Family Lore by Elizabeth Acevedo

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. 

Sisters Matilde, Pastora, Camila, & 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 & community together & 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 & Yadi, face tumult of their own: Yadi, reuniting with her first love, who was imprisoned when they were both still kids; & Ona, married for years & attempting to conceive. Ona must decide whether it's worth it to keep trying-in having a child, & 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 & present, the Dominican Republic & New York City. Told with Elizabeth Acevedo's inimitable voice, this is an indelible portrait of sisters & cousins, aunts & nieces - one family's journey through their history helping them better navigate all that is to come.