Elizabeth Acevedo’s Family Lore is the latest pick for the Good Morning America book club.
Acevedo’s novel was published Tuesday by Ecco. The book follows a Dominican American woman who has the ability to predict the exact day people will die. She decides to hold a living wake for herself, but refuses to tell her family if she has predicted her own death.
The novel was longlisted for the Center for Fiction’s First Novel Prize. A critic for Kirkus, however, called it “an uneven effort with somewhat flat characters and prose that fails to sing consistently.”
Acevedo is known for her critically acclaimed young adult novels, including The Poet Xand Clap When You Land, both finalists for the Kirkus Prize. Family Lore is her first novel for adults.
ABC News’ Stephanie Ramos announced the pick on the morning show. “There is so much excitement for this month’s pick,” she said. “It has a little bit of something for everyone: sisters, secrets, delicious food, and the divine magic of ancestors.”
The novel got another endorsement on the show as well. “Guys, my mom was visiting from Miami a few weeks ago, and I caught her reading this book in our dining room,” Ramos told the GMA co-anchors. “The lady naps when she can, so she was into it.”
Michael Schaub, a journalist and regular contributor to NPR, lives near Austin, Texas.
