The House of Broken Angels by Luis Alberto Urrea is a novel loosely based on his family. The whole family gathers for their Mother’s funeral and within a week, Big Angel the eldest son dies of cancer; but first they gather one more time to celebrate his birthday as only Mexicans can. An entertaining story full of family memories and little moments of grace, however not my favorite book by Urrea.

Urrea is the author of The Devils Highway, the true story of a deadly border crossing from Mexico through the Southern Arizona desert. This is the book I would recommend reading by this author.