The storyline of this novel is told mostly through telephone conversations between Luciana, a high school senior, and her sister Mari, who is away at college. Even though the reader can only read Luciana’s side of their talks, it is fairly easy to discern aspects of both women’s personalities. Their conversations illustrate lots of family drama, including a health crisis and a hurricane, and Luciana’s close relationship with her eccentric grandmother, Abue. Because of this novel’s unique narrative structure, it is a bit daunting and takes some time to get used to. Nonetheless, it provides the reader with a lively and engaging tale.

I wasn't sure what to expect from this book. It is told in a unique format, through phone calls between two sisters. I was surprised when it didn't take me as long to get used to it as I thought. The author skillfully weaves a tale with amazing character arcs and backstories all through these one-sided calls, because we only get Luciana's POV and not her sister Mari's on the other end of the phone.

Luciana is the youngest child in a Colombian-American family. There is a lot of family drama. It's very entertaining and telenovela/soap opera. I enjoyed the grandmother Abue the most. She was often laugh-out-loud funny. The story, while full of entertaining drama, was so heartfelt. I was thoroughly invested. If you are looking for a book with a unique way of storytelling, pick this one up!

Unfortunately, I did not care for this style of writing at all. I love the concept of it, but in practice, I was annoyed by the main character and slightly confused at times. I felt like the bulk of the book was just complaining and to be frank, I lost interest early on. I definitely appreciate the unique storytelling, but I think the story was just not for me.

"Oye" by Melissa Mogollon

Thank you to NetGalley and Hogarth for allowing me to read this work prior to its publication date.

Luciana is queer, overweight, her mother is over-bearing, her sister and father are absent and her grandmother is a gorgeous but unrealistic woman who won't budge during a hurricane. When the hurricane blows over their hometown, Luciana and her mother go to her grandmother's home to find her deeply ill. This sets off a chain of events that leads to Nana (Luciana) being her grandmother's confidante, advocate and unlikely best friend. This book is told in an unconventional format, as it seems to take place through phone calls to nana's sister Mari, who is away at college and distancing herself from the family. This book affirmed how women live in a totally different family than the men they're related to, with wildly different expectations. The father is maintaining the family farm and largely absent, so are the uncles and brothers. The ending was deeply moving and this is a solid read if you can get used to the innovative structure.

Oye is the debut novel by Melissa Mogollon. It was written in an unusual way - the entire novel was one side of Luciana’s, an 18 year old girl, phone conversations with her sister Mari.

The story opens with Luciana and her mother evacuating from Florida due to Hurricane Irma. Eventually they return home to learn that her grandmother is ill. The remainder of the novel explores Luciana and Abue’s relationship and we learn a lot about both. The story is good but I found the style to be somewhat confusing and limiting.

Thanks to NetGalley, the author and Random House for the opportunity to read this digital ARC.

I was excited to read this book but was disappointed when I did. The one sided conversation for me became annoying and difficult to read.

I love coming-of-age stories, so I was drawn to this one - and look at that beautiful cover!

But I must be honest: This one didn't work for me. The story is narrated as phone calls between Luciana and her older sister, but these conversations are one-sided. I'm usually up for unique and creative formatting, but here, it felt unbalanced, with everything blended together, which caused some confusion.

The story has moments of humor and family drama that I could see some readers enjoying. I think her Abue (grandmother) is the best character here and with a tragic backstory. Unfortunately, the rest felt like a vent session on many topics. Luciana just felt like an angry teen who was mad at everyone—and I'm not sure how many times she said OMG, but it was too many.




Thank you @randomhouse and @netgalley for the gifted ebook.
Thank you PRHaudio for the gifted audiobook.



Thank you @randomhouse @netgalley and @PRHaudio for the gifted copy of Oye.

This is one of the most beautiful book covers I've ever seen...

The format is beyond unique…a series of one sided phone conversations by the main character, Luciana to her older sister. This I thought was totally fresh and fun! Once you get a handle on the format you almost couldn’t imagine the story being told any other way!

Now the content is a fickle one... lots of humor and lots of heartbreak. It’s heavy and I was not prepared for the road our main girl Luciana is about to go down with her and her Abue. Due to content there was multiple times I thought about setting it aside, and I’m so glad I buckled up and just went along with it. These characters will be floating around my head I’m sure for some time. If you’re looking for something inventive that is a coming of age plus a dash of family drama! I highly recommend picking up Oye!

Thank you Hogarth & PRH Audio
Releases 5/14

Follow me on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/Lyon.brit.Andthebookshelf/

This was a good book. I gave it a 4* because I got lost in parts. It did have a good storyline, so it could have been just me. I would still recommend this book to my family and friends.

Unfortunately I cannot bring myself to finish this beautiful book with a fascinating plot. The structure is one-sided phone conversations (fun idea!) but there is little indication of who is speaking or with whom. There are no punctuation marks. I was so lost right from the start and could not figure out what’s going on in this story that I will need to set it down. For the right reader, Oye promises to be a fresh, engaging story- enjoy!

Thank you netgalley and the publisher for this arc in exchange for an honest review.

A uniquely written novel that has moments of lightness within a family facing a cancer diagnosis for the grandmother. Written as a one-sided phone conversation between teen/young adult sisters, it reveals a strange family history and the struggle to grow into a happy adult. The actual story was quite entertaining but I was regularly confused about whose voice was saying what.

Thanks to NetGalley and Hogarth Press for the ARC to read and review.

I loved the writing and the main character and the grandma. The story was funny yet depressing at the same time and I love books like that.

A moving, hilarious family saga related in a one-sided phone conversation between and stressed and grieving high school senior and her sister.

Are you a fan of gossip and eavesdropping on conversations? If yes, this book was absolutely made for you! A hilarious, authentic, and raw read that is part coming-of-age story and part family saga, all through the lens of the youngest member of a Colombian-American family named Luciana. The book is written in the second person POV completely through phone calls from Luciana to her older sister, Mari. The writing style was so unique and felt like I was chatting with a friend. As a first generation Latina, I really related to Luciano’s woes and this made me want to grab my grandma and give her a big ol hug.

Highly recommend to fans of coming of age stories and family dramas that enjoy a fresh writing style. Eager to read from Mogollon.

I enjoyed my time reading Oye by Melissa Mogollon. It's a great coming of age story and enjoyed that it was told through phone calls between sisters. There were moments where I felt that the story lagged and it could have been shortened but overall, it was still an enjoyable read.

This book was a difficult one to read. The story was told mostly as phone calls between two sisters, Luciana and Mari. It was difficult to figure out who was doing the talking and what they were even talking about. When the story involved interactions between Luciana and other characters, it was difficult to determine who she was talking to or even follow the thread of the story.
I did not enjoy this book and cannot recommend it.

Thanks to NetGalley for the advance copy of Oye. I wish I could say I loved it but, alas, it just wasn’t for me. Centered on Luciana and her family, it’s told in a very unique style—one-sided phone conversations. Luciana, a high school senior, and her mother are in the car traveling through the South to outrun Hurricane Irma. Her sister is at college in the North. And grandmother, Abue, determinedly stayed home in Florida despite the oncoming storm. When Abue lands in the hospital, the story explores all the family dynamics. All of the dialogue and story are conveyed through Luciana’s sides of phone conversations. While interesting, I found it to be terribly confusing and, after a while tedious. I had hoped by Part 2 the format would change. It was not and I ultimately gave up on the book. It didn’t work for me despite the fact that I found the characters and relationships interesting and enjoyed the humor. I am clearly in the minority and can see why so many love the book.

Luciana’s monologue is presented through phone calls to her sister, Mari, who is away at college. She rants and raves about her life with their mother and grandmother. After an exhausting auto trip attempt to escape a hurricane, she ends up in Florida at a hospital where her grandmother is diagnosed with cancer. From this event the reader along with Luciana discovers her grandmother’s very sad history. Melissa Mogollon’s characters are lovable and humorous, but her style is distracting. The use of italics to designate specific conversations is confusing at times and the monologue is repetitious. I found it difficult to maintain interest in the storyline. Despite my reservations, however, I am sure there is an audience for this work.

I received an ARC of this novel from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

A coming of age story about a young woman's senior year of high school and literal and figurative storms in her life. The novel is told through a series of phone calls between Luciana and her old sister who is away at college.

I was intrigued by the premise of Oye, but I found it ultimately fell a little flat. The voice and presentation of the story are so unique and interesting, but I felt it was a struggle to keep up with the details of the plot (maybe that's just on me, though. The second half of the book really shone. Luciana is a charming protagonist, and her relationships with her family are what kept me coming back to these pages. I'm sure this book will find its readership - and I did like it, don't get me wrong, but just not as much as I would've hoped. I think the format just felt too gimmicky and distracting - I think I would've loved this a lot more if it were told in a more straightforward or traditional way.