this story, but I would recommend reading along with the narration for an extra level of immersion. I thought this was a solid debut and will keep an eye out for another book by this author in the future.

I voluntarily read and reviewed an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

This is such a unique way of writing that exemplified voice in a way I hadn't seen before but showed so much dimension in all the people who don't speak that I was left in awe. Really incredible story, full of heart.

Evacuating in the face of a hurricane isn't unusual for Florida residents, but when your big sister is away at college, your grandmother is refusing to evacuate, and your mother is nostalgic for a life she didn't get to live, it feel like the world is ending—especially when you're trying to get through your senior year.

Mogollon's debut uses an unusual format: one sided phone calls, allowing us to hear only Luciana's end of the tumult. The format requires a little adjusting up front, but it's an effective way to pull the focus to Luciana, allowing us to hear what's important to her while still involving her sister, Mari. Luciana's humor really shines in this format.

As if the hurricane evacuation wasn't dramatic enough, Oye's real story begins when Luciana and her mother stop to check on Abue, her stubborn, stylish grandmother, after the threat of the hurricane has passed. Something is seriously wrong with Abue, and her subsequent health issues lead to a deluge of family secrets being spilled to her closest confidant: Luciana. Luciana is plucked from what should've been the comfort of her senior year and catapulted into generations deep, novella style family drama, leaving only the open phone line to Mari as reprieve.

Oye has a lot going for it. The phone call format does end up being very effective once you're acclimated. Luciana is sharp and funny, and Abue is so unusual and lovable that I could read a whole book focused solely on, well, anything about her. Some of the family dynamic that's so crucial to the story is a little difficult to follow when we only get brief introductions to the various players. Even Luciana and Mari's mother feels a little flat, as she's not the central focus, but she is present enough that she seems to lack something. The pacing of the conclusion also felt a bit on the rushed side, though I did appreciate the focus being on the more interesting midpoint of the story. Overall, a fun debut with a lot of promise.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the ARC.

I really liked this! The only drawback for me was that it was hard to follow at first, as I didn’t realize that the book was essentially a one-sided phone call, but after I went back and reread the synopsis and a couple of reviews, the narration style clicked into place for me and I was able to follow the story much more easily. For a story with some intense subject matter, the phone call style and young narrator actually allowed a lot of humor to shine through. If you enjoy stories with family drama, you might like this one!

TW: homophobia, family member in poor health, cancer, family abuse

The entire novel takes place as a one-sided phone conversation over about a year between Luciana and her older sister Mari. During this time the reader is taken through a family crisis through Luciana’s eyes; both sisters are members of a Colombian immigrant family living in Miami. Mari is away at school and Luciana is trying to live her true self as a gay teen in a conservative family when her beloved grandmother falls ill and she feels that Mari is avoiding the family and therefore not supporting Luciana when she needs her most. As the only voice of reason at home, Luciana is required to step up and in doing so, also learns the somewhat strange family history and shares what she knows with Mari through these phone calls.

I am very torn on this novel; I really did not enjoy the format, it was written in this new angry yelling genre that I just cannot get into. That being said, if you pull out the yelling and the anger, there was a beautiful family drama/story underneath. I always appreciate a new type of literary mechanism and had it been done without this patent anger I could have enjoyed the narrative and format but there is this wave of storytelling recently and personally, and yes this is a personal preference, I don’t want to be yelled at while I read a book. If you are ok with this (and I am sure many people will love the creativity), you will enjoy it because I did love the family history part and the relationship between Luciana and her grandmother (and the grandmother character was wonderful) - it was the format that I just couldn’t get past.

3.5 stars

Oye tells the story of Luciana and her family, via her phone calls to her absent sister, Mari. When her grandmother faces new health problems, Luciana processes it (along with some newly discovered information about her family) by way of phone calls to Mari.

I liked the idea behind the mode of storytelling; however, the "phone calls" read more like casual but overly descriptive first-person narration. There was no space left for the reader to fill in what the person on the other end of the line would have said. I got a feel for Luciana, her abuela, and to some extent her mother; I don't really have any idea who Mari is beyond a college student who isn't home.

Overall, this book was decent, but didn't quite hit the spot for me.

Thank you to NetGalley and Hogarth Books/Random House for the ARC.

It took me a little while to acclimate to the structure of the narrative - the entire story is told via a one-sided phone call between a high school senior and her absent older sister. Once I got used to the format I was able to sink into the story a little better and really enjoyed it. It's the story of a family, specifically the women centering on the relationship between a grandmother and her the granddaughter telling the tales. The family is Colombian-American and the grandmother emigrated from a hard life in Colombia. As the story unfolds both granddaughters, present and from afar learn more about their grandmother and what circumstances made her who she was and both learn somethings about themselves along the way. This family is vibrant and funny and feel so real! You will laugh, cry, and possibly want to punch certain characters a times.
I think given the style of storytelling this could be really well done on audio.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an eARC in return for a fair and honest review.

If you are in need of an audiobook, Oye should be on your radar. Listening to Oye is like listening to one very long, very dramatic, very endearing, sometimes very sad, but heartwarming voicemail. We listen to Luciana call her older sister for 336 pages or 9 hours and wow did I love this format choice. It took me a moment to get my bearings, but this coming of age family saga with telenovela vibes grabbed me from the jump.

To me, this is perfect summer reading. Engaging, quick, light, but also emotionally resonant. A fantastic debut I hope many of you add to your TBRs, but do note this does deal with a family membering going through a serious illness, so it is not all rainbows and sunshine. Thank you to @jcgren for sharing your love widely of this, and inspiring me to pick it up.

I liked the idea of this novel, told through one side of a cell phone conversation while the main character drove through Florida with her grandmother on the run from a hurricane. While it had many funny moments, in practice I found the story was a bit hard to follow.

Overall, this book had a great cast of characters and was laugh out loud funny in parts. I also loved the Spanish that was sprinkled throughout the book.

I'd recommend this for folks who like stories that you have to work a bit to understand. And people who love to laugh.

I loved this book! The story telling format was really interesting (through the phone call) and I loved the sweeping family novel and in depth characters.

This was so funny. I loved the Latina aspect of this story, I felt like I was watching a telenovela comedy series. Luciana and her abuela but heads a lot but her abuela get a serious medical diagnosis and it brings the two closer. loved it!

I loved the story of a large Columbian/American family. Very unusual presentation of the story in lots of phone calls. Story of a grandmother and granddaughter and their amazing bond.

Oye is one of those rare combinations of interesting non-traditional style plus amazing execution. It's written as a one sided phone call which is such a unique idea, but also really hard to pull off while actually telling a well developed story and Mongollon nailed it. Oye feels like being instantly transported into someone else's life. It's so personal and urgent without being overly internal or self indulgent. This combination of style and premise work so well and I couldn't put it down. I read on my e-reader but I can imagine it would also be great as an audiobook.

I'm looking forward to reading more from Mongollon in the future. Her storytelling and character development are beautifully done and the managed to feel so real. It was like sitting at cafe and the chisme at the next table is so good you can't imagine getting up to leave. Highly recommended.