Who doesn’t love eavesdropping on interesting conversations? With Melissa Mongollon’s incredible novel, Oye, you can immerse yourself in some scandalous family history (and present), without fear of being caught.
In Oye, Melissa Mongollon has created a vivid, fascinating, and emotional world through several one-sided phone conversations between Luciana and her older sister, Mari. Mari has gone to college, leaving Luciana to navigate the drama of her Colombian American family.
Luciana’s Abuela, Abue, receives devastating health news, sending the family into a spiral. Abue heavily resists a visit from her sister, provoking Luciana’s interest in her family’s history. Years of heartache unfold, and Luciana reports back to an indifferent Mari. And at the same time, Luciana is dealing with her health-conscious mother’s jabs at her weight, and a crush on a cute bartender.
Once I started reading Oye, I could not stop. Luciana is a wonderful character, and the story keeps unfolding in a gorgeous way. It was like sitting down with one of my particularly animated friends. I can imagine the audiobook of Oye will be amazing. The ending made me weep; it is just perfect.
Oye is an utterly unique, incredibly special novel that brought me so much joy. I look forward to revisiting this one as often as I can.
Oye is available now! Go grab it from your local bookstore or library.
Thanks to Hogarth for the ARC.
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