DNF (for now). The writing is lovely, but while I usually love sweeping, multigenerational stories, I can’t keep track of the different characters and plot lines. I also don’t love the structure with Ona’s anthropological asides. I might give this one another shot in the future, but I can’t force myself to finish it now

This was just a lovely written book about a family. All of the characters were well developed. The writing was lyrical and poetic, and I very much enjoyed it.

Another incredible novel by Elizabeth Acevedo! In her debut adult novel, the Marte women confront their memories and each other as Flor, the second sister and seer of death, plans her own living wake. Flor's announcement leaves everyone shaken and begging to know whether she has seen her own death and when it will happen.

Through this generational tale, Acevedo captures the mystical beliefs and abilities that it seems every Caribbean and Latin family holds. I felt almost as if she was somehow related to me because her descriptions of the characters, their conversations, and gifts sounded so similar to what I grew up around. There's something about Acevedo's way of portraying these observations within our community that feels so tender and complex that I want to savor it.

Unsurprisingly, the Marte family is quite large which makes for a lot of characters to keep up with. Thankfully, we are blessed with a "table of principal persons" at the beginning of the book that describes each family member, their relation to one another, their gift or other identifier, and years of birth to death. Despite this large cast, the novel follows the stories of the Marte sisters (Matilde, Flor, Pastora, and Camila) and their daughters (Ona and Yadi). With the table, I found the stories easy to follow.

This is a quite a lot of sensuality on display in this book so if you're not comfortable with that, maybe this isn't for you. Regardless, I will be holding my copy close to my heart and recommending this book as much as possible.

Note: Bi/Pansexual Rep included!

Elizabeth Acevedo's YA books are some of my favorite books, especially ""With the Fire on High," which was a five star read for me. I was very excited when I learned Ms. Acevedo had penned an adult novel. Unfortunately, this book fell short of my expectations and I didn't enjoy it as much as her previous works.

First, the pros: the writing is absolutely gorgeous, almost poetic. I love the author's use of language. I loved how she wove in snippets of Spanish to make the Dominican characters more realistic. And I loved the magical realism.

The cons: there were way too many characters and it was difficult to keep them and their storylines straight. I felt that there were many loose ends that weren't tied up and questions left unanswered. I was often confused when the storyline of one character abruptly switched to another and the flashbacks and interview notes added to my confusion. And there was way too much sexual content for my taste, especially since I don't think it really added to the story. I mean, one character had what she called "an alpha vagina"-a magical vagina.

There are flashes of brilliance in the writing, but overall, this novel was a disappointment to me. I'm still a fan of Ms. Acevedo though and eagerly await her next novel. Many thanks to NetGalley, the publisher, and the author for the opportunity to read an advanced copy of this book.

Thank you to NetGalley and Harper Collins for providing me with an E-ARC in exchange for my honest opinion.

I'm a huge fan of Elizabeth Acevedo's writing. I have read all of her books to date and loved every single one of them. I'm not sure what happened with this book. I could not connect with this book, and I feel like some parts were all over the place. I feel like there was too many POV's (6 to be exact) which made the book a little confusing. I did enjoy the cultural aspect of this book.

This book is written with absolutely beautiful prose and a touch of magic. I loved it. It delves into the lives and gifts of 4 sisters, their 2 daughters, and the family and friends that round out their community. Descriptions of life in the Dominican Republic are balanced by the current setting of New York City. The timeline goes back and forth from past to present. It definitely held my attention but I had a difficult time remembering who was who and their relationship to each other - the dual timeline confused me even more. But that’s probably just me and doesn’t take away from the visceral sense of the story and family. This is her first adult novel and it’s clear from the ages of the 4 sisters as well as the sexual content that it’s a mature book for adults. So please check content warnings if that’s a concern to you. Overall, this was an emotional and eye-opening read that I highly recommend.

I am a huge fan of Acevedo’s lyrical and beautiful prose, and Family Lore did not disappoint. Spanish phrases were sprinkled throughout the story, and though I don’t speak Spanish, I was glad that the words weren’t translated because they added a rich layer. Acevedo gave enough clues, and the readers were trusted to discern their meanings.

This was a multi-generational story about four sisters and their families. It was written from multiple points of view, during different time periods. At times, I was disoriented and confused about which sister had what gift and was the mother to which daughter. A family tree would have been helpful. Acevedo is a beautiful storyteller who created a fascinating cast of characters, and I would be interested in reading more about each one’s story.

I hope that Acevedo’s YA fans do not pick this up, because it explores sexuality in an explicit way, and was definitely written for adult readers.

My thanks to NetGalley for an Advanced Readers Copy of this book. All opinions are my own and not biased in any way.

This is [surprisingly] my first Acevedo, and I GET the hype. Her prose is STUNNING. The writing was probably my favorite part.

This is a multi-generational story about four grown sisters and their respective families and lives. I loved these characters. All were multi-dimensional, flawed, but redeemable.

I will say that the multi POVs and jumping of timelines from past to present was not always clear. I would occasionally get confused about where we were in time, and whose perspective we were reading from. There are a lot of spectacular characters but it was a lot of story lines. Honestly, this could be a *me* problem. I would have benefited from a visual family tree or something.

Overall, stunning work. Check the content warnings, but I highly suggest <3

This was a beautiful book about family, community, cloture and loss. I have read one Elizabeth Acevedo bok before so I was excited to read her first adult novel. I was a little sad this one wasn't written is verse like here YA books have been but it was cool to see her writing style on its one. I also liked how this book told the story of a family through out time from memories of the sisters. I also liked the little bit of magic sprinkled in the book as well. Definitely check this one out you guys it's a good one.

I’ve read all of Elizabeth Acevedo’s previous books and loved them. I love the lyrical, poetic language that she uses to create beautiful stories. While I was captivated with the language and story in Family Lore, I found that I had trouble keeping track of the characters. 3.5 stars rounded up to 4.

Thank you to Elizabeth Acevedo, Ecco, and NetGalley for an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Acevedo's adult debut (and her first novel in prose, I believe) explores the women in a Dominican-American family, fluidly moving back and forth in time. Flor has the dubious gift of predicting death, so when she calls her family together to host a living wake for herself, her sisters, niece, and daughter are left wondering what she's not telling them. Acevedo's characters are so richly drawn they feel like they could step right off of the page. I struggled a bit with all the narrative shifts, both in the timeline and keeping the many characters straight, but ultimately I loved spending time with the Marte women and learning about their pasts and secrets. I've read every book Acevedo has written, and enjoyed them all, which is no small thing. Thank you to NetGalley and Ecco Publishing for a digital review copy.

Family Lore was an absolutely gorgeous foray into literature for adults from the one and only Elizabeth Acevedo. As someone who has read and loved her previous Young Adult work, I was thrilled to have enjoyed Family Lore just as much. Spanning three days while tracing deep familial lines, Acevedo portrays the complexity and beauty of family, life, and death.

I absolutely loved With the Fire on High by Elizabeth Acevedo, so I was excited to be approved to read her very first foray into adult literature (verses YA lit). And this book is very adult, Acevedo doesn't shy away from sexual themes, but what really weaves the story together is the strong characterization. There are tons of characters in this story about family, and the POV keeps jumping, but the characterization is so vibrant and strong for each of these very unique women. The past and present weaves together as life comes full circle. It's one of those story that you end, but will be thinking through for a while. Powerfully done (but again, if you are queasy about sexual content, this book isn't for you).
Thanks #NetGalley and #Ecco for the ARC.

I love everything Acevedo has ever written, and while this is completely different, it's no exception. Her characters are so rich and deeply written.

Family Lore is the first book I've read by Elizabeth Acevedo, and I absolutely see why people love her writing. It's beautiful, poetic even - she is truly a storyteller. The way Acevedo illustrates relationships (specifically familial and female) & how she incorporates magic realism is so unique. Family Lore is very heavy on the multiple POV and for me personally, it caused some disconnection from the plot. I'd love to read her other books in the future that have less POV, and I'd recommend this to other readers who are a fan of her writing.

Acevedo is so great at capturing the nuances that exist in familial relationships, especially between women in families.

Writing a family saga that focuses on the relationships between women in the family is right up Acevedo’s alley. I love the Marte women. I just want to give them a hug.

Of course the writing is beautiful and poetic. There were, however, moments when it felt a bit clunky and I was disconnected from some of the characters. Some of the flashbacks to the Tias’ childhood in DR feel fragmented and incomplete I think this is because instead of getting first person POV from each woman, the story is told to us by Ona.

I thought about Isabel Allende’s The House of the Spirits while reading this book a lot— mainly because that book also tells the family’s story from the granddaughter’s POV & Ona reminded me of that.

Overall, this was a very emotional read. I laughed, I teared up and felt some level of anger at some point for everyone in the family. Elizabeth Acevedo is incredible.

This book can also foster some great conversations for book clubs, we are likely going to order it as a book club pack for our library.

Elizabeth Acevedo's writing is gorgeous, no doubt about it. This is definitely an adult book with adult content, which I can not have available for my students, and also a more character driven pacing which students often struggle with. I kind of do with I would've waited for the audiobook as to enjoy it more

I have read quite a few of Elizabeth Acevedo's YA novels and have always devoured them. Family Lore is her first go at adult fiction and I was hoping I would love it as much as her YA books, but unfortunately it didn't work for me. It had too many point of views and too many characters/family members to keep track of that I just had to set it aside.

Thank you NetGalley for an eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Full disclaimer: I may be biased in my star rating because I would read and enjoy anything Elizabeth Acevedo writes. She’s amazing and I love the representation of Latino culture in her writing. I feel seen and at home in her writing. I especially love how she writes family structures, specifically mother-daughter relationships.

This is her first adult contemporary novel, and I was very impressed. It was full of heart and soul, and powerful themes. There’s so many characters to love and root for.

The story follows a Dominican-American family residing in the US in the the current timeline, but theres are some flashbacks when certain characters lived in the DR. There’s a lead up to a living wake for one of the family members, Flor, who has the ability to predict the day someone will die from her dreams. Due to her gift, and the sudden desire to having a living wake, the family is very concerned what she may have seen in her dreams.

The books explores themes of sisterhood and motherhood in the confines of a multigenerational Dominican household. I loved the incorporation of Spanish throughout the book. Non-Spanish speakers may have to do a little work looking up the meanings, because Acevedo doesn’t really give contextual clues for translation, but if you don’t want to put in that work, then the book may not be for you anyway.

Also important to note that the story is told in multiple POVs and the writing style has some experimental elements. With the multi POVs, I can see how some can struggle keeping the characters straight, but I didn’t have that issue at all. In fact, there’s a list of characters and brief descriptions of them in the beginning, which was helpful whenever I felt like I had to reference it.

I think my biggest critique is that the ending didn’t feel like an ending. I’m keeping this spoiler free, so I’ll just say that it just felt out of place and abrupt. However, Acevedo is a poet first, so you can definitely see that side of her coming out in how the book wraps up.

After reading this book, I’m excited to see what Acevedo’s next project is going to be.

I absolutely love Elizabeth Acevedo's lyrical writing, and she did not disappoint with her latest read. I love how she captures the richness of oral stories/tradition and brings to life this matriarchal families' lived history, as told through all the tias and cousins. Women are the heartbeat of this story. Their history, their lessons, their resilience. It made me wish I had more time with my grandmothers, and all the women that came before them. It is easily my favorite book of Acevedo's and a favorite of 2023.