Sandra Cisneros' Caramelo is the history of a Mexican-American family, told through the eyes of the young Lala Reyes.

The narrative opens with Reyes crammed in the family station wagon with her large family en route from Chicago to Mexico City, where her grandparents live. There, Lala befriends a washerwoman's daughter, the caramel-skinned Candelaria. Lala finds her beautiful.

Though artfully crafted, Part One lacks a captivating plot. Just as one begins to question the novel's substance, a major turning point occurs. A feud erupts between Lala's grandmother and mother. The segment ends abruptly, leaving the reader in suspense until Caramelo's end .

Part Two sharply turns to Seville, Spain, 50 years earlier. Lala talks about her great-grandfather leaving the old country to seek fortune in North America. She continues her grandmother's story as a young orphan, clutching her caramelo rebozo for comfort.

This segment of the novel is by far the most captivating -- Cisneros uses the Mexican Civil War and its political turmoil as the story's backdrop. By the time Caramelo returns to Lala's youth, the reader has become intimately familiar with her family.

Lala unabashedly admits to dramatizing her family history, which may be why Part Two is a page-turner . Like a high-quality television mini-series, Caramelo blends history, romance and social issues. Anyone with patience to read the first 80 pages will be rewarded with a captivating story that shares the dramatic tale of a seemingly normal family.

-- Reviewed by Nicole Stitt