I will preface my opinion by stating that I read 38% of the book over the course of about 45 days. I tried my hardest to love this, because I know what Elizabeth Acevedo is capable of writing. This book was difficult for me, because there were so many characters. Even with the included family tree, it was a bit confusing. And the need to refer to the family tree every chapter was exhausting. I do think that there was great thought but into the book.

I had previously loved Elizabeth Acevedo's young adult novels, but her latest wasn't for me. The magical realism didn't work for me and there were too many alternating points of view.

I love a multigeneration book--this is no exception. Acevedo has solidified her place in the lit world. I really enjoyed the mystical aspect of the novel along with the harsh realities of life.

I am a huge fan of stories about families that span multiple generations and Family Lore is no exception. Elizabeth Acevedo is truly skilled at her craft and the past and present perspectives are brilliantly written.

This book was an amazing. I loved how the last interwined with the present. It left me in tears even knowing what was going to happen.

The writing in this was great. The author is very talented. It was great to experience the culture of a Dominican-American family and I liked that it has themes of magical realism, as well as cultural traditions, and myths. I enjoyed getting to know each woman of the Marte family. The beginning of the novel was a bit slow and it took me a little while to become fully immersed in the story, but once I got there, I found myself completely caught up in the characters' lives, their heartbreak, abuse, traumas, and the complicated family drama. This is a beautifully written book, it was so emotionally engaging and each character had a beautiful and unique perspective. My only problem with this was that there were just too many characters. Although the book does come with a character list at the start, I kept getting the characters mixed up. This made me lose the connection with some of the characters. I will be giving this novel 4 stars because Acevedo is really talented and I can see people loving this novel. I would definitely recommend it and I am glad I had the opportunity to read this.

This book gives a complete, whole-picture look at two generations of women in the same family. Although there are many characters (the story is told from the alternating viewpoints of the 5 women), it was not hard to keep track of who was who. Every woman was distinct and compelling with complex relationships shown throughout. I also enjoyed all the character arcs and that scenes/events from the older generation's past were included. The structure of the book is smart, unique, and emgaging to read. Overall, this book has a cozy, fulfilling atmosphere that feels like a hug while leaving readers pondering what it means to live a full life.

I really want to love this story, but I felt like there was a lot to keep track of reguarding characters. It make it hard to follow along some of the time.

There's no doubt Elizabeth Acevedo can write, but I think I'd like some of her other books more than this one. I liked the dynamics between the sisters but there were SO. MANY. CHATACTERS. It was hard to keep everyone's perspective straight. I want to try one of her YA novels next.

I picked this up after having read Elizabeth Acevedo's first book 'The Poet X' which I did not love, but I thought it was decent for being YA which is not a genre I read often. So when I heard that this was Acevedo's newest book and it was geared towards an adult audience, I figured I'd give her another chance. A lot of what I liked about 'The Poet X' had to do with the insight into another culture and the way immigrants live their lives in America, and so I hoped that 'Family Lore' would have a lot more of that!

Also, I have to say that the comparisons to Gabriel Garcia Marquez (who I absolutely adore) definitely worked in it's favor as well and led me to picking up a book from an author that I may have passed on otherwise.

Now, that being said...I can understand why the comparisons to Marquez were made, as he is of course the father of magical realism, but magical realism is not a thing I find myself enjoying as a rule, it was more of an exception with Marquez, and 'Family Lore' was what I would normally categorize as magical realism, The thing about it tho that I found difficult to enjoy is that I felt that there were moments where it was written in such a way that made things unclear for me. I was not sure if I was supposed to take things at face value & accept that some fantastical things were happening, or if I was supposed to think of it as allegorical, or metaphorical. I didn't think it was always clear what the point of it was, and so at times felt unnecessary and superfluous.

The story is ultimately about 4 quirky sisters from the Dominican Republic, and is a family saga of sorts. Which I normally love family sagas, especially multigenerational, multicultural ones. Which this book was. But what makes these sisters different is that each sister has a "special gift." Like for example, one can tell if a person is lying, another can predict the date that a person will die, etc etc. We follow these sisters as they move from the DR and make new lives and relationships in New York City.

There was a good amount here to enjoy, per usual I really enjoyed reading about their sisterly bond. I have always wanted a sister and it is something I like to read about. I found it interesting reading about how these women build new lives while remaining loyal to one another and their culture. I thought Acevedo's writing was very much improved since 'The Poet X,' or maybe it's just the difference in target audience, but I thought her writing flowed and made for easy reading, but for me personally I just didn't especially connect with any of the sisters. I was engaged enough to finish the book and I never felt bored exactly, but I never felt thoroughly absorbed in the story either. Overall my reading experience was very much in the 3 star lane, I'm not upset that I read it but I will be thinking twice before I pick up another book by Acevedo, it just might be that she's not the author for me and I just don't vibe with her particular writing style.

Loved this book so much. It was so well written and thoughtful - and also thought provoking. It's so special. I'll certainly be recommending it to everyone I know. Thank you Ecco for the e-galley!

I was THRILLED to learn that Elizabeth Acevedo was writing an adult novel, but slightly worried that it wouldn't live up to my ludicrously high standards for her books (she is an auto-buy for me, which i can't say for anyone else who often writes novels-in-verse). But! This book is incredible, and the format of it is not like anything i have seen before.

The structure is this: Ona is an anthropologist and is interviewing everyone in her family. The chapters are written mostly in the voices of the various women in the family, with occasional break-ins by Ona, with anthropological or family story asides. It was a really fascinating way to set the book up and i loved it.

Other notes:
- All the women in the family have powers, from seeing truths even in strangers to incredible dance skills.
- One of the women knows when people are going to die--including herself. She decides to host a living wake, and this book leads up to and ends right after it.
- The relationships are as complex and deeply--if painfully--loving as you would expect in a family trying to be together

UGH JUST READ THIS BOOK WHEN IT COMES OUT!

NetGalley ARC

This was my first Acevedo book and unfortunately, I found this to be okay. I didn’t find the story as compelling as it should’ve been but I think Acevedo is a talented writer. I think this had to do more with me as a reader. I think she takes her craft seriously but at times, I’m not always sure this shines through and I felt a tad bit bored with this.

Family Lore is Elizabeth Acevedo's adult fiction debut. I have long been a fan of her YA novels in verse, so I was eager to read this ARC. I have hemmed and hawed about how to rate it, because I can name so many things Acevedo did brilliantly in this book and just as many aspects that did not work for me personally.

Family Lore has a character list a mile long and is told from numerous perspectives. The story centers on a family from the Dominican Republic who have immigrated to New York. The sisters of the older generation are in their sixties and seventies, Matilde, Pastora, and Flor. Flor decides to plan a living wake for herself, and immediately the family is anxious because Flor has an ability to see people's deaths before they happen.

Told in a combination of the present day and many, many flashbacks to the sisters' youth in the DR and in the US, parts of the book read like a connected short story collection. I found these flashback vignettes very powerful, but also hard to connect back to each individual character because the cast was so large and the stories had so many similarities.

Acevedo also includes the perspective of Yadi and Ona, two daughters of the matriarchal sisters. Yadi's ex-boyfriend has recently been released from prison and Ona is struggling to conceive with her husband. I found both of their perspectives very relatable and easier to follow than the sisters.

Overall, this book was denser and harder to follow than I thought necessary but the writing was beautiful. I wish it had the clean pacing of Acevedo's YA works. It felt so much longer and slower than I like, and I truly feel many readers will have trouble differentiating the cast of sisters like I did. So I will continue to read whatever she writes, and I hope that Acevedo's next adult release is even better.

Thank you to NetGalley and Ecco publishers for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Acevedo is a brilliant poet, and her lyrical style is apparent in her first novel. A story that weaves generations, told in small moments distilled to the most minute details, gives the reader a rich understanding of the hearts and minds of each woman. It is clear that Acevedo is giving us pieces of her family, her culture, and her heart. Many thanks to Ecco and NetGalley for my gifted copy.

Elizabeth Acevedo wrote a book for adults!
Her first adult novel focuses on the lives of one Dominican-American family and the voices of its women. Flor is throwing herself a living wake, and she's gathering her sisters (and nieces, among others) together to celebrate her life and share a secret with them. The nonlinear narration develops the characters and sheds light on their past.

I'm a fan of Isabel Allende and Gabriel Garcia Marquez, and this novel reminded me of their stories. It has some elements like magical realism, as well as traditions, myths, culture, etc. I enjoyed getting to know each member of the Marte family, although I think I liked Flor and Matilde the most. I appreciated Matilde's passion for dancing and how she came alive when she was performing.

The one thing I didn't like about this book was it lacked some of the figurative language that makes Acevedo such an amazing writer. Her verse novels knock me out. It's truly where she excels. That said, I will read anything she writes!

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC!

Family Lore by Elizabeth Acevedo follows a Dominican-American family through the voices of members that span generations. The plot centers around the lead-up to a living wake that one of the members of the eldest living generation, Flor, decides to throw for herself. This may not be too out of the ordinary except that almost every one of the family members has a unique gift. Flor, has death premonitions about the people around her. Thus, upon the announcement of the living wake, the family becomes suspicious.

I really wanted to love Family Lore. I loved the idea of the plot, and more generally I love multi-generational novels, Latin American fiction, multi-POV as a literary device, Elizabeth Acevedo's writing style, and magical realism. However, I had a really hard time getting into and getting through this book. Previously I read Poet X and read through it pretty fast. And while there were moments in this book where the prose bordered on poetic or I was really swept up in a particular moment, I was largely uninvested in the story. I still think it is worth reading if you are a fan of Acevedo's YA work as it is her debut in adult lit.

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

Elizabeth Acevedo does not disapoint with her adult debut. Her lyricism of her verse YA novels translates into full-formed, savory prose in this spec fic story.

Family Lore - Book 40 of 2023
🌟🌟🌟🌟1/2
Effusive, Sprawling, Reverent
Family Lore tells the story of 4 sisters and 2 of their daughters. The book alternates between each of their points of view to tell the story of the Dominican-American family and their special gifts/mystical abilities. This was a slow read for me. It was very well-written and Elizabth Acevedo’s first book for adults. I’m still gathering my thoughts on this one. I’ll be excited for others to read so we can discuss. Thanks to @netgalley for the ARC.

First, thank you to @netgalley and @eccobooks for providing me this early release copy in exchange for an honest review.

This is Elizabeth Acevedo’s first foray into adult literature, and I absolutely loved it. I loved her YA novel-in-verse, Clap When You Land, so I was incredibly excited to receive this early review copy.

Acevedo’s writing is beautiful and nearly flawless. This story surrounds the Marte women, each of whom has a special ancestral gift. This book feels part magical realism, part literary fiction, and has incredibly family ties with cultural influences throughout.

I don’t want to give too much away, because I genuinely feel this book is best consumed without too much former knowledge. The sisters and daughters here hold such a special place in my heart, Flor particularly, and this is just one of those truly unforgettable novels.

Run out and preorder this now - it drops on August 1 and is perfect for fall cozy reading.