Olga Dies Dreaming by Xochitl Gonzalez

 

Olga has created a successful life for herself.  Although her mother deserted the family when Olga was a girl, her grandmother and brother were still there and their close Puerto Rican family buffered the blow.  Her mother ran off to join a militant Puerto Rican group dedicated to making Puerto Rico an independent state even if it takes a revolution.  Her father died of AIDS after becoming a junkie.

But that was in the past.  Now Olga runs the most successful wedding planning business in New York.  Still living in Brooklyn where she grew up, her brother is now representing the neighborhood on the City Council and running for Congress.  They have both grown up successfully except....

Except Olga, while she has plenty of male attention, never lets anyone get close.  Except her brother is in the closet about his sexuality and worried that he also might have AIDS.  Except their mother is now writing and making demands on the children she knows she miss her and want to please her.  Can Olga find a way to fix all these issues?

This debut novel was a New York Times Notable Book as well as winning several other literary prizes and garnering praise from many sources.  It is a romantic book that delves into serious issues and brings the tribulations of the Puerto Rican existence into prominence.  Olga starts as a closed off woman haunted by her past and as she changes and opens herself to love and family, she blossoms and the reader is allowed to ride along.  This book is recommended for readers of multicultural novels and women's fiction.