Elizabeth Acevedo Livres

“Crackles with energy and snaps with authenticity and voice.” —Justina Ireland, author of Dread Nation “An incredibly potent debut.” —Jason Reynolds, author of Ghost “Acevedo has amplified the voices of girls en el barrio who are equal parts goddess, saint, warrior, and hero.” —Ibi Zoboi, author of American Street Fans of Jacqueline Woodson, Meg Medina, and Jason Reynolds will be captivated by this remarkable #ownvoices novel-in-verse by an award-winning slam poet, featuring an Afro-Latina heroine who expresses her truth with fierce passion. Xiomara Batista feels invisible in her Harlem neighborhood and, as her body matures, she resorts to using her fists to communicate. Yet, she has much to say and channels her frustrations into a leather notebook, reciting her words like prayers, especially after developing feelings for a boy named Aman, whom her family must never know about. With her mother’s strict adherence to church rules, Xiomara learns to keep her thoughts private. When invited to join her school’s slam poetry club, she grapples with the fear of her mother discovering her secret. Despite the challenges, Xiomara yearns to perform her poems, determined to make her voice heard in a world that often tries to silence her.

From the New York Times bestselling author of the National Book Award longlist title The Poet X comes a dazzling novel in prose about a girl with talent, pride, and a drive to feed the soul that keeps her fire burning bright. Ever since she got pregnant freshman year, Emoni Santiago’s life has been about making the tough decisions—doing what has to be done for her daughter and her abuela. The one place she can let all that go is in the kitchen, where she adds a little something magical to everything she cooks, turning her food into straight-up goodness. Even though she dreams of working as a chef after she graduates, Emoni knows that it’s not worth her time to pursue the impossible. Yet despite the rules she thinks she has to play by, once Emoni starts cooking, her only choice is to let her talent break free.

The second poignant, powerful and passionate novel in verse from the 2019 Carnegie Medal winning author of The Poet X.

Flor has a gift: she can predict, to the day, when someone will die. When she decides she wants a living wake - a party to bring her family and community together to celebrate the long life she's led - her sisters are surprised. Has Flor forseen her own death? Or someone else's? Does she have other motives? 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. Camila is the youngest sibling, often the forgotten one, but she's decided she no longer wants to be taken for granted.And the next generation, cousins Ona and Yadi, face tumult of their own: Yadi, reuniting with her first love, who was imprisoned when they were both still kids; and Ona, married for years and attempting to conceive. Spanning the three days prior to the wake, Family Lore traces the lives of each of the Marte women, weaving together past and present, Santo Domingo and New York City. Told with Elizabeth Acevedo's inimitable and incandescent voice, this is an indelible portrait of sisters and cousins, aunts and nieces - one family's journey through their history helping them better navigate all that is to come.