"Sisters Matilde, Pastora, Camila, and Flor thought they knew each other well, until Flor--inspired by a documentary her daughter Ona made her watch--decides she wants a living wake, a party to bring her family and community together and celebrate the long life she's led, while she's still around to enjoy it. She's not ill, as far as anybody knows, but Flor does have a gift: she can predict, to the day, when someone will die. Has she foreseen her own death, or someone else's, or does she have other motives? She refuses to say. But Flor isn't the only person with secrets. Matilde has tried for decades to cover the extent of her husband's infidelity, but she now must confront the true state of her marriage. Pastora is typically the most reserved sister, but Flor's wake motivates this driven woman to attempt to solve her sibling's problems. And the next generation, cousins Ona and Yadi, face tumult of their own: Yadi, reuniting with her first love, who was imprisoned when they were both still kids; and Ona,married for years and attempting to conceive. Ona must decide whether it's worth it to keep trying--in having a child, and in the anthropology research that's begun to feel lackluster. Spanning the three days prior to the wake, Family Lore traces the lives of each of the Marte women, weaving together past and present, the Dominican Republic and New York City. Told with Elizabeth Acevedo's inimitable 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"-- - (Baker & Taylor)

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

Booklist Reviews

National Book Award–winning YA author Acevedo enters the realm of adult readers with a juicy novel of sisterhood, resilience, and magic. Most of the women in the Marte family are born with supernatural gifts, except for the oldest, Matilde, who is kind and a great dancer. Flor's gift is the ability to see death. After watching a documentary about a living wake recommended by her college professor daughter, Ona, and witnessing the outpouring of love for the elderly Mexican immigrant, Flor decides to hold her own wake. Ona's response is to conduct interviews with family members for her ethnoanthropological research; this becomes the meat of the novel. Her narratives about each tía, her mother, vegan cousin Yadi, and her own first-person testimonios are peppered with asides and transcripts and seasoned with fluid code-switching between English and Spanish. Over the course of four roughly chronological sections, Acevedo, via Ona, dramatizes the sisters' often traumatic history in the Dominican Republic and challenging present in New York City with insightful sympathy and love. Acevedo's novel starring a spunky narrator will enchant both fans and new readers.HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: The first adult novel by the author of the YA best-seller, The Poet X (2018), is on many most-anticipated lists, stirring readers' anticipation. Copyright 2023 Booklist Reviews.

Library Journal Reviews

From National Book Award-winning YA author Acevedo, this first adult novel tells the story of a Dominican American family through its women. Flor is planning a wake, which understandably alarms her sisters, as she is able to predict the day of a person's death. All the sisters, plus their nieces, teeter on the brink of major decisions. With a 250,000-copy first printing. Prepub Alert. Copyright 2023 Library Journal