Family Lore
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by Elizabeth Acevedo
Publication date: August 1, 2023
Publisher: Ecco
Hardcover: 384 Pages
Publisher Description
From the bestselling, National Book Award–winning author Elizabeth Acevedo comes her first novel for adults, the story of one Dominican-American family told through the voices of its women as they await a gathering that will forever change their lives.
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.
About the author
Elizabeth Acevedo is the New York Times-bestselling author of The Poet X. She is also the author of With the Fire on High and Clap When You Land-
Read more about Elizabeth ON HER WEBSITE
Praise
“With Family Lore, Elizabeth Acevedo has made the transition into the adult world look easy. The true gift of a stunningly talented writer.” — Jacqueline Woodson
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“Acevedo expertly maneuvers through the complex and singular stories of each of these women, and all that unites them. It was a joy to experience each character’s expressive and gripping story, to acknowledge their truths; and to recognize some of the women in the lives of women around me. A remarkable accomplishment.” — Abi Daré, author of The Girl with the Louding Voice
“Elizabeth Acevedo tackles some of life’s biggest questions with the vivacity and empathy readers know from her young adult novels.” — Harper’s Bazaar
“Family history is always best when it’s told through the eyes of a woman. In Family Lore, Elizabeth Acevedo does exactly that—tracing multiple generations of women in one Dominican family as they uncover what truly binds them all together.” — Elle
“Enchanting…Family Lore beautifully explore[s] themes of sister- and motherhood, family secrets, and the power of defining your life’s purpose and meaning.” — Bustle