Oye by Melissa Mogollon

May 31. 2025

Oye by Melissa Mogollon

With Hurricane Irma bearing down on Miami, Luciana's family is in a panic: Luciana's grandmother, her Abue, refuses to evacuate. Normally Luciana is relegated to the sidelines and everyone ignores her, but now that her sister Mari is away at college, Luciana is pulled into the family drama. Luciana is just trying to graduate from high school and figure out her sexuality. Meanwhile, Luciana's mother is treating their evacuation like a family road trip. But then Abue receives a devastating medical diagnosis and comes to live with them, taking over Luciana's bedroom.

This was like eavesdropping on a really long phone conversation. The story is told through a series of mostly one-sided phone calls between Luciana and her older sister. While I enjoyed it, I can see where some readers would be put off by the format. There are some parts that are hilarious - the family saga is like a telenovella, entertaining if somewhat confusing at times. Luciana's grandmother is great - even though she has been diagnosed with cancer, her main concern is getting her roots touched up and keeping in contact with her boyfriends while she is in the hospital, while at the same time keeping her nosy sister out of her life. The audiobook is excellent. Recommended for readers who like quirky contemporary novels.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an eARC for review.

The Seventh Veil of Salome by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

June 26, 2024

The Seventh Veil of Salome by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

A mid-level  movie studio decides to make a film called The Seventh Veil of Salome. Every actress and starlet in Hollywood auditions for the role of Salome, but everyone is surprised when the director selects an unknown Mexican actress for the part. A struggling actress believes the part was stolen from her and is convinced that if she can get rid of the other actress, she will be able to step into the part.

This is a different direction for Moreno-Garcia, purely historical fiction with nothing mythical or supernatural. Three women, all struggling to find their identities and be heard in a male-dominated world: Salome, daughter of Herodias, niece of Herod Antipas, Princess of Idumea; Vera, a Mexican actress and newcomer to Hollywood; and Nancy, a struggling extra who has been trying to get her big break in Hollywood for ten years, convinced that she could be a major star. Two parallel storylines, one the life of Salome, the other the movie being made about her. Although there are multiple POV and narrators, I did not find it at all confusing. We are supposed to hate Nancy, the villain of the piece, but really she is her own worst enemy, sabotaging herself at every turn, so it's hard not to feel sorry for her for her dumb choices. Highly recommended for readers of historical fiction, especially about the golden age of Hollywood.

Many thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an eARC for review.

Traditional depiction of Salome

Miss del Rio by Barbara Mujica

June 4, 2024

Miss del Rio by Barbara Mujica

Dolores del Rio was one of the first Latina movie stars. Beautiful and elegant, she was a star in both Hollywood and Mexico. This fictional biography follows her life from her childhood in Durango, Mexico, through her rapid rise in Hollywood as a silent film star, told from the viewpoint of her childhood friend and hair stylist Mara. She made the successful transition to sound films and along with Marlene Dietrich and Rita Hayworth, epitomized the Hollywood standard of beauty in the 1930s. Her popularity in Hollywood began to decline in the early 1940s, and she returned to Mexico where she was a star in Mexican cinema.

Overall a very enjoyable read. Dolores led a fascinating if tumultuous life, but by the third section, the story lost some of its momentum. The narrator Mara is a fictional character, and the third part of the novel focuses on Mara's search for her family in Mexico. An editor could have cut 50-75 pages out of this section and tightened up the story. I listened to the audiobook and the narrator was excellent. Will appeal to readers who enjoy the novels of Marie Benedict and Fiona Davis, and anyone interested in the golden age of Hollywood.

Dolores del Rio

 

Say Hello to My Little Friend by Jennine Capo Crucet

January 24, 2024

Say Hello to My Little Friend by Jennine Capo Crucet

Recent high school graduate Ismael Reyes (aka Izzy) is searching for a life plan. His original intention to be a Pitbull impersonator falls through when he receives a cease-and-desist order from the artist's attorney, so he decides that his next best option is to become a gangster by imitating the fictional Cuban gangster Tony Montana from the movie Scarface. He enlists his high school friend Rudy to be his sidekick (and briefly becomes involved with Rudy's beautiful sister Julisa), and the two begin planning their new life of crime. Meanwhile, there is a female orca (calling her a killer whale or Shamu is not PC) named Lolita at the Miami Seaquarium who has somehow begun influencing Izzy's thoughts and dreams. While Izzy pursues his goal of gangsterdom, he inadvertently begins asking dangerous questions about his mother, who drowned after they left Cuba on a raft.

Life imitates art in this edgy contemporary novel/fantasy that has been described as the offspring of a marriage between the movie Scarface and the novel Moby Dick. Possibly due to his youth, possibly due to his circumstances, Izzy fails to recognize the dangerous people he is already associating with, even though all the signs are there. There is plenty of dark humor in this quirky read as Izzy stumbles his way through life.  Honestly? Things probably would have worked out better for Izzy if he had tried to emulate Joe Montana rather Tony Montana.

Many thanks to Edelweiss and the publisher for providing an eARC for review.

Al Pacino as the gangster Tony Montana in the movie Scarface

What Happened to Ruthy Ramirez by Claire Jimenez

September 29, 2023

What Happened to Ruthy Ramirez by Claire Jimenez

On a cold autumn night, 13 year old Ruthy Ramirez goes missing on her way home from track practice. Twelve years later, her sisters Jessica and Nina are convinced that a woman on a trashy TV reality show is their missing sister. They set out to learn if this could possibly be Ruthy after all these years.

This is a debut novel about a Puerto Rican family living in Brooklyn, whose middle daughter Ruthy goes missing. Not a missing person story or a mystery as much as the story of the fallout for the women in Ruthy's family following her disappearance. There is humor as well as sorrow. We do find out what happened to Ruthy on the very last page. Some readers may be put off by the foul language, but it didn't bother me. One of my selections for Hispanic American Heritage month.

Three Puerto Rican sisters

Woman of Light by Kali Fajardo-Anstine

April 16, 2023

Woman of Light by Kali Fajardo-Anstine

Luz Lopez and her brother Diego live in 1934 Denver with their aunt. Denver proves to be a dangerous place for both of them, and for all non-whites and mixed race people. Diego is caught with a white girl and forced to leave town to become a migrant worker. After working as a laundress with her cousin for several years, a local lawyer hires Luz as his clerk. Luz frequently has prophetic visions and reads tea leaves to make extra money while dreaming of a better future for herself. She catches the attention of a local handyman who is an aspiring musician, while also fending off the advances of her boss. Luz tries to navigate the confusing time and place where she lives, while waiting for her brother to return home.

A slow moving saga following five generations of a family, moving back and forth from late 18th century American West (aka the Lost Territory) and 1934 Denver. It could have used a little more plot, a little less wandering around and fewer characters. Too many wandering threads that only sort of come together at the end. I expected a better story.

The main drag in 1935 Denver

The Shamshine Blind by Paz Pardo

January 5, 2023

The Shamshine Blind by Paz Pardo

The United States and the rest of the superpowers lost the Falklands conflict after Argentine developed a psychopigment weapon of mass destruction called Deepest Blue. Psychopigments alter human emotions positively or negatively. Kay Curtida is a Latinx detective with the Psychopigment Enforcement Agency, tasked with tracking down black market distributors of psychopigments in the sleepy town of Daly City just outside the ruins of San Francisco. When an old friend visits Daly City and drops hints about a ring selling fake Sunshine Yellow. Sunshine Yellow is an antidepressant pigment that most people take just to get through their day. The fake yellow pigment, called Shamshine Yellow, mixes the real pigment with Slate Gray, a major depressive.

This was a really creative and clever take on a dystopian society. The characters are well-written and engaging but the plot was very complicated and at times I had a hard time figuring out what was going on and keeping all the characters and their affiliations straight. The names of some of the pigments are clever: Ginger Curiosity, Cool Teal, Lavender Hope. 

Many thanks to Edelweiss and the publisher for providing an eARC for review.

Peel My Love Like an Onion by Ana Castillo

September 30, 2019

Peel My Love Like an Onion by Ana Castillo

I always try to read at least one novel that celebrates the yearly heritage months.  Peel My Love Like an Onion was my choice for Hispanic American Heritage Month 2019.  Set in Chicago, the main character is a Mexican-American (or Chicago-Mexican, as she calls herself) woman who had polio as a child and was determined to become a flamenco dancer.

Carmen Santos (aka Carmen la Coja, or Carmen the Cripple) suffered from polio as a child, which left her with a withered leg.  At her school for “special” children, a dance teacher encouraged Carmen to try flamenco as a way of strengthening her weak leg.  To the teacher’s astonishment, Carmen decides she wants to be a professional flamenco dancer.  She perseveres and is taken on by a professional flamenco company run by a male dancer named Augustin, who soon becomes Carmen’s lover.  She becomes famous in Chicago’s dance community, partly because of her unusual disability and partly because of her beauty, and she embraces the flamenco culture as a way of life.  Her family is always in the background like a Greek chorus, causing Carmen to feel guilty that she isn’t a better daughter.  But after 20 years as a dancer, Carmen’s polio resurfaces and not only forces her to retire from dancing, but to reconsider and recreate her life.

Carmen's love affairs are multi-layered and complicated, as are her feelings for her family, and some of her choices are hard to accept.  This title would make a good book club title since there is a lot of material for discussion, especially for either Hispanic American Heritage Month or Disability Month.  It’s also a very reasonable length for book clubs at just over 200 pages.