Family Lore

by Elizabeth Acevedo

Overall: Adult fans of Elizabeth Acevedo, she’s written one for you! In Family Lore, the acclaimed YA author of The Poet X and With the Fire on High focuses on the women of the Marte family. From their childhood on a farm in the Dominican Republic to their current lives as busy seniors in modern-day New York, the four sisters of the Marte family have lived knowing they each have a unique gift. Flor’s is knowing who will be the next in the community to die.  So when she decides to throw herself a “living wake,” her sisters Camila, Pastora, and Matilde, her adult daughter Ona, and her niece Yadi are all understandably worried and upset.  As the book unfolds, the family members take turns narrating the story, plumbing their memories as they attempt to reassure themselves that Flor, and the rest of the family, will be all right.

Likes: Acevedo nails the historical family drama.  Her writing style is always compelling, and in this context gets to flower into full bloom.  The narrative isn’t fast-paced and has room for the lush descriptions, funny asides, and sharp observations that kept me eagerly turning the pages.  This large cast is full of sharp tongues and strong personalities; I did not have any problem keeping the characters straight (there’s a handy family chart at the beginning). The magical touches also helped to differentiate the women and gave the narrative a hint of fantasy, which I enjoyed. I loved learning about the history of the Dominican Republic and how each woman ended up in New York.

Dislikes: In a cast this full, not every character will get equal treatment, and I felt like in this book, Camila’s story was less effective and added the least to the overall narrative. The book, given that it is not YA, is free to be far more sexually graphic than the author’s previous work, and it went there a little more than is my preference. In particular, one character had a fetish that I did not feel added much to the book.

FYI: attempted sexual assault, references to murder and violence, marital infidelity, death of a family member, miscarriage, infertility.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my advance review copy. All opinions are my own.