"Charming and funny . . . Mesmerizing . . . Wonderful." --USA Today Yolanda Garc a--Yo, for short--is the literary one in the family. Her first published novel, in which uses as characters practically everyone she knows, was a big success. Now she's basking in the spotlight while those "characters" find their very recognizable selves dangling in that same blinding light. But turnabout is fair play, and so here, Yolanda Garc a's family and friends tell the truth about Yo. Her three sisters, her Mami and Papi, her grandparents, t as, t os, cousins, housemaids, her third husband: they take turns telling their side of the story, ripping into Yo and in the process creating their own endearing self-portraits. At once funny and poignant, intellectual and gossipy, lighthearted and layered, Yo is above all a portrait of the artist. And with its bright colors, passion, and penchant for controversy, it's a portrait that could come only from the palette of Julia Alvarez.

Julia Alvarez's new novel, Afterlife, is available now.