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A review by bookishmillennial
Family Lore by Elizabeth Acevedo
challenging
emotional
mysterious
reflective
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
disclaimer: I don’t really give starred reviews because I don’t like leaving them. I enjoy most books for what they are, & I extract lessons from them all. Everyone’s reading experiences are subjective, so I hope my reviews provide enough information to let you know if a book is for you or not. Find me on Instagram: @bookish.millennial or tiktok: @bookishmillennial
Oh gosh, I'm nervous to write this because I absolutely ADORE Elizabeth Acevedo. LET ME BE PERFECTLY CLEAR: I AM A MASSIVE FAN OF ELIZABETH ACEVEDO! I have read everything she has published and I have been absolutely *ENAMORED* with her work. She is a master class in novel-in-verse, and in powerful writing in general. I truly believe that. However, this was just an example of me being the biggest fangirl ever, and yet not loving something by one of my favorite authors. Believe me, this is as devastating for me as it is for yall!
I was so excited by the premise, and when I realized what this book was about! I love a multigenerational family saga, and following the women in the family who have magical gifts?! FUCKING INCREDIBLE PREMISE! Flor hosts a living wake and doesn't say who it is for and when the person will die?! Iconic behavior. However, overall, the novel just did not work for me. See: *me wistfully ruminating on how sad I am that I didn't love this*
My problem with this novel is the same problem I had with books like Atlas Six by Olivie Blake - there were too many characters' POVs, and to *fully* invest in, leaving me a bit flustered and frustrated when I had to switch POVs to someone else, just as I was getting pulled in to one character's arc/motivations/desires/hopes. I understand this is not a decision that only Acevedo makes, and I've seen it in other books, especially in thrillers (which I also love to read!). However, I don't think it was executed well in this book, and I could have done without three POVs; I still could have learned about the rest of the characters through the main POVs' chapters! I didn't feel that many of them were able to be fully fleshed out because of this choice to split up the story's POVs so much.
I've seen criticisms that the book has too much Spanish in the book that is not translated to English but I didn't mind Googling anything if I felt I was missing context. That's not a factor in my review; I actually really enjoy seeing more languages in books, and it consoles me that more books are being written with the authors' community in mind, rather than for the white gaze.
However, that last sentence is where this novel fell short for me. With the resolutions for certain characters by the end of the book, I felt like this was written for a white audience. The Spanish may not have been, but the actual plotline and storyline really felt like it was catering to what big publishing houses think the "market" wants, and that was super disappointing. I don't want to spoil anything obviously, and my opinion is not gospel, but this is just the vibe I got.
Anyway, I will go re-listen to The Poet X for now, and this doesn't mean I will never read a book by Acevedo again. GET REAL! I will continue to read her work, and I'm sad that this one just didn't hit for me.
steam rating: steam was sort-of open-door but not written as explicit smut if that makes sense! So yes, there's sexual content in here but it's not particularly the smut you'd read in another romcom, so just keep that in mind.
cw: infertility, infidelity, miscarriages, death, grief, fraught family dynamics
Oh gosh, I'm nervous to write this because I absolutely ADORE Elizabeth Acevedo. LET ME BE PERFECTLY CLEAR: I AM A MASSIVE FAN OF ELIZABETH ACEVEDO! I have read everything she has published and I have been absolutely *ENAMORED* with her work. She is a master class in novel-in-verse, and in powerful writing in general. I truly believe that. However, this was just an example of me being the biggest fangirl ever, and yet not loving something by one of my favorite authors. Believe me, this is as devastating for me as it is for yall!
I was so excited by the premise, and when I realized what this book was about! I love a multigenerational family saga, and following the women in the family who have magical gifts?! FUCKING INCREDIBLE PREMISE! Flor hosts a living wake and doesn't say who it is for and when the person will die?! Iconic behavior. However, overall, the novel just did not work for me. See: *me wistfully ruminating on how sad I am that I didn't love this*
My problem with this novel is the same problem I had with books like Atlas Six by Olivie Blake - there were too many characters' POVs, and to *fully* invest in, leaving me a bit flustered and frustrated when I had to switch POVs to someone else, just as I was getting pulled in to one character's arc/motivations/desires/hopes. I understand this is not a decision that only Acevedo makes, and I've seen it in other books, especially in thrillers (which I also love to read!). However, I don't think it was executed well in this book, and I could have done without three POVs; I still could have learned about the rest of the characters through the main POVs' chapters! I didn't feel that many of them were able to be fully fleshed out because of this choice to split up the story's POVs so much.
I've seen criticisms that the book has too much Spanish in the book that is not translated to English but I didn't mind Googling anything if I felt I was missing context. That's not a factor in my review; I actually really enjoy seeing more languages in books, and it consoles me that more books are being written with the authors' community in mind, rather than for the white gaze.
However, that last sentence is where this novel fell short for me. With the resolutions for certain characters by the end of the book, I felt like this was written for a white audience. The Spanish may not have been, but the actual plotline and storyline really felt like it was catering to what big publishing houses think the "market" wants, and that was super disappointing. I don't want to spoil anything obviously, and my opinion is not gospel, but this is just the vibe I got.
Anyway, I will go re-listen to The Poet X for now, and this doesn't mean I will never read a book by Acevedo again. GET REAL! I will continue to read her work, and I'm sad that this one just didn't hit for me.
steam rating: steam was sort-of open-door but not written as explicit smut if that makes sense! So yes, there's sexual content in here but it's not particularly the smut you'd read in another romcom, so just keep that in mind.
cw: infertility, infidelity, miscarriages, death, grief, fraught family dynamics
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Toxic relationship, and Grief
Minor: Sexual content