Xochitl Gonzalez makes her debut with OLGA DIES DREAMING, an introspective, emotionally resonant and searingly current exploration of two Puerto Rican American siblings and the long-absent mother who crashes into their lives in the wake of Hurricane Maria.

Set mainly in the summer of 2017, the book follows Olga and Pedro “Prieto” Acevedo, who have long defined themselves and their ambitions by their genius mother’s goals and absences. A former Young Lord turned radical, Blanca has always skirted along the periphery of her children’s existence, favoring powerful causes, most notably the independence of Puerto Rico. Though she has been largely absent from their physical upbringing, she has kept a close eye on them, commenting on her findings --- and their failings --- through long missives sent to remind them that she is watching and to tear them down when they are at their most vulnerable. With her voice a constant refrain in their heads, they have always chased success, but almost never happiness.

"Both a novel about dysfunctional families and the ways that early hurts can warp an entire existence, and the corruption present at all levels of government, OLGA DIES DREAMING is a whip-smart, utterly fresh take on familial strife, race relations and what it means to be successful in America."

At 40, Olga is a disillusioned but incredibly savvy wedding planner who caters to the elite, earning their respect with her attention to detail while lining her pockets with markups and a not-so-legal alcohol deal with the Russian mob. She bends the rules, but her clients can afford her extravagant fees and are often too busy showing off to notice any discrepancies. Besides that, her more liberal clientele adore their “spicy” wedding planner and their chance to brush up against something so exotic and urban. She maintains her sanity by reminding herself that most weddings, marriages and love stories are a sham, and enjoying romantic trysts with a former client’s father. But Olga is no con artist: an Ivy League graduate with a killer sense for guiding conversations, she has merely spotted opportunities where no one else saw them and taken full advantage. The American Dream, you might call it.

Prieto is a popular congressman known as the Latino Obama. He is as handsome as he is intelligent, as capable of calling a major donor “ma” and dapping a teenage volunteer as he is of speaking of complex policy, hand-delivering aid, and meeting the expectations and challenges of his mostly white peers. Like Olga, Prieto is driven by a need to succeed, though his career trajectory aligns more closely with his mother’s, which helps him feel like he is living up to her lofty standards. But he too is unlucky in love, and has found that hiding his innermost desires has cost him deeper connections with the people around him, including his sister and his daughter. It also has put him in the crosshairs of an elaborate blackmailing plot that pits him forcibly against his values, mainly where his ancestors’ homeland is concerned.

When we meet the Acevedo siblings, big things are brewing in America: an inept president and years of fossil fuel abuse have made for a disastrous change in climate, heralded by freak storms and unguarded by relief efforts (sound familiar?). As a Puerto Rican politician, Prieto feels (and is often expected to feel) responsible for protecting the Americans of Puerto Rico, too frequently forgotten by their mainland peers. Olga, meanwhile, has grown sick of her wealthy, privileged older lover who thinks the height of romance is sending erotic photos. When she meets Matteo, a smooth-talking hoarder who is genuinely curious about her, her family and her heritage, she feels like she has finally found someone who might understand her.

As Olga and Prieto balance their careers with their personal lives, all while monitoring the dismal situation in storm-torn Puerto Rico, Gonzalez embarks on a careful, candid character study. The siblings, driven by their mother’s harsh words and rigid ideals, act as perfect foils to one another. Where Olga is straightforward, Prieto is cautious; where Olga is cynical, Prieto is pure hope. And although Olga has set her course for success and only success, Prieto’s seemingly pure-hearted need to help people is backed by his desire to be seen doing good. The parallels between the two are graceful and deeply satisfying, but never too tidy. Gonzalez’s prose is dynamic, engaging and packed to the brim with keen insights.

The siblings’ narratives are punctuated by letters from their mother, a woman who doesn’t “know the difference between missives and mothering” and who spends as much time trying to recruit her children to help her liberate Puerto Rico from capitalist pigs as she does convincing them that they’ll never be true Puerto Ricans as long as they continue to follow the American Dream. Though her letters do not help label her a good parent, or even a good recruiter for the cause, they do interweave with her children’s lives in poignant ways. She may come on strong, but she shares some harsh truths about the plight of Latinx people trying to assimilate in America while holding on to their roots.

With their own lives falling apart and years of toxic family secrets rising to the surface, Olga and Prieto find, for the first time, that they must define themselves on their own terms. But Blanca isn’t done messing with them just yet, and with the arrival of Hurricane Maria, she has one final (violent, militaristic) scheme to secure the freedom of Puerto Rico. She just needs her two rudderless, hurt children to help her…at any cost.

Both a novel about dysfunctional families and the ways that early hurts can warp an entire existence, and the corruption present at all levels of government, OLGA DIES DREAMING is a whip-smart, utterly fresh take on familial strife, race relations and what it means to be successful in America. Gonzalez is a lively, creative writer, and her exploration of diasporic identity is a vital contribution to the canon of works about the Latinx experience in America. Come for the laugh-out-loud lavish wedding descriptions, stay for surly, brilliant Olga, and never, ever forget this lively cast of characters, all fighting for independence --- be it from a colonizing nation or a mother’s airtight hold.