Welcome to Litsy!

#12Booksof2024 April was a great reading month for me and contributed a few books to my best-of-2024 list. My fav non-fiction came from this month (and from #naturalitsy : 8 Bears), but ultimately I guess I'm just a sucker for Acevedo. Plus, this novel did such an expert job exploring the diversity of women's experiences in an immigrant family that I was enthralled.

Another book from the #tbr shelf! ❤️🪑💙

#Chair
#CoverLove

💛💙💛

It‘s here! Thanks again to @ImperfectCJ

Tagged is my favorite read from April - but I had four other 5-star reads, which is impressive!
Acevedo's first book for adults, in all its magical realism glory, was just too moving. I appreciated the breadth of female and immigrant experiences in this book about 4 magical sisters from the D.R. and their families. As ever, Acevedo's own narration in her audiobooks is not to be missed.
Oh! And my first #bookspinbingo of 2024! @TheAromaofBooks

⭐️⭐️⭐️

Bailing at 27% The writing is very pretty and I love generational family stories, however there are too many POV‘s and the non-linear timeline is very hard to follow. It may just my current reading tastes, so I may attempt at a future time.

This month is so the month of DNF‘s but chipping away at that #roll100 backlist! #hailthebail

This book just wasn't for me. I read it for a book club I'm in.

Acevedo is an excellent storyteller and very good at creating memorable characters. Despite the predictable ending, I enjoyed this one.

12-16-23: My 99th finished book of 2023! Flor and her 3 sisters, Matilde, Pastora and Camila, have gifts. Flor can predict when someone will die. When she decides to hold a living wake for herself, her sisters, niece and daughter, pitch in to make it a memorable affair but have many questions. The story goes back and forth in time, telling how the 4 sisters upbringing took them from rural Dominican Republic to the capital and finally to NYC.

Typically, I love Acevedo‘s books. I was excited to listen to her first adult novel. Unfortunately, this didn‘t work as well for me. I‘m sure the blunt physicality & sexuality of the sisters‘ stories was meant to feel empowering (or at least FULL & true). Instead, I felt unexpectedly uncomfortable. I can‘t tell if my response was due to social conditioning or her writing. The dialog didn‘t always read naturally. The end was circular & predictable.

Acevedo is one of my favorite YA authors and this is her first adult novel. It was complicated and a bit messy as families often are. Great character development and beautiful writing.

My first read on the kindle. I love Elizabeth Acevedo anyway but I absolutely loved Family Lore. The way sisterhood, and motherhood, and daughterhood all braided together gave me chills.

I knew that this story is not really for me, but since it's Elizabeth Acevedo, I just had to give it a try. Still, my feeling was right. Not story for me. The changes happen way too fast to get into each character enough, at least for me. Acevedos voice is nice to listen to, but at some point I just let the story happen without following it too closely. I did like the ending, though. But I still prefer the author's YA novels way more.

Very disappointing, given all the hyped up reviews. The story line is too hard to follow and the excessive reference to bodily functions is unnecessary and does not add to the story. For a lover of Isabelle Allende and magic realism, it was very sad to read something that sounded like a similar genre, but in the end was a huge disappointment.

I gave this a good try, starting it twice, but it is just so flat. I thought maybe it was the audio narration, but I see others who read it in print saying similar things, so it‘s clearly the book. Not for me.

I have loved Acevedo‘s previous books, but this one fell short for me. The structure of the book, including some weird layout choices, didn‘t work for me. It felt disjointed. I did like the sisters and hearing about their histories and special abilities. I felt there was an overemphasis on sex that I personally didn‘t enjoy reading. The ending felt rushed. Overall I was disappointed.

Elizabeth Acevedo being interviewed by Jason Reynolds. #NationalBookFestival

And once again #Scribd has removed a book from my current borrows🙄
Honestly, WTF?

I had a great time meeting Elizabeth Acevedo tonight. Can‘t wait to read her book!

Library haul!! 📚

I didn‘t like this one as much as her others, but I hope this isn‘t her last adult book.

I was super excited to read Elizabeth Acevedo‘s first adult book, but I‘m about 80% of the way through and its not working for me. I‘m still going to finish it.

This is definitely a pick, though not as strong of one as her novels in verse.
When you consider this as not only an adult debut but a prose debut as well, it is truly a strong novel. I just went into with too large expectations.
Ultimately, a satisfying family novel with a lovely ending.

Also, I misplaced my ARC today (rearranging my office 🤦‍♀️), so please enjoy my favorite picture of Bernard.

3.5⭐️ After reading and loving Acevedo‘s previous work, I went into this book with too many expectations. I saw where she was trying to take me with her story, but I just had a little bit of difficulty getting there.

That being said, I did have a good time with this book (will admit that some of the women‘s feelings REALLY resonated with me), and will continue to read anything she writes.

Pub Date: 8/1/23

#NetGalley

Another 5 star+ from Acevedo—forever an instant buy and always in audiobook if she narrates!

My anticipated read for 2023 is Elizabeth Acevedo's book, Family Lore. I've loved every book that I've read of hers and I'm excited to see that she has written an adult fiction book. It comes out in August.

#EasterOMC #picturechallenge
@Clwojick @LadyKatrina

This author normally does YA novel in verse. So this is a bit different. Adult contemporary about a family full of women with unique gifts. One sister knows the truth, one can dance, one dreams of death, and one is in tune with nature. I like it.

#DoubleSpin @TheAromaofBooks

Pub date is 8/1/23
#ARC #Netgalley