I had high hopes going into this because I’m a sucker for multi-POV family sagas, and Family Lore did not disappoint. 

Flor Marte can predict when people will die, so her family members are alarmed when she decides to throw herself a living wake. The story moves backwards and forwards through the family’s lives, exploring their various conflicts and secrets. It’s narrated by one of the second gen characters and she inserts her own reflections as parenthetical asides while recounting her cousin’s and aunts’ stories. This narrative choice felt like a fresh take on a multigenerational family saga and left me wondering what parts of the story were altered or left out in the process of sharing oral histories. 

It was so easy to relate to all the characters. One of them reminded me of myself and I was constantly reminded of my loved ones in many of the sisters and side characters. They were all so frustrating and endearing. 

Much of this was a solid 4-star read for me, but the ending and Acevedo’s beautiful prose bumped it up to a 4.5.

My thanks to NetGalley and Canongate for an eARC of this book.