I received this book for free from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.
Olga Dies Dreaming by Xóchitl González
Narrator: Almarie Guerra, Inés del Castillo, Armando Riesco
Pages: 12
Published by Macmillan Audio
Publication Date January 11, 2022
Source: Netgalley
Goodreads
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
It's 2017, and Olga and her brother, Pedro "Prieto" Acevedo, are bold-faced 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 powerbrokers.
Despite their alluring public lives, behind closed doors things are far less rosy. Sure, Olga can orchestrate the love stories of the 1%, 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...
Twenty-seven years ago, their 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, 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 Done Quick
At first, I thought I was in for a light-hearted novel ala Jennifer Lopez’s The Wedding Planner. However, it took a quick serious turn and drew me in almost immediately. Xóchitl González’s writing is lyrical and with the combination of the audiobook’s narration, I found myself listening to parts over again. Olga Dies Dreaming is an enriching novel that was easy to get lost in.
Nice review. Interesting that it’s about Hurricane Maria, it was so devastating.