Two weeks ago, I teased Familia by Lauren E. Rico, the spring Libby Reads selection. The ebook and audiobook were available without holds or a waitlist for two weeks from all U.S. library branches that use the Libby app. On May 7th, I joined a Zoom call with the author and many other readers to discuss the novel and Rico’s writing process and inspiration. The next opportunity begins July 9th, and the pick is I See You’ve Called in Dead by John Kenney.
Lauren E. Rico is a classical music radio host and bestselling author. Familia is her first novel in the Women’s Fiction genre and a tribute to her Puerto Rican heritage.
The story begins in NYC, when our main character and journalistic fact-checker, Gabby, receives unexpected results from an ancestry DNA test she took for her job. She is certain the lab made a mistake, but is determined to follow the story to Puerto Rico. She meets Isabella, a young woman who is convinced Gabby is her sister and tells an unbelievable story about her baby sister who disappeared twenty-five years ago. Despite Gabby’s doubts, the two women agree to retake the DNA test and solve the mystery of Isabella’s missing sister.
DNA testing is popular but comes with risks. Families are forced to rethink where they come from and to whom they belong, and how we define family is challenged. The reader is forced to consider whether family is the people we are born with or the ones we choose.
Rico says, “This novel grew out of my fascination with those moments of reckoning: when the stories weʼve always believed about our families are complicated by new information, and when love and loyalty are tested by truth.”
The story is not whether Gabby is Isabella’s sister. It is the unraveling of how they become familia.
Visit the library, an independent bookstore, or search the Knox County Online Library for more books.
Look for books at Knox County Online Library or your local independent bookstore each week.
Linda Sullivan is an avid reader and wants to inspire you to become one, too. For more recommendations or to talk books, reach out to her at thebookwhisperertn@gmail.com. She can also be found @thebookwhisperertn on Instagram.
Follow KnoxTNToday on Facebook and Instagram. Get all KnoxTNToday articles in one place with our Free Newsletter.
