In her debut novel, Xochitl Gonzalez creates a family drama that incorporates racism, trauma, colonialism, and rich history of Puerto Rico that is set before, during, and after Hurricane Maria in 2017 and the Trump administration. The book then takes creative liberties to imagine a future where revolution on the island occurs. Using a family’s intricate personal history to personalize the struggles of being both Puerto Rican on the island and of Puerto Rican descent in the States, Gonzalez manages to integrate Puerto Rican history in a way that avoids reading like a textbook and provides context to both present-day Puerto Rico and the Brooklyn neighborhood of Sunset Park.

Olga Acevedo is a wedding planner for wealthy socialites. She seamlessly navigates the world of the elite thanks to her Ivy League education. It was refreshing to read a story about a 40-year-old unmarried woman who is still figuring herself out. Olga’s success and drive for social climbing stemmed from issues of abandonment she endured as a child. Her mother left her and her brother, Prieto, behind as children to pursue her revolutionary dreams of Puerto Rican liberation on the island. Left behind, the two children remained with their kind-hearted father who succumbed to drug addiction and died from AIDs. Olga grew close with their grandmother who raised them after their father’s death. When their grandmother passed away, she left her house in Sunset Heights to Olga. The idea was that there would always be a place for any member of their extended family to live.

Prieto, Olga’s brother, is a U.S. representative for their neighborhood. It comes to light that he has a secret life that is being used against him by investors who are eager to buy up property in Sunset Park to create high-rise condos, drive up property taxes, and squeeze out the last of the immigrant population that has called the area home for generations.

Interspersed with letters from their mother that they both received individually, readers are able to get to know more about each of the siblings and the manipulation they endured from their mother.

Of course, for the unmarried woman in her 40s, there is a love interest, Matteo, who happens to be a self-described hoarder. With his love and patience, Olga is able to overcome major trauma and move toward self-liberation.

The climax of the novel has both siblings coming face-to-face with their estranged mother in different ways. She attempts to force both characters to make life-altering decisions in the name of revolution. It was an interesting juxtaposition that Gonzalez created between the personal revolutions both Olga and Prieto experienced alongside the one their mother was attempting to create and eventually carried out in Puerto Rico.

The majority of the novel constructs the inner worlds of both Olga and her brother. From the lavish weddings to family dynamics to sexual relationships to the historical context, Gonzalez dedicated an immense amount of detail to this story. Overall, it is a gripping and entertaining read from start to finish.

Stayed tuned for a Hulu original adaptation of Gonzalez’s novel. In April 2021, the streaming giant snagged the rights for the novel from Flatiron Books. Gonzalez will be writing the script and Alfonso Gomez-Rejon will direct.