This short novel follows a life of a family told from the perspective of the youngest son. The father is of South American heritage and the mother is white, and together they have three boys: Manny, Joel, and the unnamed narrator.
The family is not perfect. Father tends to get abusive, and mother is suffering from depression and manic outbreaks. The mother doesn’t want her boys to grow up, because as they grow up, they tend to become distant, but also following the example of their father’s violence. The youngest one is gentler than Manny and Joel, but he tags along in everything his older siblings do. Their growing up is filled with watching their parents fight and get back together, but they also struggle with identity, coming from a mixed marriage.
The novel’s climax ensues at the sexual awakening of the boys; their watching of pornography, and the homosexual awakening of the youngest. It ends with his family discovering his imaginary writings of explicit homosexual encounters.
After a shame-filled and violent outbreak, the narrator's family takes him to a mental institution to recover. The novel’s last chapter is told from a third-person perspective, describing the moments prior to being hospitalized and showing his detachment and emotional breaking.
