Self-described "longtime radio host and short-time writer" Lauren E. Rico quickly establishes Familia in the first chapter: Gabby DiMarco takes a genealogy test as research for her magazine job and finds not only "the wrong ethnic breakdown," but that she has "a full sister," Isabella Ruíz. Three hundred fast-paced pages follow, jumping back and forth between Gabby's and Isabella's narratives, from Today and That Day, to nimbly reveal the multilayered repercussions of what happened 25 years ago.
Gabby always thought she was the "only child of only children." She grew up happy, adored, privileged. In sending her DNA sample, she "hoped I'd find a long-lost cousin somewhere." She never expected to find Isabella and an enormous extended family in Puerto Rico--especially when she always believed she was of Italian descent. Her loving parents never even hinted she was adopted. For Gabby to believe Isabella is actually her sister is to admit that her parents were kidnappers who stole a seven-month-old baby from a widowed father and sister. So Gabby heads to San Juan, expecting to confirm the testing company has made a grave mistake.
Rico's novel is a love letter to her heritage, who proudly claims "sixty-nine generations of ancestors on the island dating back to the year 245 AD!" Her descriptions of the island's neighborhoods (especially street art), traditions (fairy-tale quinceañeras), and iconic dishes enable an immersive experience as the would-be sisters follow elusive leads and bypass previous dead ends. Even as Rico highlights connections by blood, she repeatedly reminds readers, "It's not about who we share our DNA with so much as who we share our heart with." --Terry Hong, BookDragon