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A Novel
by Melissa Mogollon
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.
"Yes, hi, Mari. It's me. I'm over my tantrum now and calling you back ... But first—you have to promise that you won't tell Mom or Abue any of this. Okay? They'll set the house on fire if they find out ..."
Structured as a series of one-sided phone calls from our spunky, sarcastic narrator, Luciana, to her older sister, Mari, this wildly inventive debut "jump-starts your heart in the same way it piques your ear" (Xochitl Gonzalez). As the baby of her large Colombian American family, Luciana is usually relegated to the sidelines. But now she finds herself as the only voice of reason in the face of an unexpected crisis: A hurricane is heading straight for Miami, and her eccentric grandmother, Abue, is refusing to evacuate. Abue is so one-of-a-kind she's basically in her own universe, and while she often drives Luciana nuts, they're the only ones who truly understand each other. So when Abue, normally glamorous and full of life, receives a shocking medical diagnosis during the storm, Luciana's world is upended.
When Abue moves into Luciana's bedroom, their complicated bond intensifies. Luciana would rather be skating or sneaking out to meet girls, but Abue's wild demands and unpredictable antics are a welcome distraction for Luciana from her misguided mother, absent sister, and uncertain future. Forced to step into the role of caretaker, translator, and keeper of the devastating family secrets that Abue begins to share, Luciana suddenly finds herself center stage, facing down adulthood—and rising to the occasion.
As Luciana chronicles the events of her disrupted senior year of high school over the phone to Mari, Oye unfolds like the most fascinating and entertaining conversation you've ever eavesdropped on: a rollicking, heartfelt, and utterly unique novel that celebrates the beauty revealed and resilience required when rewriting your own story.
"Mogollon also manages to convey the fierce love that binds the women across generations...[She] wows with tenderness and uproarious profanity." —Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"Mogollon's fresh, ebullient narrator is at once irreverent and caring, anxious about the future but eager to embrace adulthood, fearful of loss and filled with love...A sprightly debut." —Kirkus Reviews
"Luciana's emotional journey to self-acceptance, via the many trials she encounters, is compelling. The unique structure of the novel and its emotional and often hilarious dialogue will appeal to all audiences." —Library Journal
"A smart, wildly inventive, and funny tale that's both heartbreaking and heartwarming." —Booklist
"... Mogollon's inventive debut novel is a unique coming of age story about uncovering family secrets and the secrets of the self." —Electric Literature
"A swoon-worthy family saga that will make you fall in love with the characters. It's a reminder that though life can drag you down, there is hope lurking around every corner." —Debutiful
"If listening in on a stranger's animated phone call sounds like your idea of entertainment, you'll be hooked ..." —Reader's Digest
This information about Oye was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Melissa Mogollon holds an MFA in fiction from the Iowa Writers' Workshop and a BA from the George Washington University. Originally from Colombia and raised in Florida, she now teaches at a boarding school in Rhode Island, where she lives with her partner and dog. Oye is her first novel.
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