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Family Lore  By  cover art

Family Lore

By: Elizabeth Acevedo
Narrated by: Elizabeth Acevedo, Sixta Morel, Danyeli Rodriguez del Orbe
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Publisher's summary

NATIONAL BESTSELLER

A GOOD MORNING AMERICA BOOK CLUB PICK!

Winner of the NAACP Image Award, Outstanding Literary Work, Fiction

Shortlisted for The Center for Fiction First Novel Prize

From National Book Award-winning author Elizabeth Acevedo comes the story of one Dominican American family told through the voices of its women

Flor has a gift: she can predict, to the day, when someone will die. So when she decides she wants a living wake—a party to bring her family and community together to celebrate the long life she’s led—her sisters are surprised. Has Flor foreseen her own death, or someone else’s? Does she have other motives? She refuses to tell her sisters, Matilde, Pastora, and Camila.

But Flor isn’t the only person with secrets: her sisters are hiding things, too. And the next generation, cousins Ona and Yadi, face tumult of their own.

Spanning the three days prior to the wake, Family Lore traces the lives of each of the Marte women, weaving together past and present, Santo Domingo and New York City. Told with Elizabeth Acevedo’s inimitable and incandescent voice, this is an indelible portrait of sisters and cousins, aunts and nieces—one family’s journey through their history, helping them better navigate all that is to come.

A Best Book of 2023 from: Washington Post * Good Housekeeping * Real Simple * Harper's Bazaar * Elle * Time * NPR

©2023 Elizabeth Acevedo (P)2023 HarperCollins Publishers

What listeners say about Family Lore

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Not for me

I wasn't expecting the sexual content and that really threw me. The story was hard to follow moving in and out of people and places.

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1 person found this helpful

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I feel

I feel so many things. I feel as though I got to know long lost family that I had been searching for. I feel as though I found myself in these pages. I found love, forgiveness, strength, & POWER in these words. Elizabeth Acevedo is gifted and I am grateful to have found her litterateur. Thank you for this beautiful story of beautiful, strong, powerful women. Thank you

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    2 out of 5 stars

Very confusing, especially as an Audiobook.

There are a lot of characters introduced quickly and elaborated on through the this novel and this became confusing, especially since the recording didn’t include the chapter titles to indicate who was narrating. I enjoyed the author’s writing style and the narrators all had excellent voices, but I spent too much time trying to figure out who was who and also thought the crude parts about the character with the “Alpha Vagina” cheapened the story. The other family powers were interesting and deep and this felt part felt forced for shock value or edginess. I would have stopped listening if this hadn’t been a book club selection, but I’m glad I pushed through and heard the ending in the author’s words and not just as a bookclub wrap up.

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Beautiful story.

Beautiful story. I felt like it could have been my family. It touched me deeply.

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    4 out of 5 stars
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Great Journey

I got caught up in this world with its vivid characters and 2 locations, the different generations. I'm surprised at how people thought there was too much sex. It wasn't gratuitous, just normal life of normal people. It's probably too much for younger teens, but not adults. A beautiful book!

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like poetry

I loved the rhythm of this story and the ways the narrative wraps around you. The detail and brings it all to life.

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ALL THE THINGS... JUST READ IT!

Engaging with this literature is truly a magnificent experience, offering a profound journey through its pages.

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Seamless Transition from YA

Elizabeth Acevedo is an excellent storyteller. This first novel for adults was in my opinion a seem less transition from her usual YA targeted books. Beautiful story, with beautiful imagery, told with her culture woven all through out.

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I love all her books

Elizabeth Acevedo has such a way with words. Get ready to be transported to the DR (Dominican Republic)! I swear I could smell, taste, and feel all that was happening in this novel. Elizabeth's narration as well the sound of her accent and the rhythm of her speech is hypnotic. Great summer read.

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    3 out of 5 stars
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Read The Poet X instead

I love Elizabeth Acevedo but this book just didn’t do it for me. Too many perspectives and not enough substance. I’d recommend The Poet X instead.

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