Oye

Starred review from March 11, 2024
In this riotous first novel, a Florida high school senior is thrust by her cantankerous Colombian-American mother into the role of caretaker for her grandmother. Nana is already struggling to complete her graduation requirements when doctors find a mass in her grandmother Abue’s gallbladder. With Nana’s older sister, Mari, away at college, Nana’s mother, Elena, expects her to accompany Abue to her doctor’s appointments and serve as interpreter. Shenanigans ensue as Elena insists they hide the full extent of Abue’s health crisis from her, convinced that “if Abue ‘finds out the wrong information at the wrong time,’ she’ll just give up and die.” Meanwhile, Nana argues in vain that they are robbing the family matriarch of the ability to decide on her course of treatment. Nana’s mordant wit supplies laughs—“Sorry if I’m out of breath. It’s all the running away from our problems”—even as family secrets spill forth to reveal the intergenerational trauma that caused Abue to cut off communication with nearly all of her relatives in Colombia. Amid the frequent histrionics—Abue often threatens to drop dead or kill someone to make a point—Mogollon also manages to convey the fierce love that binds the women across generations. When they finally arrive at varying degrees of acceptance, it feels inevitable rather than contrived. Mogollon wows with tenderness and uproarious profanity. Agent: Mariah Stovall, Trellis Literary.

September 13, 2024

Mogollon's vivacious debut provides a window into a modern Colombian American family, as told through one-sided telephone conversations between 18-year-old high school senior Luciana and her older sister Mari. Luciana is called on to be the adult in the family when Abue, her grandmother, is diagnosed with cancer. Luciana's mother is blindly optimistic; her father is busy at their farm, and her sister is away at college. It is up to Luciana to be caregiver, transporter, referee, and chief listener while her eccentric grandmother deals with her illness. As Abue faces the end of her life, she gives advice and counsel that helps Luciana accept responsibility for herself. Abue reveals the truth about her troubled childhood and the motivation for the arc of her adult life, changing Luciana's outlook as she considers her own struggles and path forward. Narrator Elena Rey captures the rebellious, mercurial nature of a teen under pressure, and her phrasing and timing are excellent, perfectly attuned to Mogollon's one-sided storytelling technique. Even so, some listeners may tire of the barrage of profanity and relentless stream of abbreviations such as "lol" and "omg." VERDICT A relatable, funny, and vibrant tale of family and coming-of-age.--Joanna M. Burkhardt

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