Olga Dies Dreaming

By Xochitl Gonzalez

Olga Dies Dreaming - Xochitl Gonzalez
  • Release Date: 2022-01-04
  • Genre: Fiction & Literature
Score: 4
4
From 299 Ratings

Description

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER A NEW YORK TIMES NOTABLE BOOK · WINNER OF THE BROOKLYN PUBLIC LIBRARY PRIZE • INTERNATIONAL LATINO BOOK AWARD FINALIST

A blazing talent debuts with the tale of a status-driven wedding planner grappling with her social ambitions, absent mother, and Puerto Rican roots—all in the wake of Hurricane Maria

NAMED ONE OF THE BEST BOOKS OF THE YEAR: Kirkus, Washington Post, TIME, NPR, Vogue, Esquire, Book Riot, Goodreads, EW, Reader's Digest, and more!

"Don’t underestimate this new novelist. She’s jump-starting the year with a smart romantic comedy that lures us in with laughter and keeps us hooked with a fantastically engaging story."The Washington Post

It's 2017, and Olga and her brother, Pedro “Prieto” Acevedo, are boldfaced names in their hometown of New York. Prieto is a popular congressman representing their gentrifying Latinx neighborhood in Brooklyn, while Olga is the tony wedding planner for Manhattan’s power brokers.

Despite their alluring public lives, behind closed doors things are far less rosy. Sure, Olga can orchestrate the love stories of the 1 percent but she can’t seem to find her own. . . until she meets Matteo, who forces her to confront the effects of long-held family secrets.

Olga and Prieto’s mother, Blanca, a Young Lord turned radical, abandoned her children to advance a militant political cause, leaving them to be raised by their grandmother. Now, with the winds of hurricane season, Blanca has come barreling back into their lives.

Set against the backdrop of New York City in the months surrounding the most devastating hurricane in Puerto Rico’s history, Xochitl Gonzalez’s Olga Dies Dreaming is a story that examines political corruption, familial strife, and the very notion of the American dream—all while asking what it really means to weather a storm.

Reviews

  • Too much politics

    3
    By Mcb717
    Would have been a good book, but the author threw in too much of her political views about the U.S. and the president at the time. The story could have done without the “politics” and just showed the people who became successful in spite of their obstacles. She also could have made the book more about the people keeping the culture and their traditions in spite of, not because of what was happening around them. Fiction or Non-Fiction? Not sure what the author was trying to accomplish.
  • Someone stop the white woke madness

    1
    By gbet2002
    As a first generation Puerto Rican American I am embarrassed by this book. This book can only be described as white woke liberal garbage and that’s coming from a “woke liberal”.
  • Authentic. Readable. A great read!

    5
    By Liv Arias
    I couldn’t put it down and looking forward to more from the author.
  • Enthralling Story

    5
    By mcruzing
    This story hooked me from the get go. I couldn’t put it down!
  • Xochitl Gonzalez

    5
    By Msnsgxhxhsbdbsbsba
    I was looking to read a Latina.Woman.Writer for Women’s History Month, and I found her! I love Xochitl’s voice as a writer. I can feel the emotion, and experience in her novel Olga Dies Dreaming; I can’t wait to read more from her.
  • Spectacular

    5
    By purpellie
    The topics discussed in this book are SUPER IMPORTANT. This story was about breaking cycles, overcoming trauma, and coming to terms with your true self and your identity. I was fully invested in all the characters, and despised MANY. Overall, this story made me feel seen as a first gen Latina and I couldn’t put it down. Amazing
  • Amazing. Beautiful.

    5
    By Sagbk
    A beautiful book.
  • Well Done

    4
    By juliusa
    Eye-opening book that quickly moves into important ideas after starting as something else . Be prepared. Fast moving, great characterizations, real. Superb,y done. Some of the dialogue a bit stilted, it not enough to birth the overall effect. A shocker. Highly recommended.
  • Loved it

    2
    By Alasdoradas
    This is a book that’s hard to put down. The characters and the plot are always in motion and I find myself wanting to continue reading even though I have to stop to sleep or drive my kids to karate. Couldn’t have loved a new read more
  • Loved this book!

    5
    By Beth Ralta
    Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillan Audio for the advanced copy of this audiobook. I am leaving this review voluntarily. • In Olga Dies Dreaming, you get a birds-eye view into the Acevedo siblings’ lives. Olga and Prieto’s stories weave back and forth between 2017 Brooklyn and through letters their mother wrote them after she disappeared when Olga was only 13, to fight for revolution and Puerto Rico’s independence. Olga is a wedding planner for rich people with too much money, and Prieto is a US representative. In 2017, Hurricane Maria hits, and their mother, Blanca, also appears back in their lives. • Olga Dies Dreaming is extremely character-driven, which I love, because I really felt like I got to know both Olga and Prieto throughout the book. I can definitely see this being one of my top reads of 2022. • An excellent novel by Xochitl Gonzalez, and it’s hard to believe it’s a debut. The narrators were also incredible. Kudos to Almarie Guerra, Armando Riesco, and Inés del Castillo.