Reviews with content warning for Child abuse - Family Lore

TLDR: This a poignant novel and skillful writing even if it isn't really my cup of tea.

Family Lore is the story of 6 Dominican women—sisters Matilde, Flor, Pastora, and Camila, and Ona and Yadi, the daughters of Flor and Pastora. Acevado creates a character- and relationship-driven narrative that explores family ties, inner struggles, relational and familial tension, sexuality, and especially love in its many forms. This is not a light read, although it is beautiful.

Spanning multiple points of view and sometimes overlapping timelines, Family Lore takes place in the few weeks between Flor's dream about her death and her living wake. Her decision to call this gathering together makes everyone nervous, as Flor has a gift (or a curse) for foreseeing how and when people die in her dreams. She stays mum on the date and way of her passing, but everyone knows something is up.

With that as the backdrop, Acevedo takes us on a journey through both the present struggles of the sisters and daughters as well as an examination of their past. Ona is an anthropologist and takes on her family as a research project. There are several short asides in which she adds her commentary on specific issues.

Matilde has no supernatural gift, but her graciousness is other-worldly, and she is taken advantage of because of it. Flor struggled with her spiritual connection to death from an early age. Pastora, reader of people's truths, was too much child for their anxious and cold mother, so she was sent away and abused by a (possibly) possessed aunt. And Camila came many years after Pastora, so she is never quite as connected to her sisters nor does she have a supernatural gift.

I felt connected to each of the sisters, but I struggled to connect with Ona and Yadi a bit (which is okay; no one has to connect with every character). I was mesmerized by each of their unique stories, and I really liked following their stories and growth. I also loved the magical realism incorporated into the novel—I never felt like I was taken for a fantastical ride, although I loved what the magic brought to the story. It was all almost believable.

The main reason that this is not a 5-star read for me is that I really, really struggled to get through it. I found myself not wanting to pick it up to finish but at the same time feeling like I needed to finish it because it was a story that deserved to be finished. The end is foretold in the beginning, so I never really reached a point where I felt like I had to know what came next, so it was often easy to put down and harder than usual for me to pick up. I tend to prefer plot-driven rather than character-driven books, and this was very much NOT a plot-driven narrative. That said, I'm going to be adding Acevedo's other work to my TBR.

Content Warnings

laura_lin's review

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emotional reflective fast-paced

Loveable characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This is one of my favorites I’ve read this year. I loved the nuanced bonds between multiple generations and the shifting perspectives. I especially appreciated the cast of characters listed in the beginning as someone who loses track easily.
This author touched on a lot of sensitive topics in such a palatable relatable way. And I loved challenging myself to use context clues to translate the Spanish sprinkled throughout.

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stephmcoakley's review

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challenging emotional mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Content Warnings

achay91's review against another edition

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emotional slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

Content Warnings

author2223's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Content Warnings

mollitron's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

Content Warnings

booknerderika's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective sad medium-paced

Loveable characters? Yes

3.75

This is not at all what I had expected. The writing was beautiful, as always with Acevedo, so I wasn't surprised by that. The topics and the way things are discussed so openly and intimately that it feels almost intrusive is what caught me off guard. I loved the way that the stories were all intertwined and how new bits and pieces of each character are revealed as the story progressed. There were some scenes and topics that made me stop and process the things that weren't being said. I am torn on how I feel about the end because it felt so sudden yet it also gave perfect closure. The full circle moment of new life at the same moment of death was perfect. I have still been thinking about this book even though I finished it a couple of days ago.

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