Olga Dies Dreaming by Xochitl Gonzalez

Summary: 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.

Condition: Pre-owned, like new condition

My Personal Review: SPOILERS. This book was either frustrating me or boring me. I unfortunately never got to like Olga or really understand her. I was disappointed that she was dishonest in her business. I was frustrated when the hurricane hit and she was obsessively watching the news and crying all day but not taking any kind of action. Why not fly down with your brother and help? So many of the issues surrounding Puerto Rico, Brooklyn etc just came out so “whiny” instead of educational / introspective. This was a really big miss. Her entire relationship with Dick was cringey as fuck. Olga deciding to work with the Russian mafia after her epiphany about finding herself etc. What? Matteo happens to be rich and saving the neighborhood. Haha okay. Why is there so much happening?

The mother’s letters were so frustrating because she was such a hypocrite. She was disappointed with her children’s choices but yet left them behind instead of raising them to have her values. She fell in love with and admired her husband for being in the US military?! That doesn’t make any sense for her character. There were so many little things that annoyed me with her character.

Most of all - I was disappointed to not have learned or taken anything away from this book and I know there is SO much to learn.