17 must-read contemporary books like Olga Dies Dreaming by Xóchitl González

Cover of Olga Dies Dreaming by Xóchitl González

Olga Dies Dreaming

By: Xóchitl González

3.98

Format: 369 pages, Hardcover

It's 2017, and Olga and her brother, Pedro "Prieto" Acevedo, are bold-faced names in their hometown…

"It's a myth about motherhood, Olga felt, that the time in utero imbues mothers with a lifelong understanding of their children. Yes, they know their essences, this she didn't doubt, but mothers are still humans who eventually form their own ideas of both who their kids are and who they think they should be. Inevitably there were disparities."

-Xóchitl González, Olga Dies Dreaming

If you liked the contemporary plot in Olga Dies Dreaming by Xóchitl González , here is a list of 17 books like this:

Cover of Happiness Falls by Angie  Kim

1. Happiness Falls

By: Angie Kim

3.75

Format: 387 pages, Hardcover

When a father goes missing, his family's desperate search leads them to question everything they kn… read more

Similar categories in Angie Kim's Happiness Falls book and Xóchitl González's Olga Dies Dreaming

  • adult fiction
  • literary fiction
  • family
  • fiction
  • contemporary
  • adult
  • audiobook
"I lost a World - the other day! Has Anybody found? - Emily Dickinson, 1896"

-Angie Kim, Happiness Falls

Cover of Tom Lake by Ann Patchett

2. Tom Lake

By: Ann Patchett

3.99

Format: 309 pages, Hardcover

In this beautiful and moving novel about family, love, and growing up, Ann Patchett once again prov… read more

Similar categories in Ann Patchett's Tom Lake book and Xóchitl González's Olga Dies Dreaming

  • romance
  • adult fiction
  • literary fiction
  • fiction
  • contemporary
  • family
  • adult
  • audiobook
"You can’t pretend this [Covid] isn’t happening,"

-Ann Patchett, Tom Lake

"In the summer the pear trees were fine. In the summer, all that is hideous about a pear tree is hidden by leaves and pears. But once those disguises were removed they were nothing but acres of murder…"

-Ann Patchett, Tom Lake

"Hazel, listen to me. I'm going to tell you something important, you need to be brave.' I then explained to the dog how I have told myself for so many years that my career fell apart because I wasn't …"

-Ann Patchett, Tom Lake

"It's as if someone bought all the diamonds at Tiffany's, and crushed them into dust, then spread that dust across the water so that it sifts down evenly, filtering through the shards of light that cu…"

-Ann Patchett, Tom Lake

Cover of James by Percival Everett

3. James

By: Percival Everett

4.54

Format: 303 pages, Hardcover

A brilliant, action-packed reimagining of The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn , both harrowing and f… read more

Similar categories in Percival Everett's James book and Xóchitl González's Olga Dies Dreaming

  • literary fiction
  • fiction
  • audiobook
Cover of The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store by James   McBride

4. The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store

By: James McBride

4.00

Format: 385 pages, Hardcover

In 1972, when workers in Pottstown, Pennsylvania, were digging the foundations for a new housing de… read more

Similar categories in James McBride's The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store book and Xóchitl González's Olga Dies Dreaming

  • adult fiction
  • literary fiction
  • fiction
  • adult
  • audiobook
Cover of Wandering Stars by Tommy Orange

5. Wandering Stars

By: Tommy Orange

3.89

Format: 315 pages, Hardcover

The eagerly awaited follow-up to Pulitzer Prize-finalist Tommy Orange’s breakout best seller There … read more

Similar categories in Tommy Orange's Wandering Stars book and Xóchitl González's Olga Dies Dreaming

  • literary fiction
  • fiction
  • contemporary
  • adult
  • audiobook
"And in the year 1924 Indian citizenship will have been granted, even though they will mean to dissolve tribes by giving citizenship, dissolve being another word for disappearance, a kind of chemical …"

-Tommy Orange, Wandering Stars

Cover of Hello Beautiful by Ann Napolitano

6. Hello Beautiful

By: Ann Napolitano

4.16

Format: 416 pages, Kindle Edition

An emotionally layered and engrossing story of a family that asks: Can love make a broken person wh… read more

Similar categories in Ann Napolitano's Hello Beautiful book and Xóchitl González's Olga Dies Dreaming

  • romance
  • adult fiction
  • literary fiction
  • fiction
  • contemporary
  • family
  • adult
  • audiobook
"The child inside Julia lay wide-eyed in the dark, knowing that she was Jo, but only because Sylvie was Beth."

-Ann Napolitano, Hello Beautiful

"You and your sisters have so many reference points, such a dense history," William said. "I never get used to it."

-Ann Napolitano, Hello Beautiful

"She was Julia's wild hair, she was the lake her husband had once been carried out of, and no matter what happened next, she was love."

-Ann Napolitano, Hello Beautiful

"You’re depressed, not crazy. It’s not insane to be depressed in this world. It’s more sane than being happy. I never trust those upbeat individuals who grin no matter what’s going on. Those are the o…"

-Ann Napolitano, Hello Beautiful

Cover of Yellowface by R.F. Kuang

7. Yellowface

By: R.F. Kuang

3.77

Format: 336 pages, Hardcover

White lies. Dark humor. Deadly consequences… Bestselling sensation Juniper Song is not who she says… read more

Similar categories in R.F. Kuang's Yellowface book and Xóchitl González's Olga Dies Dreaming

  • adult fiction
  • literary fiction
  • fiction
  • contemporary
  • adult
  • audiobook
"The truth is fluid, there is always another way to spin the story."

-R.F. Kuang, Yellowface

"They tell authors never to look at Goodreads, but nobody follows that advice—none of us can resist the urge to know how our work is being received."

-R.F. Kuang, Yellowface

"Writing is the closest thing we have to real magic. Writing is creating something out of nothing, is opening doors to other lands. Writing gives you power to shape your own world when the real one hu…"

-R.F. Kuang, Yellowface

Cover of Pineapple Street by Jenny   Jackson

8. Pineapple Street

By: Jenny Jackson

3.57

Format: 304 pages, Hardcover

Darley, the eldest daughter in the well-connected, old money Stockton family, followed her heart, t… read more

Similar categories in Jenny Jackson's Pineapple Street book and Xóchitl González's Olga Dies Dreaming

  • romance
  • adult fiction
  • literary fiction
  • new york
  • fiction
  • contemporary
  • family
  • adult
  • audiobook
"But you know foundations shouldn't have to be the answer. The real problems are tax laws, anti-labor policies, and the slow expansion of the welfare state," Chip said. Everyone turned and looked at h…"

-Jenny Jackson, Pineapple Street

Cover of The Husbands by Holly Gramazio

9. The Husbands

By: Holly Gramazio

3.53

Format: 352 pages, Hardcover

An exuberant debut, The Husbands delights in how do we navigate life, love, and choice in a world … read more

Similar categories in Holly Gramazio's The Husbands book and Xóchitl González's Olga Dies Dreaming

  • romance
  • adult fiction
  • fiction
  • contemporary
  • adult
  • audiobook
Cover of Chain-Gang All-Stars by Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah

10. Chain-Gang All-Stars

By: Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah

4.14

Format: 367 pages, Hardcover

Two top women gladiators fight for their freedom within a depraved private prison system not so far… read more

Similar categories in Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah's Chain-Gang All-Stars book and Xóchitl González's Olga Dies Dreaming

  • literary fiction
  • lgbt
  • fiction
  • adult
  • audiobook
"They were all humans, and yet they had completely different ideas about what humanity meant."

-Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah, Chain-Gang All-Stars

"My brother-in-law is an alien. I have a bunch of alien friends. I can't be racist," Randy Mac continued."

-Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah, Chain-Gang All-Stars

"An absurd thing for the murderous state to plead for, but, as always, the massive violence of the state was “justice,"

-Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah, Chain-Gang All-Stars

"...despite how hard it was, she wasn't afraid with love. She knew how to wield it, how to grow it, and how to receive it."

-Nana Kwame Adjei-Brenyah, Chain-Gang All-Stars

Cover of Real Americans by Rachel Khong

11. Real Americans

By: Rachel Khong

4.04

Format: 416 pages, Hardcover

From the award-winning author of Goodbye, Vitamin: How far would you go to shape your own destiny?… read more

Similar categories in Rachel Khong's Real Americans book and Xóchitl González's Olga Dies Dreaming

  • adult fiction
  • literary fiction
  • family
  • fiction
  • contemporary
  • adult
  • audiobook
"She wasn't normal and so I wasn't either. I resented that part the most."

-Rachel Khong, Real Americans

"It was a habit, with my parents: omitting information, not wanting to worry them unnecessarily. Though they’d raised me so American, I could never manage the sorts of American relationships my friend…"

-Rachel Khong, Real Americans

"With each other they spoke loudly: Their voices periodically rose to excited shouts, and they laughed raucously. In English they were milder mannered, polite. My mother had always spoken English to m…"

-Rachel Khong, Real Americans

Cover of Come and Get It by Kiley Reid

12. Come and Get It

By: Kiley Reid

3.38

Format: 400 pages, Hardcover

A fresh and provocative story about a residential assistant and her messy entanglement with a profe… read more

Similar categories in Kiley Reid's Come and Get It book and Xóchitl González's Olga Dies Dreaming

  • adult fiction
  • literary fiction
  • lgbt
  • fiction
  • contemporary
  • adult
  • audiobook
"Kennedy hadn't considered it before, that to write something beautiful you just do it regular, and then you pull out a red pen."

-Kiley Reid, Come and Get It

"Washing her sheets was another thing she'd failed to do. She washed her clothes—every weekend—but when it came to the bedsheets, she'd get stressed out or she'd forget. And then there was too much ti…"

-Kiley Reid, Come and Get It

"Okay, sometimes—just being honest— Millie can be . . . a little ghetto." On the word little, Tyler held two fingers an inch apart. "Nooo. Don't say that. Ah love Millie." "But I'm not saying it like …"

-Kiley Reid, Come and Get It

Cover of Olga Dies Dreaming by Xóchitl González

13. Olga Dies Dreaming

By: Xóchitl González

3.98

Format: 369 pages, Hardcover

It's 2017, and Olga and her brother, Pedro "Prieto" Acevedo, are bold-faced names in their hometown… read more

Similar categories in Xóchitl González's Olga Dies Dreaming book and Xóchitl González's Olga Dies Dreaming

  • romance
  • adult fiction
  • literary fiction
  • new york
  • lgbt
  • fiction
  • contemporary
  • family
  • adult
  • audiobook
"It's a myth about motherhood, Olga felt, that the time in utero imbues mothers with a lifelong understanding of their children. Yes, they know their essences, this she didn't doubt, but mothers are s…"

-Xóchitl González, Olga Dies Dreaming

Cover of Wellness by Nathan  Hill

14. Wellness

By: Nathan Hill

4.00

Format: 611 pages, Hardcover

The New York Times best-selling author of The Nix is back with a poignant and witty novel about mar… read more

Similar categories in Nathan Hill's Wellness book and Xóchitl González's Olga Dies Dreaming

  • romance
  • adult fiction
  • literary fiction
  • fiction
  • contemporary
  • family
  • audiobook
"It's an altogether manic and ceaseless conversation, a conversation that feels sometimes like falling down stairs, barely keeping upright, taken by gravity, skipping, grasping, and then somehow landi…"

-Nathan Hill, Wellness

"Behind curtains, this, he thinks, is what lovers do—they are alchemists and architects; pioneers and fabulists; they make one thing another; they invent the world around them. So he says, ‘Yes I beli…"

-Nathan Hill, Wellness

Cover of True Biz by Sara Nović

15. True Biz

By: Sara Nović

4.08

Format: 386 pages, Hardcover

TRUE BIZ (adj./exclamation; American Sign Language): really, seriously, definitely, real-talk Tr… read more

Similar categories in Sara Nović's True Biz book and Xóchitl González's Olga Dies Dreaming

  • adult fiction
  • literary fiction
  • lgbt
  • fiction
  • contemporary
  • adult
  • audiobook
"No one is comforted by salad."

-Sara Nović, True Biz

"maybe standing for something wasn't always a choice"

-Sara Nović, True Biz

"Reason is for people who still have something to fear."

-Sara Nović, True Biz

"fewer things were more motivating than a fear of one's own extinction."

-Sara Nović, True Biz

Cover of Family Lore by Elizabeth Acevedo

16. Family Lore

By: Elizabeth Acevedo

3.53

Format: 371 pages, Hardcover

From bestselling, National Book Award-winning author Elizabeth Acevedo comes her first novel for ad… read more

Similar categories in Elizabeth Acevedo's Family Lore book and Xóchitl González's Olga Dies Dreaming

  • adult fiction
  • literary fiction
  • family
  • fiction
  • contemporary
  • adult
  • audiobook
Cover of How Not to Drown in a Glass of Water by Angie Cruz

17. How Not to Drown in a Glass of Water

By: Angie Cruz

3.90

Format: 195 pages, Hardcover

Cara Romero thought she would work at the factory of little lamps for the rest of her life. But whe… read more

Similar categories in Angie Cruz's How Not to Drown in a Glass of Water book and Xóchitl González's Olga Dies Dreaming

  • adult fiction
  • literary fiction
  • fiction
  • contemporary
  • adult
  • audiobook
"She knew I had to cry until I undrown from the inside."

-Angie Cruz, How Not to Drown in a Glass of Water

"If you're lucky, you find a man that you don't fall in the hole with."

-Angie Cruz, How Not to Drown in a Glass of Water

"Lulú talks and talks because she dique knows everything. But when I say something, people listen. This I learned from my father. The less you say, the more the people listen."

-Angie Cruz, How Not to Drown in a Glass of Water

"Talking reminds me that no matter how difficult my life is, I have always found a solution my problems. When I think about this, I am not afraid. We can do this. I can do this."

-Angie Cruz, How Not to Drown in a Glass of Water

Cover of I Have Some Questions for You by Rebecca Makkai

18. I Have Some Questions for You

By: Rebecca Makkai

3.61

Format: 438 pages, Hardcover

A successful film professor and podcaster, Bodie Kane is content to forget her past—the family trag… read more

Similar categories in Rebecca Makkai's I Have Some Questions for You book and Xóchitl González's Olga Dies Dreaming

  • adult fiction
  • literary fiction
  • fiction
  • contemporary
  • adult
  • audiobook
Cover of Maame by Jessica George

19. Maame

By: Jessica George

4.06

Format: 320 pages, Hardcover

Shortlisted for the TikTok Book Awards in the Book of the Year, 2023 and the Goodreads Debut and Fi… read more

Similar categories in Jessica George's Maame book and Xóchitl González's Olga Dies Dreaming

  • adult fiction
  • literary fiction
  • family
  • fiction
  • contemporary
  • adult
  • audiobook
"A white person can date a Black person and still be racist."

-Jessica George, Maame

"I can't comprehend living to work, but then I'm afraid of working just to live."

-Jessica George, Maame

"A white person can date a Black person and still be racist. Because there’s levels to that sh*t. Like a lasagna."

-Jessica George, Maame

"It's about what love is. Which is trust, commitment, empathy, and respect. It means really giving a shit about the other person."

-Jessica George, Maame

Cover of Black Cake by Charmaine Wilkerson

20. Black Cake

By: Charmaine Wilkerson

4.10

Format: 385 pages, Hardcover

We can’t choose what we inherit. But can we choose who we become? In present-day California, Ele… read more

Similar categories in Charmaine Wilkerson's Black Cake book and Xóchitl González's Olga Dies Dreaming

  • literary fiction
  • family
  • fiction
  • contemporary
  • adult
  • audiobook
"But trying to undo the worry is like trying to undo his blackness."

-Charmaine Wilkerson, Black Cake

"More people’s lives have been shaped by violence than we like to think. And more people’s lives have been shaped by silence than we think."

-Charmaine Wilkerson, Black Cake

"Some people think surfing is a relationship with the sea...but surfing is really a relationship between you and yourself. The sea is going to do whatever it wants."

-Charmaine Wilkerson, Black Cake

"Young people had always wanted to do things their own way, and Bert had been no different. Only nowadays, there seemed to be this compulsion to eat up everything that was available to you and to let …"

-Charmaine Wilkerson, Black Cake

Cover of The God of the Woods by Liz    Moore

21. The God of the Woods

By: Liz Moore

4.27

Format: 490 pages, Kindle Edition

When a teenager vanishes from her Adirondack summer camp, two worlds collide Early morning, Augu… read more

Similar categories in Liz Moore's The God of the Woods book and Xóchitl González's Olga Dies Dreaming

  • literary fiction
  • adult
  • fiction
  • audiobook

21 Best fiction books like Olga Dies Dreaming by Xóchitl González

Transform Your Habits

Happiness Falls

Angie Kim

3.75

Transform Your Habits

Tom Lake

Ann Patchett

3.99

Transform Your Habits

James

Percival Everett

4.54

Transform Your Habits

The Heaven & Earth Grocery Store

James McBride

4.00

View all the books

21 best-selling fiction books like Wandering Stars by Tommy Orange

Transform Your Habits

James

Percival Everett

4.54

Transform Your Habits

North Woods

Daniel Mason

4.15

Transform Your Habits

Wandering Stars

Tommy Orange

3.89

Transform Your Habits

Real Americans

Rachel Khong

4.04

View all the books

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