#66 Caramelo by Sandra Cisneros

“We are not dogs!” This abrupt statement is what sends Eleuterio Reyes back to Mexico to fulfill his obligations as a father. It’s also what makes later generations of the Reyes family possible. Celaya Reyes, born years later in America, tells stories of her family’s complicated past, stories that contain more twists than a telenovela. Though her book is a novel, Cisneros includes many historical facts, such as a description of the Ten Tragic Days, which occurred during the Mexican revolution. It is this mix of fiction and reality that shows that the Reyeses are indeed, not dogs, but a proud family with a heritage as rich and sweet as caramelo.