Quick Synopsis – A coming-of-age comedy. A telenovela-worthy drama. A moving family saga. All in a phone call you won’t want to hang up on…

A young woman reckons with her rowdy, unpredictable family and the revelation of their long-buried history in this wildly inventive debut.

Song This Reminds Me Of – Despacito by Luis Fonsi (one of the characters is singing this in the beginning of the book and it got stuck in my head)

Release Date – May 14, 2024

Content Warnings – There is mention of child emotional abuse, cancer, homophobia, child abandonment, and incest (off page, not graphic).

Rating – 3 out of 5 stars ⭐

Review – First, I loved the way this story was framed as a phone call between sisters. It was inventive and fun; it also made you feel like you were in on such intimate family conversations. Luciana is our narrator as she deals with her grandmother’s cancer diagnosis and how that diagnosis helps reveal more about her family history, all while Luciana is coping with coming into her own as an adult, owning her sexuality, and balancing her family.

The thing I didn’t love about this story was the flow. In the beginning, the story seems like it’s going to be more of a mother-daughter tale. However, it sharply turns into the story of generational trauma and navigating your family as the black sheep. I think the beginning of the book could have been framed differently; having Luciana and her mom fleeing Hurricane Irma made it seem like there would be some sort of reconciliation or understanding between mother and daughter at some point in the book. The relationship never does get better. I get that the theme is more that Luciana is learning not to carry the burdens of her family and embrace herself, but I didn’t like the set-up.

Oye is a wonderful story that contains layers and, despite some of the pacing issues, I really enjoyed reading this.

Thank you to Netgalley and Random House – Hogarth for the ARC. All opinions are my own.