Melissa Mogollon On The Joy Of Writing Angry Teenage Girls

When readers first meet Luciana in Melissa Mogollon’s Oye, a natural disaster has upended the high school senior’s life. Hurricane Irma has forced her family to evacuate Miami, and Luciana is stuck in a car with her mother, an eternally optimistic swimming instructor who has never fully acknowledged that Luciana has come out. To make matters worse, it falls upon Luciana to convince her glamorous grandmother, Abue, to join them in fleeing the hurricane. Yet Abue, a charismatic entertainer who spends her time juggling online romances and singing at nursing homes, has other plans. Luciana soon finds herself mediating her mother and grandmother’s contentious interactions when Abue moves in with Luciana’s family after receiving a sobering medical diagnosis. Now roommates with her grandmother, Luciana is shocked when Abue lets down her guard and reveals family secrets from her childhood in Colombia. Oye is a tender multigenerational family saga that celebrates storytelling in its many forms. Electric Literature hailed it as “a funny and heartfelt exploration of growing up, resilience, sisterhood, and finding your path” while Debutiful described it as “a swoon-worthy family saga that will make you fall in love with the characters.” Mogollon spoke about falling in love with a character’s voice, the joy of writing angry teenage girls, and nerding out about craft.