This lively family novel concerns the Reyes clan, including the Awful Grandmother, Soledad. Her granddaughter Lala delves into her grandmothers history as she recounts various colorful episodes in the family history, concluding that, awful though some of her relatives may be, she is blessed to be part of a large, close-knit--and often very entertaining--family. Sandra Cisneros has based this saga in part on her own large Mexican-American family. A New York Times Notable Book for 2002.