Una joven lidia con su impredecible familia y con la revelación de su historia familiar, largo tiempo enterrada, en este debut tremendamente inventivo que se lee como una historia sobre la madurez en versión cómic, una telenovela y una conmovedora saga intergeneracional, todo en uno.
“Sí, hola, Mari. Soy yo. Ya se me pasó el berrinche y por fin te llamo. Pero me tienes que prometer que no le vas a decir nada a mi Mamá o a la Abue, ¿va? Va a arder Troya si se enteran… Y dijiste que estabas sentada, ¿verdad? Porque esto va a ser más absurdo y más dramático de lo que te imaginas.”
Luciana es la más chica de su enorme familia colombiano-americana, y a pesar de que suele quedar relegada a segundo plano, ahora descubre que es la única voz de la razón en medio de su inesperada crisis. Su hermana mayor, Mari, está lejos, en la universidad, y ha quedado reducida a ser meramente escucha al otro lado de la línea en incontables llamadas. Así pues, cuando los residentes del sur de Florida reciben la orden de evacuación antes de un huracán, queda en manos de Luciana lidiar con su excéntrica abuela, Abue, que se rehúsa a partir. Pero la tormenta no es el único peligro. Abue, por lo general glamorosa y llena de vida, recibe un aplastante diagnóstico médico. Si bien preferiría ignorarlo y enfocarse en mantener su reputación y su apariencia, la noticia la encamina hacia su propio viaje personal, con una renuente Luciana por compañía.
Mientras Luciana le cuenta por teléfono a Mari los eventos que voltearon de cabeza su último año en la escuela, Abue se muda a la recámara de su nieta y su complicado lazo se intensifica. Luciana preferiría estar patinando o escaparse para conocer chicas, pero las impredecibles travesuras y locas exigencias de su Abue son una distracción bienvenida para la malinformada mamá de Luciana, para su hermana ausente y para el futuro incierto. Obligada a ocupar el papel de cuidadora, traductora y guardiana de los devastadores secretos que la Abue empieza a compartir, Luciana se encuentra de pronto en el centro de todo, de cara a la adultez… y portándose a la altura.
Estructurada como una serie de llamadas unilaterales, Oye se siente como la conversación más cautivante que hayas escuchado a escondidas alguna vez: una novela juguetona, honesta y única, por una autora tan original como profunda.
“Told through several one-sided phone conversations between protagonist Luciana and her sister Mari, Mogollon’s inventive debut novel is a unique coming of age story about uncovering family secrets and the secrets of the self.”—Electric Lit, “42 Queer Books You Need to Read in 2024”
“A swoon-worthy family saga that will make you fall in love with the characters. It’s bursting with heart on every page and it is so warm and alive. It’s a reminder that though life can drag you down, there is hope lurking around every corner.”—Debutiful, “Most Anticipated Books of 2024”
“If listening in on a stranger’s animated phone call sounds like your idea of entertainment, you’ll be hooked . . . as Luciana and Mari engage in a sometimes laugh-out-loud, sometimes tear-jerking conversation about family, life and love.”—Reader’s Digest, “New Books We Can’t Wait to Read in 2024”
“Brilliant . . . a powerful and panoramic display of a multigenerational push and pull, the complexities of caring and caretaking, and the brutal magnitude of a hurricane coming straight for someone you love . . . Heartbreaking and humorous, mature and mischievous, Oye feels like home in delicious and furious ways. Melissa Mogollon did not come to play.”—Kiley Reid, New York Times bestselling author of Such a Fun Age
“An emotional roller coaster of multigenerational chisme, Oye jump-starts your heart in the same way the expletive piques your ear. Transport back to 2017 during Hurricane Irma, then add a cross-country trek with your mother.”—Xochitl Gonzalez, New York Times bestselling author of Olga Dies Dreaming
“Oye is vibrantly alive, a pitch-perfect, boisterous, gossipy portrait of the chaos that is family and love. Mogollon is not writing like anyone else, and moreover she is writing about things that feel absolutely real. A gem.”—Rufi Thorpe, author of The Knockout Queen
“Oye, a novel of chisme, is innovative, heartfelt, and hilarious. Melissa Mogollon’s voice is a gift.”—Myriam Gurba, author of Creep
“Oye me, this book will be the unexpected ride of your reading season. Read it to listen in on a breathless, funny, inventive, and revealing conversation that peels back all our assumptions about love and family roles. Time stops while you listen in on a protagonist making it her business to Be Heard!”—Melissa Coss Aquino, author of Carmen and Grace
“An incisive, timely, and moving family drama focusing on the multilayered dynamics of a complex Colombian American household . . . Luciana won’t just woo you; she will thoroughly win, and at times break, your heart.”—Regina Porter, author of The Travelers
“With its singular voice and vibrant characters, Oye commands your attention from the very first page. Yes, Melissa Mogollon’s debut is hilarious, but more than that, it’s an exploration of humor as resilience. It’s a novel that, like the ageless abuela at its heart, laughs and dances in the dark.”—Dawnie Walton, author of The Final Revival of Opal & Nev
“Oye brims with life, wit, irreverence, and jokes about plastic surgery, Florida, Whole Foods, and heterosexuals. At the heart of this sparkling novel is Abue, the narrator’s grandmother, who would rather die than dye her hair the wrong color, whose tragic childhood we gradually discover. I love these characters—no one gets away with anything—and I love Melissa Mogollon’s unmistakable, irrepressible voice.”—Margot Livesey, author of The Boy in the Field
“From the first sentence to the very last page, Oye dazzles with pitch-perfect dialogue and bold, realistic prose. This multigenerational family story juxtaposes tenderness with humor, and Melissa Mogollon creates vibrant characters who feel so alive that readers will forget that this text is a work of fiction. The title asks readers to listen, and all who heed that command will be rewarded along the way.”—Monica West, author of Revival Season
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