The book centers around a large Mexican-American family in San Diego. Urrea’s writing was at first a bit hard to follow, switching between narrators in uneven rhythm. It leaves you wondering whose thoughts you’re reading. Every character also has at least two names, depending on whose POV you’re in, which adds to the confusion. But ultimately, I came to appreciate these stylistic choices. They intentionally immerse you in the center of the crazy, swirling motion and emotion of this family.

These fathers, mothers, grandmothers, grandfathers, brothers, sisters, cousins, tías and tíos make up group of people who struggle to stay together while still creating their own sense of individuality. It highlights how important it is to maintain a sense of “us” in a world that calls you “them”. But also touches on the burdens of expectation to stay part of the family unit, when your own identity doesn’t match the family’s norms. Urrea also uses the novel to explore aging, both of those coming to the end and of those just finding adulthood.

The book was written by a straight man. It comes from a male POV, even when he places us “in the heads” of characters who aren’t male. I loved the interwoven stories, the family of tragic, funny, sad, happy, included and excluded characters. But the end really surprised me with an event that, even with foreshadowing, seemed outside of reality in how it unfolded, and really played up the importance of masculinity in a very specific form as a way of redeeming multiple characters.

All that said, I really enjoyed the book. The story helped me really *feel* for brief moments how some Mexican-American folks have described what family means in their lives. I loved the characters, even if the resolution of the story arc felt off to me personally. I’d recommend this as a perfect example of a fun and moving family-centered, character-driven novel.

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