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fkshg8465's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Death of parent, Excrement, Infidelity, Death, Mental illness, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Slavery, Deportation, Medical content, Rape, Body shaming, Alcoholism, Abandonment, Blood, Emotional abuse, Confinement, Grief, Infertility, and Pregnancy
atamano's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Sexism, Misogyny, and Infidelity
Moderate: Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Death, Classism, Sexual assault, Grief, Pregnancy, Sexual content, Abandonment, Racism, and Alcoholism
Minor: Blood, Forced institutionalization, Injury/Injury detail, and Infertility
magsapt's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Sometimes you do not realise how good a book is until you discuss it with someone and a few days have passed. Family Lore is one of Acevedo's best books, although it was not always my favourite as I read it. And this, I must confess, has nothing to do with the author's inability to tell a story or write beautiful prose (a style we're not used to seeing Acevedo use), but with my own biases. My only problem with this book was
What I really liked, though, was the multiple POVs, which worked wonders for me. I think Acevedo knew how to give each character a distinct voice. The author is a master at exploring relationships. This was undoubtedly the best part of the book. We got to know each woman's feelings for the other and how their dynamic changed over time as they married and had children.
However, even though this is a book about women, for women, I would've liked to see more
Something the author excelled at was her description of emotional abuse and how people can actually change.
Overall, I give this book a perfect 4-star rating. It has some things that could've definitely been better, but the story, the plot and the creativity (characteristic of Acevedo) will warm your heart.
Graphic: Emotional abuse
Moderate: Sexual harassment
Minor: Death
celery's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, Deportation, Domestic abuse, Abandonment, Ableism, Child death, Classism, Gun violence, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Murder, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual content, Stalking, Toxic friendship, Violence, Grief, Medical content, Misogyny, Gore, Racism, Sexual harassment, Death of parent, Drug use, Excrement, Fatphobia, Gaslighting, Infidelity, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Animal death, Incest, Infertility, Injury/Injury detail, Addiction, Alcohol, Blood, Emotional abuse, Pregnancy, Hate crime, Medical trauma, Panic attacks/disorders, Body shaming, Car accident, Child abuse, Colonisation, Confinement, Cursing, and Sexual assault
saucy_bookdragon's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Family Lore has a lot of great ingredients for a great book. As usual, Elizabeth Acevedo's prose is absolutely delicious, I want to eat it! There's also a lot of great themes and character moments in this. In particular, this looks at womanhood in a complicated but loving family structure, also this is very unabashed in how it explores sexuality. I also found Ona really interesting (her magical power is, and I shit you not, a magical super-vagina) and I liked the family dynamics.
Despite all the great parts of Family Lore, it's a bit underbaked. There's too many POVs and the plot is meandering across a long timeline in a non-linear way, to the point this feels like an anthology of slice of life stories. At one point I even forgot that this was about a woman who can predict deaths having a living wake. With this many somewhat unrelated plotlines and backstories, I couldn't care for them all.
Graphic: Infidelity, Death, Death of parent, and Infertility
Moderate: Pregnancy
victoriousbookworm's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Grief and Death
Moderate: Racism
Minor: Sexual assault
sarafrancesreads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
#FamilyLore by Elizabeth Acevedo
⭐️ Rating: 4/5 ⭐️
Synopsis: 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. 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.
My thoughts: As always, I love stories of strong women. This story highlights a family of strong women and includes a sense of magical realism, with each of the women in the Marte family holding a special “gift”. It shifts between the viewpoints of each of these women, the implications of their gifts, and explores the bonds of family, and lessons learned as the family faces the meaning of life and death with a living wake for one of the sisters, a mother and aunt. Although many reviewers dislike the multiple viewpoints, I liked the short chapters and intermixed perspectives. I will say that some of the story lines did feel a bit drawn out, and didn’t really have a clear resolution by the end of the book. Overall, I feel like this book pulled at my heartstrings, and did a good job of making me reflect on the importance of family and what it means to be living.
Moderate: Sexual content, Pregnancy, and Death
readingpicnic's review
5.0
Graphic: Death, Infidelity, and Domestic abuse
bedtimesandbooks's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Child abuse, Death of parent, Infidelity, Pregnancy, Infertility, Grief, Miscarriage, Toxic relationship, Death, Sexual assault, Violence, and Classism
Moderate: Sexual content
snackykennedy's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Grief, Death of parent, Death, Infidelity, and Infertility
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Pregnancy, Colonisation, Misogyny, and Sexual content
Minor: Mental illness, Miscarriage, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail