I love Elizabeth’s books, sadly I could not get into this one. I had higher hopes. I ended up putting it down hoping to pick it back up winter 2024!

family lore unfortunately does not capture a lot of what makes acevedo's books so great. the writing is fantastic but the ideas feel half baked and nothing really feels outstanding. for a book dedicated to character work, the characters were not very interesting nor was the plot.

This was beautifully written. Elizabeth Acevedo is one of the most talented storytellers of our generation. This is a story about a big and complicated family. It felt really realistic.

I wanted to like this, but could not get into it. A huge fan of this author, but the more I read the less I wanted to continue and ultimately dnf. The magic I'm used to could not be found in this story.

Appreciated the narrator's voice. I love Elizabeth Acevedo and this book is no exception!! The family dynamics, wow this book truly takes you on a journey and I am here for it!

I recently used this book for my library book discussion. A lot of members had a hard time finishing the book. Many complained that there were too many characters to juggle around even though a family tree is given. Due to the large cast of characters they had a hard time connecting to any of them and some characters were not fleshed out as they have liked. The switching between past and present was also not clear and hard to follow.

Those who listened to the audiobook enjoy it, however, we would have preferred that the two narrators in addition to Acevedo were given a lot more to do and would have helped if they narrated some of the characters to help distinguish them in the book. This would not be our first choice to read a book by Acevedo, but we do plan on reading more books by her.

My favorite part of this narrator was that she had the accent and the inflections all right. It was like listening to my own family speak.

I am a huge fan of Elizabeth Acevedo’s writing and this story did not disappoint. I absolutely loved the narrator and how they brought the characters to life.

I loved this story. The prose is beautiful and the tale of the women in this family felt very real. Rich in culture and family lore (as the title implies) and the way the whole story leads the reader up to the living wake, is wonderful but sort of disappointing after the wake.
I enjoyed the writing and the characters and suggest this book for anyone who loves a good family saga.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for this honest review.

I’ve read a few of this author’s previous YA novels and loved them, and was really looking forward to reading FAMILY LORE, her first adult fiction.

This was such a powerful story that focuses on four sisters, each unique in their own way. Matilde, Pastora, Camila, and Flor. Moving between past and present timelines, it was told in such a heartfelt way that intertwined this moving story.

I paired the book with the audiobook, as one of my absolute favorite ways to immerse myself into reafunfm and just low myself to soak up the story, and I loved learning about this multi-generational storyline.

*many thanks to Ecco and Netgalley for the gifted copy for review

I am a HUGE fan of Acevedo's young adult novels and I was SO excited for this one. However, I don't think I'm quite the right fit for this book. I know it was largely an ode to Aceveo's family and heritage and so maybe this was not relatable enough for me -- but would be a great fit and really resonate with people from similar family structures and heritage. I struggled with the structure of this book -- the different characters (many!) and it switching between them. I usually enjoy multiple points of view but this was too many characters and too much switching for me (whereas I know this works for others). Ultimately I think this just wasn't a good fit for me but others could love it.

This was not my favorite book by Elizabeth Acevedo. I found it hard to connect to the story--maybe because it was an adult book and not YA, but I didn't love it.

Ahh I really wanted to love this one, because I've loved her YA books, but this was just so boring. I did not connect to any of the characters, and the scenes which she chose to highlight didn't make sense and it felt so clunky. Her writing style is so pretty, and it's obvious she can write beautiful prose. I can see an audience for this book. It just wasn't me.

Family Lore brings together the traditions and gifts of the Marte women. The audiobook was performed by the author and was engaging.

Thanks to NetGalley and Harper Audio for the advanced copy of the audiobook.

I’ve really struggled with this review. I spent the first half of this book incredibly frustrated. There were so many characters, too much jumping around in time, it felt like total chaos and I was unable to connect with the story. Then, something changed. I don’t know if I just became comfortable with the style or if I began to differentiate the characters better but I began enjoying their individual stories. There were plenty of poignant passages but each sister’s story felt very separate. And I definitely could have done without the graphic sex. I was drawn to the book because of it’s beautiful cover and the premise - one of four sisters can predict death and decides to hold a living wake for herself. I don’t usually like magical realism and yet that wasn’t the problem for me with this book.
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I think if you like reading about Latin American culture and appreciate Spanish phrases sprinkled throughout, this book could work for you. I think I would have DNFd this one if it weren’t for the four sisters and the Spanish phrases used by my mom and her four sisters, all of whom have passed away. I’m glad I pushed on because the second half was definitely better than the first. I’m still torn on my final thoughts on this one.

Flor can predict the day when someone will die. The women in her family all have secrets. This book follows them. The multiple points of view were a bit challenging but it's a good read

A wonderful, expansive novel about a Dominican-American family. Acevedo is such an accomplished story teller, especially in her details. The narration was great too.

I LOVED this book! In all honesty, I’ve been an Acevedo fan since The Poet X. I love her poetic, lyrical voice. And that comes through in this, her first adult fiction novel. This is a book about lots of women with lots of feelings. And I’m here for it.

The book jumps between past and present and many different POVs (all women) and interviews with others. There are also some chapters in 1st person and some in 3rd. This can be a bit hard to follow on audio at first, but I quickly picked up the patterns.

Don’t let the idea of magical realism scare you. This is very realistic magic (hence the name). It is more like family lore or sensitivities instead of true witchy magic that Acevedo weaves into the character development. It was perfect for me.

The audiobook is narrated by the author and her voice is just as lovely and lyrical as her writing. I went out and bought the hard copy so I could read it while I was listening and could underline and tan and take notes.

The only slight criticism is that there is a lot of talk about vaginas and sex and periods. I’m wondering if the author is overcompensating a little bit because it’s her first adult novel and she isn’t as constrained as she is in content for her YA/teen books. It was vulgar, I just don’t need to read the word vagina or p@say as often as I did. :)

I highly highly recommend this book either on audio or in paper. Thank you so much to the author and publisher and NetGalley for the ARC review copy in exchange for my honest review.

While not my favorite Acevedo title, Family Lore is nonetheless fantastically written and narrated--it's hard to keep raising the bar beyond phenomenal previous titles, so Acevedo keeping at a level of stellar/fantastic is a feat of its own. I thoroughly love losing myself in her writing and am always eager to read the next one.

The audiobook was very well narrated and I listened to it in one day.

I think the story itself depicts the resilience of women, especially within a family - the closeness that can be attained and just threw the knowledge of things left unsaid. It was a very beautiful story. I really liked following the different stories.