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.

I'm so sad to DNF Family Lore, but I am finally accepting that I need to let it go. I love Elizabeth Acevedo's writing and have marked her YA books very high -- this coming from a reader who typically does not enjoy YA books. The writing is lovely and the narrators in the audio version are wonderful. But this book's story just was not for me. My deep gratitude to NetGalley and Harper Audio for the chance to experience this audio ARC.

I love Elizabeth Acevedo and her YA novels. Most of them I have even managed to get a hold of the audio versions that she reads. I even have a basic familiarity with Spanish, so the authentic names of foods and places doesn’t bother me. With all that said, I wanted to love Family Lore.
But I didn’t. I had a hard time keeping all the characters straight and their relationship to each other, and the magical elements felt like they were too much for me. I will go back and try this novel again in a different time in my life, but for right now, this was a miss.

Family Lore was a well written book as all of Acevedo books are very well written. This particular book (adult fiction-magical realism, etc) was. loaded with loveable characters, rich descriptions, beautifully crafted family relationships, drama and sometimes trauma.

The main character Flor Marte has a gift of dreaming and predicting deaths. She decides to throw herself a party, a wake if you will and she leaves her family wondering if she has seen her own death. She wanted to have this grand party while she was around to enjoy it, although she leaves her family extremely concerned. She uses several literary devices, one in which the audience is left wondering whether she time travels. The setting is between the DR and New York City.

The characters are rich in traits and leaves the reading enthralled and experiencing an up close view of family dynamics. Though the flash back to younger Flor was arresting, personally, flashbacks is not a preferred device that I find enjoyable.

Thank you Netgalley, Ecco, and Elizabeth Acevedo for the ARC for my honest review.

I appreciated the deliberate sprinkles of Spanish within the pages, and will continue to read books written by Acevedo.

This brings the perspectives of a variety of family members when one woman, Flor, decides to hold a living wake. The timeline switches between modern day and the past and between the Dominican Republic and the US. There isn't a set pace at which these changes between narrator and time happen and it got a bit confusing at points. There were parts of this book that I absolutely loved. Her writing is lyrical and some sections I was absolutely awed by. However, as a whole, it just didn't come together for me. It felt almost like a bunch of short stories about the same family and I never crossed over to seeing the why of the whole, nor did it sit well as just a journey of one family. The content does include discussion on infidelity and pornography, if that is something that offends you, this might not be the book for you. I listened to the audio and the readers were good, once I sped it up to 2X speed. It was worth a listen for me, but fell a bit short of my expectations, Many thanks to NetGalley, and Elizabeth Acevedo for allowing me to preview this book!