Olga Dies Dreaming
- Downloads：5593
- Type：Epub+TxT+PDF+Mobi
- Create Date：2022-01-06 02:20:58
- Update Date：2025-09-07
- Status：finish
- Author：Xóchitl González
- ISBN：1250786177
- Environment：PC/Android/iPhone/iPad/Kindle
- Download
Summary
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。
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
Christi Flaker
，
Olga is one talented Wedding Planner。 She gets the customers the items they want， the service they demand and the event they dream of。 She also happens to line her pockets with extra products and maybe some extra cash along the way。 Olga， you see， is a complicated woman with a complicated backstory。 The child of revolutionaries， one lost too soon and one who chose the revolution over her children。 Her brother， Prieto is also a man of many faces， his main one as a Democratic Congressman in New Yo Olga is one talented Wedding Planner。 She gets the customers the items they want， the service they demand and the event they dream of。 She also happens to line her pockets with extra products and maybe some extra cash along the way。 Olga， you see， is a complicated woman with a complicated backstory。 The child of revolutionaries， one lost too soon and one who chose the revolution over her children。 Her brother， Prieto is also a man of many faces， his main one as a Democratic Congressman in New York。 What lengths will he go to keep his true identity and sexuality in the shadows？Olga and Prieto’s mother is always watching， but from where no one seems to know。 What they do know is occasionally they will get letters， often critical， that they don’t share with anyone。 We as readers get to see some of these letters interspersed within the chapters。 While Puerto Rico is being devastated by a hurricane the siblings must face their life choices。 They must face their family， friends and co-workers and decide what path they want to take going forward。This was one of my top reads of 2021。 I loved the complexity of Olga。 I loved the side-characters and I loved learning a bit about the political battles that are being waged in Puerto Rico。I alternated between listening to this book and reading a physical copy。 I loved the narration with the accents and personality and do definitely recommend the audio version if you are an audiobook lover。Thank you to Macmillan audio and NetGalley for a copy of the audiobook in exchange for an honest review。 。。。more
Brandy
，
This is the type of book you have to stick with。 I was overwhelmed with how political it was at first， but the writing was good and the political implications made sense in the last third of the book。
Susan
，
The story of Olga and her brother Prieto is about family and patriotism and really just a wonderful story about two siblings trying to do the right thing and overcome the childhood given them by a drug addict father and revolutionary mother who basically abandoned them。 That's a lot， isn't it？ But somehow this book doesn't feel pushy or self-righteous。 Instead it is a solid reflection of how we all grow up reacting to external forces and trying to balance out our own wants and desires with how t The story of Olga and her brother Prieto is about family and patriotism and really just a wonderful story about two siblings trying to do the right thing and overcome the childhood given them by a drug addict father and revolutionary mother who basically abandoned them。 That's a lot， isn't it？ But somehow this book doesn't feel pushy or self-righteous。 Instead it is a solid reflection of how we all grow up reacting to external forces and trying to balance out our own wants and desires with how the world sees us and how we want the world to see us。 I thoroughly enjoyed being immersed in their struggles and reading how they stood by each other。 While the book didn't shy away from controversy， particularly around how the US government treats Puerto Ricans （they are US citizens！！） and dealt with the hurricanes in the past decade， the book never felt preachy。 Instead it was caring and heartwarming and felt like family。Thanks to NetGalley and Flatiron Books for a copy of the book。 This review is my own opinion。 。。。more
Anna
，
Good book and good story line。 Learned a great deal about New York's immigrant communities and Puerto Rico statehood struggles。Every family has secrets and this one does too。A bit unbelievable at times but enjoyable all the same Good book and good story line。 Learned a great deal about New York's immigrant communities and Puerto Rico statehood struggles。Every family has secrets and this one does too。A bit unbelievable at times but enjoyable all the same 。。。more
Kristina Mlynarova
，
I have very mixed feelings about current politics in fiction。 On one hand， it was necessary for this story to unfold but on the other， do I really want to be reading about corruption， embezzlement and scandal when there is enough of that in my every day life？ With that being said， I really enjoyed this book because it tackled so many themes （sexuality， sexual assault， gaslighting， trying to please your parents when all they do is hurt you， etc。） very well。 Matteo and Olga's relationship was a sw I have very mixed feelings about current politics in fiction。 On one hand， it was necessary for this story to unfold but on the other， do I really want to be reading about corruption， embezzlement and scandal when there is enough of that in my every day life？ With that being said， I really enjoyed this book because it tackled so many themes （sexuality， sexual assault， gaslighting， trying to please your parents when all they do is hurt you， etc。） very well。 Matteo and Olga's relationship was a sweet subplot， I wish we could've explored their relationship a bit more。 I was a little conflicted on how to judge Blanca。 She sacrificed her familial relationships to fight for the liberation of Puerto Rico， which should be a noble cause but is it worth significantly hurting your children， making them suffer in silence？ Gonzalez certainly paints her as the bad guy but I would've liked to hear some more from her perspective。 Maybe this is purpose of her character， to get us thinking about sacrifices you make when you have a family。 。。。more
77mswoods
，
Vivid and rich details， and wonderfully different characters against a perfectly described backdrop of two very different NYCs。 Congratulations， Alicia！ So thrilled to see your name in on that gorgeous cover。 Xo
Ron Charles
，
The opening chapter of Xochitl Gonzalez’s debut novel， “Olga Dies Dreaming，” is all about napkins — wildly overpriced wedding reception napkins。That may sound like a small cloth in which to wrap a big book， but Gonzalez folds those napkins into a satire of consumer excess， an appraisal of business morality and a study of family relations。In short: 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 wi The opening chapter of Xochitl Gonzalez’s debut novel， “Olga Dies Dreaming，” is all about napkins — wildly overpriced wedding reception napkins。That may sound like a small cloth in which to wrap a big book， but Gonzalez folds those napkins into a satire of consumer excess， an appraisal of business morality and a study of family relations。In short: 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。 A Hulu pilot is already in the works starring Aubrey Plaza， and given this source material， it should be terrific。Gonzalez’s heroine is Olga Isabel Acevedo， a 40-year-old dynamo from South Brooklyn。 At a young age， Olga set her sights on success and never wavered — not when her mother abandoned her and not when her father died of AIDS。 “Every single thing she had done with her life she had figured out for herself，” Gonzalez writes。 Now as the owner of a business she built from scratch， Olga charges well-heeled women in New York， Dallas and Palm Beach a fortune to plan their weddings。 If that involves fencing liquor from Russian mobsters and overcharging brides for phantom place settings， who’s counting？ After all， as a regular guest on “Good Morning， Later，” Olga is the closest thing America has to a wedding-planner celebrity。 。 。 。 To read the rest of this review， go to The Washington Post:https://www。washingtonpost。com/books/。。。 。。。more
Drea
，
Read this one。 Culture and family and gentrification and home are tenets of this wonderful debut novel。 I learned so much about Puerto Rican culture and viscerally felt the familial push and pull the characters felt within their positions in life and in the decisions they made。 At times the plot and tangents felt like too much - it reminded me of the old fashion adage I’d get dressed and accessorize and then take off one accessory…this novel， for me， has too many accessories。 I wanted it pared d Read this one。 Culture and family and gentrification and home are tenets of this wonderful debut novel。 I learned so much about Puerto Rican culture and viscerally felt the familial push and pull the characters felt within their positions in life and in the decisions they made。 At times the plot and tangents felt like too much - it reminded me of the old fashion adage I’d get dressed and accessorize and then take off one accessory…this novel， for me， has too many accessories。 I wanted it pared down a bit。 Heartfelt thanks to Flatiron Books for the advanced copy。 I’m so grateful。 。。。more
Fern
，
Loved this thought-provoking， compelling， and ultimately uplifting story about secrets， family， politics， and the courage of self-exploration。 Hard to believe this gorgeously written novel is a debut。
Dennis
，
Xóchitl González's debut novel， Olga Dies Dreaming is one of the best character-driven novels I've read in a long time。 I usually stay away from these types of books because the plot is usually lacking， but what's really remarkable here is that González is able to weave both a character-driven story with a full featured， enjoyable plot。Our main character Olga Acevedo， is a wedding planner with a roller coaster personal life。 I won't go into too many details， but let's just say that her love Xóchitl González's debut novel， Olga Dies Dreaming is one of the best character-driven novels I've read in a long time。 I usually stay away from these types of books because the plot is usually lacking， but what's really remarkable here is that González is able to weave both a character-driven story with a full featured， enjoyable plot。Our main character Olga Acevedo， is a wedding planner with a roller coaster personal life。 I won't go into too many details， but let's just say that her love life is very intricate。 Her brother， Prieto， is a congressman in Brooklyn who is popular within the community。 Olga is doing extremely well for herself， not only in wedding planning， but also in business。 The events in Olga Dies Dreaming take place through multiple timelines， but the main timeline is the before and after of the devastation of Hurricane Maria。 During this time， Olga tries to figure out what is most important in her life， but it also gets more complicated when she meets Matteo。 This story has so many aspects to it that just continue to unfold as your turn the page。 Misogyny， sexuality， sexual assault， power dynamics between the haves and the have-nots， white privilege， racism， and family drama。 This book does not shy away from powerful topics。 I found that it was difficult to connect with the characters due to the author's form of storytelling （it comes across more of a "telling you how it's happening" rather than showing you）， but I overall enjoyed seeing Olga and her brother navigate these topics。 A major aspect of this book was the dynamic between Puerto Rico and the mainland USA， especially after Hurricane Maria。 Olga Dies Dreaming portrays an accurate and deeply saddening portrayal of the relationship of the treatment of Puerto Rico after the hurricane devastated the island and it's a part of history that we should never forget。 This book touches on Puerto Rican politics， both on the island and in the States。 The book is quite a slower paced novel than I usually tend to pick up and the ending feels a bit rushed， but I definitely think Olga Dies Dreaming is a great debut novel and would be a great television series or movie。 Time will tell！ 。。。more
Betty F
，
What a real ass book。 This book feels like a love letter to Brooklyn and Puerto Rico。 Olga feels like a prima， like someone I know。 Olga is a wedding planner and her brother Prieto is a politician and this book is set in the days leading up to Hurricane Maria and the aftermath。 Their mother is a radical lady who is stirring up a revolution in PR and the way this novel includes history and the facts of how the country has been screwed over bc of colonization was so refreshing to read。 Olga's love What a real ass book。 This book feels like a love letter to Brooklyn and Puerto Rico。 Olga feels like a prima， like someone I know。 Olga is a wedding planner and her brother Prieto is a politician and this book is set in the days leading up to Hurricane Maria and the aftermath。 Their mother is a radical lady who is stirring up a revolution in PR and the way this novel includes history and the facts of how the country has been screwed over bc of colonization was so refreshing to read。 Olga's love life had me stressed as did Prieto's decision to remain closeted and how the story shows all the reasons that led to him making that decision。 The decision to show that with the letters Olga's mom she was really warping Olga's perception of herself and those around her was so well done。 The ideals that were passed down to him and his sister by his mother were just toxic and really make for a messy family dynamic with all the tias， tios and cousins and again is just real！ Didn't care for the chapters from Dick's point of view but understand why they make up part of this story to show the complexities of the players involved in this， he and all those rich assholes were the worst！ Just a sobering reminder of how this is talking about the consequences the actions of a rich few have on the many; the gentrification， rising prices and the way class and the "American dream" can really pit us against each other instead of working together to call out the fuckery。 Glad to have read this book。Goal for this year is to read more Latinx books bc looking back I did not read as many as I thought I did。 P。S Matteo was a dream and yes for Olga。 🤟 。。。more
Casey
，
As someone grappling with the personal and political life， and the sometimes conflicting nature of the two， I felt lifted up by this book。 It offered so much more than I expected。 I loved each character and their growth and their connections to each other。 I can’t wait to read more from this author！
Emani Glee
，
The synopsis intrigued me and weirdly enough after reading the story I can’t even really describe what the book was about。 There is a lot going and not enough at the same time。 The “plot” was not focused to me， so it wasn’t an enjoyable reading experience because I couldn’t determine what the point was。 To me the story was just getting a glimpses into the messed up life of Olga。 Her dad died of aids， her mom abandoned her， her love life is trash， she hates her job， she is at odds with her brothe The synopsis intrigued me and weirdly enough after reading the story I can’t even really describe what the book was about。 There is a lot going and not enough at the same time。 The “plot” was not focused to me， so it wasn’t an enjoyable reading experience because I couldn’t determine what the point was。 To me the story was just getting a glimpses into the messed up life of Olga。 Her dad died of aids， her mom abandoned her， her love life is trash， she hates her job， she is at odds with her brother…it’s just again unfocused。 I did like the hurricane Maria history and portrayal along with the representation of how Puerto Ricans have been wronged by the American government。 Thank you to Netgally and Flatiron Books for the eARC。 。。。more
Rubies， Lilies， & Roses
，
I thoroughly enjoyed this book！ The writing is authentic and genuine to the 21st century。 I literally felt for each character and the plot captivated me！ Definitely a page turner 😊
Allison Fish
，
Happy Book Birthday to Olga Dies Dreaming！ I finished this one last night， and damn。 I’m blown away。 We’re only 4 days into January and I already have a 5⭐️ read under my belt。 Let’s hope this is a sign of things to come！Olga is a strong， educated， prototypically successful woman。 Olga’s brother， Prieto， a popular politician， also has everything going for him。 But the siblings haven’t had a perfect life - a drug addict dad who passed away from HIV， and a mother who is alive but effectively aband Happy Book Birthday to Olga Dies Dreaming！ I finished this one last night， and damn。 I’m blown away。 We’re only 4 days into January and I already have a 5⭐️ read under my belt。 Let’s hope this is a sign of things to come！Olga is a strong， educated， prototypically successful woman。 Olga’s brother， Prieto， a popular politician， also has everything going for him。 But the siblings haven’t had a perfect life - a drug addict dad who passed away from HIV， and a mother who is alive but effectively abandoned them during childhood to pursue her higher calling。 When Hurricane Maria devastates Puerto Rico， where their family is originally from， Olga and Prieto are forced to come to terms with the life they are living versus who they really are， while also coming to terms with who their mother is。 This book is heartwarming。 Heartbreaking。 Funny。 Insightful。 Inspiring。 Real。 Long story short - I can’t get enough of Olga， and I can’t wait to read more from Xochitl Gonzalez。 Thanks to Flatiron Books for the ARC！ 。。。more
Malia Tayyib
，
From my Bookstagram （IG: @SunnyLaFlor）"There was so much detail put into this book and leaves little to the imagination， which I love！ And the ENDING？？ Wow！ I kinda saw it coming， but was truly hoping for a certain character to do better by her family。 Won't spoil anything for y'all though！ If you're interested in stories surrounding family drama， politics， coming to terms with sexuality， the unconventional love story， and fiction books based on true events， this book is perfect for you！ I will From my Bookstagram （IG: @SunnyLaFlor）"There was so much detail put into this book and leaves little to the imagination， which I love！ And the ENDING？？ Wow！ I kinda saw it coming， but was truly hoping for a certain character to do better by her family。 Won't spoil anything for y'all though！ If you're interested in stories surrounding family drama， politics， coming to terms with sexuality， the unconventional love story， and fiction books based on true events， this book is perfect for you！ I will say that there are some parts that are a bit like fillers， but overall， it's a great read！"More on my IG！ 。。。more
Julith Perry
，
I had the chance to listen to it early， the audiobook itself is great and it’s a very emotional book。 Please make sure that you seek out reviews from Puerto Rican folks， their voices are really important and we should listen。
Reference
google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Olga Dies Dreaming
hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Olga Dies Dreaming&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft
The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Olga Dies Dreaming&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0