{"product_id":"dreaming-of-you-isbn-9781662601651","title":"Dreaming of You","description":"\u003cb\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cb\u003eNOW IN PAPERBACK FEATURING A SHORT STORY FROM THE FORTHCOMING COLLECTION \u003ci\u003eBEYOND ALL REASONABLE DOUBT, JESUS IS ALIVE\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"A macabre love story that casts an inquisitive eye on Latinidad, womanhood, and celebrity worship.\"\u003cbr\u003e—Keely Weiss, \u003ci\u003eHarper's Bazaar\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Melissa Lozada-Oliva's surreal novel-in-verse is sure to delight and surprise readers . . . \u003cbr\u003eYou may know and love Selena's voice, but Lozada-Oliva's is utterly new, original, \u003cbr\u003eand worth hearing, too.\" —Elena Nicolaou, Oprah Daily\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e \u003c\/b\u003eA macabre novel in verse of loss, longing, and identity crises following a poet who resurrects pop star Selena from the dead. \u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003eMelissa Lozada-Oliva's \u003ci\u003eDreaming of You\u003c\/i\u003e is an absurd yet heartfelt examination of celebrity worship.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eA young Latinx poet grappling with loneliness and heartache decides one day to bring Tejano pop star Selena Quintanilla back to life. The séance kicks off an uncanny trip narrated by a Greek chorus of gossiping spirits as she journeys through a dead celebrity prom, encounters her shadow self, and performs karaoke in hell.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003eIn visceral poems embodying millennial angst, paragraph-long conversations overheard at her local coffeeshop, and unhinged Twitter rants, Lozada-Oliva reveals an eerie, sometimes gruesome, yet moving love story.\u003cbr\u003e \u003cbr\u003ePlayfully morbid and profoundly candid, an interrogation of Latinidad, womanhood, obsession, and disillusionment, \u003ci\u003eDreaming of You\u003c\/i\u003e grapples with the cost of being seen for your truest self.\"Melissa Lozada Olivia’s novel-in-verse \u003ci\u003eDreaming of You\u003c\/i\u003e is the most beautiful love letter to Selena fans all over the world. . .Toeing the line between horror and magical realism, this will undoubtedly frighten as it will bring back memories and inspire joy.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e—Sofía Aguilar, \u003ci\u003eHipLatina\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Melissa Lozada-Oliva's surreal novel-in-verse is sure to delight and surprise readers . . . You may know and love Selena's voice, but Lozada-Oliva's is utterly new, original, and worth hearing, too.\"\u003cbr\u003e \u003cb\u003e—Elena Nicolaou, \u003ci\u003eOprah Daily\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"A feverish story of young adulthood, exploring how fandom and obsession shape how we relate to the world . . . \u003ci\u003eDreaming of You \u003c\/i\u003enavigates the complexities of Latinx identity, self-loathing, love, and the loneliness of drifting into adulthood.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e—Miguel Salazar, \u003ci\u003eVulture\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\"A macabre love story that casts an inquisitive eye on Latinidad, womanhood, and celebrity worship.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e—Keely Weiss, \u003ci\u003eHarper's Bazaar\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"The novel is narrated in verse, a device that could feel gimmicky in less capable hands than Lozada-Oliva’s, but instead melds with the macabre-yet-gossipy subject matter to create an unforgettable portrait of a public figure who to many seemed larger than life.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e—Emma Specter, \u003ci\u003eVogue\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"One of the most original releases of the year Melissa Lozada-Oliva's surreal fusion of poetry and prose . . . [is] gruesome yet heartfelt, macabre yet intimate, brimming with life on every page.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e—\u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eChicago Review of Books\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Themes of celebrity, fandom, grief, queer identity, and loneliness feature in this novel in verse about a poet who resurrects Tejano pop star Selena. This story is as absurd and magical as it sounds.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e—Casey Stepaniuk, \u003ci\u003eAutostraddle\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\"A beautiful confluence of verse and prose . . . Organized into a four-act play, \u003ci\u003eDreaming of You\u003c\/i\u003e pushes the limits of its verse-prose hybrid narrative form to explore the complexity of modern, generational immigrant identity of Latina women . . . The questions Lozada-Oliva’s book presents are poignant: Is it possible to be part of a tribe without losing the self? And can this tribe be recollected into an American geography without losing the heritage of the Central and South American diasporas it comes from? \u003ci\u003eDreaming of You \u003c\/i\u003ebrilliantly challenges the limits of one’s selfhood and reveals what’s lost when it’s contorted to fit the beholder’s gaze.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e—Michael Adam Carroll, Ploughshares\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"With the intensity and fluidity of a fever dream, Lozada-Oliva situates the figure of the assassinated superstar—'a star I can only see because it has died'—alongside the protagonist Melissa’s own self-narration. By reckoning with the complexities of celebrity, self-identity, citizenship, social media, and sisterhood, Lozada-Oliva names what it means to be both endangered and enraptured by hypervisibility; it is an invitation to 'make your own light,' to recast shadows.\"\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e—Jordan Taliha McDonald, \u003ci\u003eVulture\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e“\u003ci\u003eDreaming of You\u003c\/i\u003e infuses this fandom subculture with the characteristics of a haunting—the past permeates the present, always on the cusp of breaking through the veil separating the living and the dead.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e—Vanessa Willoughby,\u003ci\u003e Bitch Media\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Poet and writer Melissa Lozada-Oliva is an unstoppable force within the poetry world.\" \u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e—Laysha Macedo, \u003ci\u003eHipLatina\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"At the center of this exploration of insecurities, joys, and identity stands Melissa Lozada-Oliva— an unapologetic poet who isn’t afraid of the rawness of the mind and is resilient in her writing— so much so that it feels like we’re talking to our best friend.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e—Bianca Pérez, \u003ci\u003ePorter House Review\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"From Melissa’s DIY-resurrection ritual, to a dead celebrity prom and karaoke in hell, Lozada-Oliva has created a feminist, post-modern, pop cultural \u003ci\u003eDivine Comedy\u003c\/i\u003e. \u003ci\u003eDreaming Of You\u003c\/i\u003e dramatizes the ways identity is often influenced by imitation and a longing to be something more than yourself. This fever dream fiction is engaging and refreshing as it masterfully draws on and plays with genre and cultural tropes to encapsulate the idiosyncrasies of our relationship with celebrity, culture, and ourselves.\" \u003cbr\u003e—\u003cb\u003eCorrine Watson, \u003ci\u003eWest Trade Review\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\"Risks like these—the funny and weird and tender bits—make \u003ci\u003eDreaming of You\u003c\/i\u003e striking. It is as much a totem of her twenties in Brooklyn as it is an ode to Selena. Lozada-Oliva calls herself back from the dead, reflects, integrates, moves on—in doing so, it forces us to do the same.\"\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e—E.R. Pulgar,\u003ci\u003e Columbia Journal\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e \u003cbr\u003e\"Obsessive, inventive, and exceedingly funny, Lozada-Oliva’s debut sets a new platinum standard for a tricky genre.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003cb\u003e—\u003c\/b\u003eDiego Báez, \u003ci\u003eBooklist\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\"Crackly and energetic, with poignancy beneath; for Latinx and millennial readers, plus poetry lovers interested in new voices.\"\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cbr\u003e—Library Journal\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"An enjoyably madcap journey through the wasteland of fame, popular culture, and feminine identity in a post-colonial world.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e—\u003ci\u003eKirkus Reviews\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003cb\u003eStarred Review\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"\u003ci\u003eDreaming of You\u003c\/i\u003e by Melissa Lozada-Olivia is the most pop-rock opera book I've ever read. It's a poetry collection, a memoir, and a song crafted as one. This is a book that cannot be categorized and any description is insufficient. But suffice it to say it's a book in verse about a poet who resurrects Selena from the dead. It's a zombie-horror-fantasy wet dream and let me tell you I am here for it! Each page reverberates with desire, grief and longing. There is a grotesque love affair unfolding on the page between the cast, Melissa, Selena and Yolanda that is awkward and unholy and ugly and full of tenderness and heart. \u003ci\u003eDreaming of You\u003c\/i\u003e is a tribute to womanhood, identity and love. It's a book that redefines narrative, myth and magic and I will forever be haunted by Melissa's creation.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e—Michelle Malonzo, Changing Hands Bookstore\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Tender and funny and relatable even if you’re not into ‘reading’ or ‘books’ or ‘poetry’ or ‘necromancy,’ \u003ci\u003eDreaming of You\u003c\/i\u003e is living and vivid and hideous and sweet and fearful and lovely.”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e—Zoey Walls, Harvard Bookstore\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Surreal and spooky . . . This hybrid collection highlights the limits of control over our own creations and asks us to consider whether we will ever learn how to lose.\"\u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e—Layla Benitez-James, \u003ci\u003eHarriet Books\u003c\/i\u003e, the Poetry Foundation\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Lozada-Oliva has written something which defies explanation and will prompt many a conversation . . . Part dream, part surrealist nightmare, part existential dread, entirely beautiful, this novel will make you ask yourself the questions you’ve been avoiding about authenticity, celebrity, obsession, and loss.” \u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e—ALA Over the Rainbow Recommended Short List\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Melissa Lozada-Oliva’s kinetic, pop-operatic \u003ci\u003eDreaming of You\u003c\/i\u003e is like some terrific amalgam of fan fiction and fantasy nonfiction; a Selena monograph made of memoir, myth and magic. Her partly satirical, partly ecstatic linguistics constitute a whole other sort of literary hybrid. And, while I strain to describe Lozada-Oliva's virtuosity, I want to very plainly say, at the heart of it all, \u003ci\u003eDreaming of You\u003c\/i\u003e is a collection of moving, mercurial poems. Melissa Lozada-Oliva is truly a singular new voice.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e—Terrance Hayes, National Book Award-winning author of \u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eLighthead\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\"Dazzling, playful, and likely to break your heart at least twice. I love \u003ci\u003eDreaming of You\u003c\/i\u003e five-hundred times as much as I hate writing blurbs. Melissa Lozada-Oliva is a magician.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e—Kelly Link, author of \u003ci\u003eGet in Trouble\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Some use the term 'confessional poetry' to disparage the writer. However, there is a craft to revealing a secret. Ask your favorite chismoso. Melissa Lozada-Oliva's \u003ci\u003eDreaming of You\u003c\/i\u003e is a delight to read because Lozada-Oliva knows how to make awkwardness flinch, how to make crushes flutter, and how to make despair cry. Melissa Lozada-Oliva is the poet laureate of chisme.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e—José Olivarez, author of \u003ci\u003eCitizen Illegal\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Like pop stardom, Melissa Lozada-Oliva’s \u003ci\u003eDreaming of You\u003c\/i\u003e is all truth and all fiction, all at once; something we imagined and something we survived, the same way a girl we’re in love with is a girl we made up. I’m talking about both Selena and Melissa, I’m talking about Melissa the protagonist and Melissa the author, I’m talking about ghosts and heroes and ex-lovers and ourselves. Mostly, I’m saying that this collection, a macabre carnival, heals reality by distorting it, calls memory what it is: a funhouse, a roomful of mirrors where you can’t tell if the person you made out with was your crush or yourself, to which Lozada-Oliva shrugs and says, \u003ci\u003eWhat's the difference\u003c\/i\u003e?\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e—Olivia Gatwood, author of \u003ci\u003eLife of the Party\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"\u003ci\u003eDreaming of You\u003c\/i\u003e is a party. One of those unforgettable ones, where everyone who is haunted encounters their ghosts and has a good time. Only in Melissa Lozada-Oliva’s beautiful, irreverent voice can we resurrect the beloved Selena in a seance gone wrong; only in her voice can we dance with dead celebrities, encounter the 'You' in the poem, get ghosted by our ghosts, or break Yolanda out of prison. Delightful, dark, funny, perverse, loving—the poems that make up this novel are so alive, and so modern, they pulse.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e—Sally Wen Mao, author of \u003ci\u003eOculus\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"\u003ci\u003eDreaming of You\u003c\/i\u003e is as warm and frank as your big sister giving you the real sex talk. It understands perfectly the singular agony of girlhood. To read it is to fall in love—with Selena, with the author, with all the unbound violent joy of which only girls are capable.\"\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e—Rax King, author of \u003ci\u003eTacky\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Thank god for Melissa Lozada-Oliva! \u003ci\u003eDreaming of You\u003c\/i\u003e is a mystical, hungry, thumping heart; it's funny and haunting and will be alive long after we are all dead and gone.\" \u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e—Catherine Cohen, comedian and co-host of \u003c\/b\u003e\u003ci\u003e\u003cb\u003eSeek Treatment\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/i\u003e\"\u003ci\u003eDreaming of You\u003c\/i\u003e is fearlessly open, so friendly in its darknesses, beckoning again and again for us to come on in, to join this buoyant writer as she lets her imagination excavate feeling, examine celebrity, connections, lonelinesses and the oddities and beauties that become us.\" \u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003e—Aimee Bender, author of \u003ci\u003eThe Particular Sadness of Lemon Cake\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003c\/b\u003eMelissa Lozada-Oliva is the child of Guatemalan and Colombian immigrants. She co-hosts the podcast \u003ci\u003eSay More\u003c\/i\u003e and is a member of the band Meli and the Specs. She holds an MFA in poetry from NYU and her writing has been featured in \u003ci\u003eRemezcla\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003ePAPER\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe Guardian\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe BreakBeat Poets Vol. 4\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eWirecutter\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eVulture\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eBustle\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eGlamour\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe Huffington Post\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eMuzzle Magazine\u003c\/i\u003e, \u003ci\u003eThe Poetry Project\u003c\/i\u003e, Audible, and \u003ci\u003eBBC Mundo\u003c\/i\u003e. She is from Massachusetts and lives in New York City.\u003ci\u003eHello, querido reader.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eDo you like poetry?\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eMaybe you like songs?\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eDo songs get trapped in your \u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003ehead like a rat on sticky paper?\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eAre you afraid of dying \u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eand does it fuel you?\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eWe aren’t trying to \u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003esell you anything, \u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003ebut consider hanging us \u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eon your wall.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003ePrimero que todo, \u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003ewe love chisme.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eWhat is a meal\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003ewithout the seasoning of gossip?\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eWhat is a conversation without\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003ea little talking-some-shit?\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eWe make eyes\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eat each other through the trees.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eWe clink our beers together on rooftops.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eWe send messages later, on the car ride home.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eWe all know the story of Selena Quintanilla.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eThe Tejana pop star who was murdered\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eby her best friend and the manager\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eof her fan club, Yolanda Saldivar.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eThere are heroes.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eThere are villains.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eThere are fans.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eThere are girls trying to find\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003etheir reflection in a rippling\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003epond, and then feeling startled\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003ewhen a piece of gum falls out\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eof their mouth.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eThere is a frog that thinks\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003ethe gum is a fly and chokes to death.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eWhere were we?\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eThis is a story of mirrors,\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eor what happens\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003ewhen you bring the mirror\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eback from the dead and when\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eyou look in it you see yourself\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eeating yourself.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eThis is about You,\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eexcept when it’s not about you.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eThis is a love story.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eBut it isn’t our story.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eHowever, as chismosas, we feel\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003ethat it happened to us.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eSo we believe we are the best\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eones to tell it.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eWe will try to\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003etell it to you\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003ethe best that we can.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eFirst, let’s introduce\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eour speaker, Melissa,\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003ewho does not speak\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eentirely for us.\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eShe is a girl who dreamsa lot.\u003c\/i\u003e","brand":"Astra House","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":48233115287781,"sku":"NP9781662601651","price":15.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/1842\/7735\/files\/9781662601651.jpg?v=1767725698","url":"https:\/\/k12savings.com\/es\/products\/dreaming-of-you-isbn-9781662601651","provider":"K12savings","version":"1.0","type":"link"}