Good Morning America Book Club

Title: Family Lore

Author: Elizabeth Acevedo

Pub. Date: August 1st 2023

Genre: Contemporary/Fiction/Latinx

Format: DRC

Publisher: Ecco

Pages: 371

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☆☆ARC PROVIDED BY PUBLISHER IN EXCHANGE FOR AN HONEST REVIEW☆☆

One of my MOST highly anticipated reads of 2023 by one of my all time favorite authors, I could not wait to get my hands on a copy! and since I’ve always listened to Acevedo’s books while reading along, I couldn’t break tradition. If you haven’t done so already, you should absolutely treat your ears to Acevedo’s narrative style and join the many readers who simply adore this author’s storytelling/voice. This is Acevedo’s first adult fiction debut and we follow the six women of the Marte family in past + present timelines between Santo Domingo and New York City. Sisters Flor, Matilde, Pastora, and Camila have gathered to organize a living wake for Flor. The Oldest of the sisters has always had a close relationship with death, experiencing premonitions at a very young age that predicted which family members were close to passing. After watching a documentary of a man having a living wake with his loved ones present, Flor decided she would have one for herself. This story is slow paced as we get to know the sisters and some of their offspring, cousins Ona and Yadi also have chapters of their own as they navigate their mother/aunts live funeral.

There’s something comforting in reading one of Acevedo’s books and I believe it’s because family is always at their core. Also, as a Latina woman myself having grown up in a large family there is one universal truth and that is…everyone is deeply invested in everyone elses lives for better or worse. Matilde is dealing with a husband who is always having an affair and this time has taken his extra marital activities much further. Pastora is tired of seeing Matilde put up with her philandering husband and wants her to end her marriage. She’s also trying to get to the bottom of the reasoning behind Flor’s live wake. Camila is the youngest and most forgotten of the sisters and she’s grown tired of that. Flor’s daughter Ona is struggling with fertility issues and wanting more than anything to have a child with her husband. Pastora’s daughter Yadi has her world rocked when her boyfriend from her teenage years returns after having been in prison for some years.

I found some of these women’s stories to be more compelling than others but can appreciate what Acevedo set out to achieve. It was during the scenes that took place back in Santo Domingo where you can see where and why these ladies have unhealed generational trauma and wounds to heal. Although they’re all deeply woven with one another, six lives to follow can get chaotic and sometimes I found myself getting lost. I felt some women were better developed than others and this led to some blending in of voices and difficulty keeping the story lines straight. Even though we Know Camila is sick of being the forgotten one, I still felt she pretty much was forgotten in this story which seemed like a missed opportunity. If you enjoy reading slower paced stories with a strong focus on family dynamics paired with a unique storytelling voice, you can’t go wrong with Elizabeth Acevedo.

Favorite POV’s: Matilde and Yadi

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