"My name is Ana. Every year, my family makes tamales for Christmas. This year, I am six, so I get to mix the dough, which is made of cornmeal. My sister Lidia is eight, so she gets to spread the dough on the corn husk leaves. I wish I was eight, so that my hands would be big enough to spread the dough just right--not too thick and not too thin." And so the years pass, and Ana turns eight, ten, twelve, fourteen, sixteen. But every year, big sister Lidia is always two years older. Ana envies her elder sibling and wishes she could do what Lidia does: put just the right amount of meat inside the tamales and roll them up; steam the tamales without scalding herself with the hot, hot steam; chop and cook the meat for the tamales without cutting or burning her hands. When she turns eighteen, though, Ana knows she will keep making tamales and she will be able to do all of the steps herself in her very own factory. When Christmas comes around, Ana will deliver tamales to all of her customers around the world, in delivery trucks that say "Ana's Tamales." And maybe Ana will even let Lidia work for her. Gwendolyn Zepeda's rhythmic prose is combined with April Ward's bright illustrations to create an affectionate and amusing story about sibling relationships that introduces an important Hispanic holiday tradition -- making tamales!

Jessica Luna has man trouble, mom trouble, and not a clue what to do with her life. As the baby of her family, she's never been trusted to make the right choices. So now Jess bases all her life decisions on signs-seeking guidance from the Virgen de Guadalupe hanging from her rearview mirror or what Madame Hortensia, her psychic, sees in the cards. When her sort-of boyfriend Guillermo disappoints her again, Jess wants to call it quits. Just to be sure, she checks in with Madame Hortensia, who tells her it's time for a change. Right on cue, Jess meets Jonathan. He's successful, financially stable-and the total opposite of all her past boyfriends. Jonathan should be her dream man, but as he helpfully advises her on every aspect of her life, Jess can't help but wonder if the changes he's suggesting are ones she wants. For the first time in Jess's life, there's no one who can tell her what to do. But if she wants to have any say in her future, she's going to have to learn to make decisions. All on her own.

Some friends help us heal . . .
If you ask her, Natasha Davila will tell you there's nothing more important to her than her kids. She'll do anything for her son and daughter-even play nice with her ex-husband. Only now she's facing a problem she never expected: her ex is re-marrying and suing for full custody. She could fall to pieces . . . or she could call on her friends.
Some help us change . . .
There's Sara, whose tough talk hides a soft-and loyal-heart, and Haley, who has so much more to offer than a pretty face. When they're together, Natasha doesn't have to be someone's wife or someone's mother. She can just "be."
And some remind us what true friendship is really about . . .
When Natasha's ex ups the ante and exposes some disturbing news about her friends, she's forced to cut ties. But can she really walk away from the women who have been standing by her side?

Jessica Luna is your typical 26 year old: she has man trouble, mom trouble, and not a clue what to do with her life (though everyone else in her family seems to have plenty of suggestions!) After a lifetime of being babied by her family, Jess is incapable of trusting herself to make the right choices. So instead, she bases all of her life decisions on signs. She looks to everything for guidance, from the direction her rearview-mirror-Virgin-de-Guadalupe sways to whatever Madame Hortensia, her psychic, sees in the cards.

When her sort-of boyfriend Guillermo, a gifted unmotivated artist, disappoints her again, Jessica thinks it's time to call it quits. Just to be sure, she checks in with Madame Hortensia who confirms that yes, it is time for a change. (Who knew $20 could buy so much security!) Right on cue, Jess meets Jonathan; he's the complete opposite of Guillermo--of all Jess's boyfriends, in fact. He's successful, has a stable job....and is white. Jess isn't sure if Jonathan is really the change Madame Hortensia saw. Sure he gives great career advice, but is he advising her on a career she actually wants? And yes he's all about commitment, but is it Jess or her mother who really wants marriage?

Jess runs back to Madame Hortensia for advice, but even she is out of answers. Now there's only one thing that's certain: no one--not her mother, her sister, her boyfriend or her psychic--can tell her what to do. For better or for worse, Jess will have to take the plunge and make her own decisions if she wants to have any future at all.

When Sandy Saavedra landed her dream job as a blogger for the popular website !Latino Now!, she was a bright-eyed idealist, determined to eradicate racism and Latino stereotypes with her hard-hitting exposes. The sugar Pulitzers dancing in her head burst into flame, however, when Sandy's Editor in Chief is laid off and replaced by Dolores Villanueva O'Sullivan. Dolores has one mission: to make !Latino Now! an internet sensation, no matter how many pandering puff pieces she has to pack onto its pages. Now Sandy is forced to cover the most demeaning "stories," from telenovela sets, to lowrider shows, to the trail of the mythical Chupacabra. Sandy doesn't see how she can keep this job without losing her soul, especially when she's sent to Middle-of-Nowhere Texas to investigate alleged footprints of the dumbest legend her people ever created, the Chupacabra. Sandy's sense of logic tells her she's about to fail an assignment and lose her job. Until her intuition leads her to Tio Jaime, a grandfatherly hermit, who may be crazy or may be the best thing that ever happened to Sandy's career.