Oye by Melissa Mogollon is such a delight! I consumed this coming-of-age story in just a single reading session and laughed, cried, and just got lost in Luciana’s world. Told via one-way phone conversation, this unique setup allows you to become immersed in the stress and levity that Luciana feels as she faces a family full of hilarious quirks and a challenging time in her life.

Many thanks to #netgalley #hogarth and the author for an #arc in exchange for an honest review. This book is set to publish in May 2024.

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This was an unexpected good story filled with invigorating emotions.

Abue is someone to love. She’s Luciana’s 75-year-old grandmother who doesn’t miss a beat. She’s goes after what she wants and her family is there to support her with lots of love. It starts with Hurricane Irma in 2017 in Florida with a storm that was unpredictable. They needed to get out but Abue wasn’t about to go anywhere. All those southern coastal readers get it.

The plot has twists that I didn’t see coming. It makes it a fast, engaging story with family history that makes Abue the person she has become. She was an immigrant from Columbia and the reader knows that life couldn’t have been easy for her with an environment filled with overpowering men.

While it’s exciting to read in many ways, the first chapter was like entering a foreign country where the language is confusing. It was a struggle until I read other reviews and figured out the format. Once I went back to reread the first part, it was fine. But it would have been great to have a “head’s up” on this type of conversation in the book without any quotes. It’s like the author wanted her characters to be free – free from a past that was unsettling.

My thanks to Hogarth Books and NetGalley for allowing me to read an advanced copy of this book with an expected release date of May 14, 2014.

Luciana's senior year is going to kill her. Her GPA is in the toilet, her mother won't let her come out, and now Hurricane Irma is going to flatten Florida. Her mom wants to use the evacuation as an excuse to tour America, while her spitfire abuela refuses to evacuate at all. To help her cope, Luciana phones her big sister Mari to vent. The novel consists entirely of a transcription of Luciana's side of these calls. Then, her Abue's health crisis cranks the family drama up to eleven. Old secrets come pouring out, with results both heart-rending and side-splitting. Thanks, Netgalley.

Unfortunately, this one just wasn't for me. While I loved the unique idea of telling the story through one-sided phone calls, I wasn't able to suspend my disbelief enough. Throughout the whole reading process, I was distracted by my own thoughts of, "No one talks like this on the phone." She would just conveniently give her sister a ton of context so that the reader wouldn't be kept in the dark. And while the context is helpful, it doesn't make any sense to deliver it this way.

This book is written as phone conversations between sisters but you only hear (read) one side. It takes a bit to get used to the style but once I did it read very quickly and it has so much heart. A story of family care taking, forgiveness,and love.

Initially, the format of this book was a little confusing to me and took a little getting used to. It wasn't until about chapter 4-5 where I was HOOKED and could NOT PUT THIS BOOK DOWN!! Also - I absolutely LOVED the little "icons" used for each chapter it was such a cute little feature!

I really enjoyed reading the book from Luciana’s perspective and reading about her experiences with her family as the younger sister who seemed to feel like she was left behind by her older sister. Even though the way the book is written can take a bit of time and having to re-read to get used to - all of the characters felt very real especially since we get to know them a bit more throughout each chapter.

I did also have some questions throughout the book like - What is Mari's perspective?, Did she ever engage in the conversations with Luciana but that dialogue just wasn't included (because this was starting to make me think wow is Mari so heartless she never responds to her sister)?, What happens to Abue after? Would there be another book from Luciana perspective when she's older (and about how she dealt with the passing of Abue)? Does Luciana tell the world Abue's story and what happened to her - do people believe it or does her story die with her?

The format kind of threw me off. Lots of family drama. Bold characters, and good family dynamics. But I found it hard to read.

Thanks NetGalley for this ARC.

This one is a character driven novel if I’ve ever read a character driven novel. After reading this, I feel like I know this family and I feel better off for that. This is a debut and it does read like a debut at times, but I will definitely pick up Mogollon’s future books too!

Luciana is 18 years old and figuring out life as she is going to be graduating high school, close to be considered an adult.
After having lived in Miami for several years and working in schools it reminds me how living in Miami is far from easy, even complicated many times.
Family drama as we only get one side of the phone conversations as Luciana talks to her sister Mari.
A story of finding oneself while dealing with secrets and a health crisis in the family.

Thank k you NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group for the opportunity to read this book.

Oye is fun. It’s told as a mostly one-sided conversation between high-school aged Luciana and her college-aged, (very much NOT at home) older sister Mari. The format is a little confusing, especially in the beginning, but after I got the hang of it, this book made me laugh and smile.

Luciana is gay. It’s important, but not central to the theme. She’s Colombiana, and that is also important, but not central. Luciana’s grandmother, Abue, is dying and Luciana is devastated. Abue is her favorite person. And Abue is so damn likeable, described as “imagine a bull. In the body of a butterfly.” Abue is 75 and obsessed with looking and feeling younger. Flirting. Wearing mesh. Getting plastic surgery. The way her character is described is both entirely incredible and believable.

And yes, Mari is away at college and Luciana is feeling abandoned. Luciana is taking on too much weight and the world feels heavy and hard. So we see her struggle via her conversations with her family.

This book is sweet, funny, and mostly easy reading (again, format can be confusing at times). If the format strengthens in the final edition, I think it could easily get a higher rating from me. Nonetheless, recommended. Thanks to the publisher and NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Some fun notes:
It’s like she had blinders on your entire teenagehood. And instead, I get fucking binoculars.

Sometimes I wonder if they make high school so bad so you do anything BUT stay. Yes, Mari. I still even hate English class. That one is never going to change. Because, dude! They have us reading things like The Handmaid’s Tale!

No, she’s lying! She just hates doctors. That’s not true … She loves plastic surgeons. Those are different. She needs them.

I just wish that Abue still had that same slutty goth style now. Looking like the daughter of Morticia Addams and Celia Cruz.

But now, what? Dad just gets to leave and avoid the fallout? While Mom cries like a helpless baby by the stairs? After letting this bomb with hair and legs waltz in here? Fuck that. I’m not the freaking feelings janitor.

So I reasonably tried proposing Kohl’s—the freaking Switzerland of department stores—but Abue shot me down by saying, What the heck am I supposed to buy there? Everything is cozy and full-length.

This book took a little getting used to the format is essentially phone transcript between characters and at first it felt a bit chaotic. Once finding the books rhythm I enjoyed this coming of age soapy drama.

I see in the synopsis it described as a telenovela and that is an apt point. I loved the way these characters interacted they were vivid and fun and came right off the page.

While I did struggle in structure I do think this will make a fabulous full cast audiobook .

Thank you NetGalley and Hogarth for the ARC all opinions are my own.

I went into this book with no expectations and I loved it!! A very coming of age book, easily enjoyable for me! And can I say how much I can relate to the characters when it comes to their conversations and their whole family dynamic lol!! Such a great read, I can’t wait to actually have a physical copy on my book shelf! First time reading from this author and I can’t wait to read more! Definitely recommend this book! Thank you Random House for allowing me to read and review this wonderful book!

What makes this book great is how EXHAUSTING IT IS.

Hear me out: we are witnessing a young girl’s life, through one sided phone calls, littered with “dude” and “do you even care?” Which certainly feels like something we can relate to. Young teenage girls are exhausting. Sibling dynamics are exhausting. This book IS EXHAUSTING. And in that, is the magic. It is laugh out loud funny at times, purely young and sweet, and just like a teen girl’s mood swings, a little bit bitchy.

I loved this book. I loved the format, the message and the ingenuity it took to write. I did balance this one out with a non fiction when teenage life got to be a bit much, but oh man what a good story. Loved it.

Definitely a coming of age novel, delving into the intricacies of life thrown at Luciana and Abue. Luciana learns about why Abue is the way she is and learns life lessons along the way. A refreshing, interesting read.

First of all, I was very excited to read 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.

2 stars.

Oh, did this book make me laugh out loud! It’s unique in that it’s told from the perspective of a one-sided phone conversation between Luciana and her sister. Mogollon draws you in with never ending drama and sass as Luciana learns how to navigate familial relationships and how to deal with everything life throws at her. A very heartwarming and entertaining read.

This has been published to GoodReads on Mar 5, 2024.

Oye by Melissa Mogollon

Thank you to publishers at Random House for the chance to read “Oye” by Melissa Mogollon.

What a gem of a book.

As another Made In Dade Miamian that no longer lives in Florida, this book hit me on a deeper level than most others. It’s rare to find a book that just understands how wonderful, weird, gorgeous, and deeply complicated a place like Miami, FL is - especially for queer latines - and this is merely the backdrop of story about something even more complex: families and generational trauma.

Luciana Dominguez is an 18 year old figuring out life as an about to be high school graduate. She is also juggling relationships with the most important women in her life - her grandmother, her mom, and her sister - as they navigate a huge upheaval in their family life after hurricane Irma.

Told from the perspective of Luciana calling her sister to fill her in on what happened, “Oye” delves into some serious topic while also being laugh out loud funny. I truly looked WILD on these NYC trains because I kept giggling at Luciana’s razor sharp jokes and back-and-forths with her family.

This book manages to do all of that while also being a love letter to Latina matriarchs and other women who exasperate us. Abue is likely based on some IRL abuelitas and tias, and yet she’s one of a kind. Iconic. Irreplaceable. “Oye” understands that to be loved and raised by these women is no easy task and yet, it’s why we love them so dearly. It’s why so many immigrant kids grow up to immortalize their abuelas in our stories we pass down.

“Oye” feels like that story for Mogollon, and will with me for a very, very long time. Can’t wait to see what Melissa Mogollon writes next.

I'm not really sure how to rate this book. The story itself was a really good coming of age story about a young girl coming to terms with her family and the loss of the dynamic she had as a child. It's a period of loss, change, and growth.

However, I couldn't get over the style. The entire thing is one side of phone calls between the protagonist and her older sister who is away at college. There are random interjections of flashbacks that are differentiated by italics. It took way too long for me really to get used to the style and figure out exactly what was going on.

The experimental style just didn't land for me, but if you're up for that, the story was really good.

When I started this book, I was extremely confused because I didn’t understand how the story was being told. But then once I got used to it, it was wonderful. I really appreciated the fact that it was conversational and funny and real.

I loved hearing about Abue and her family and her life. Although most was sad, she was definitely a character.

I wish more of Mari’s absence could have been fleshed out but I guess it’s really hard to do that without her POV or talking.

I thought we would see Abue make it to Colombia and I was sad to not see that part of it.

I requested to read and review this book for free from Hogarth an Imprint of Random House Publishing Company. This story is a one sided phone conversation with Luciana with her mom, her sister Mari, and Abue. This storyline has lots of drama and some mystery. This has lots of family dynamics that people go through in life. When a family member gets sick it will affect everyone but maybe some more then others. Secrets have a way of coming out. When is it ok to push someone to do more for their health vs. Letting them make the decision they want to even if you don't agree. Luciana has a typical teenage relationship with her mom. When she needs the other people on her life that she doesn't feel are their for her. What we will she do and how does she respond. This is for a mature reader but can be read anywhere.