Summary

Julia Reyes describes her older sister’s funeral. Olga Reyes—meek, plain, and underachieving—had been texting while crossing the road and had been hit by a truck, a life and death Julia considers pointless. Julia’s father, Apá, is undemonstrative, and her mother, Amá, publicly wails her grief for her favorite daughter. Julia believes Amá blames her for Olga’s death because had Julia’s troublemaking at school not required Amá’s presence, Olga would have had a ride home that day. While Julia’s firebrand of a childhood best friend, Lorena, saves Julia from the whispering of her aunts, Olga’s best friend Angie weeps over the casket.

In the weeks after the funeral, the usually tidy and exacting Amá lies in bed, not even washing herself. Apá only goes to work and sleeps on the couch. The...