Sibling Relationships

Siblings form relationships based on their individual situations, with some becoming closely bonded while others push completely away from the family ties. These relationships shape individuals and affect how they function, often for the rest of their lives. The relationships in this novel are complicated by the fact that both parents have died, leaving the three brothers as a family unit. They are dependent on each other, more so than in a typical family with parents present, and the oldest has taken on a complicated role of guardian. Milagro's three sons have an existing relationship, but that relationship is changing as their situations change. The major factors affecting them are their shared grief, their interdependence, and the fact that each is changing as a natural part of the aging process.

The three boys lost their father years earlier, before Lafayette was born, and their mother's...