Esperanza Rising - Pam Munoz Ryan

Book: Esperanza Rising
Author: Pam Munoz Ryan (click on the author's name to go to their webpage)
Publisher: Scholastic
262 pages
My Rating: 5/5 stars

A few months ago, I asked my readers to recommend books about American History to me and Chelle from The Prairie Library recommended Esperanza Rising by Pam Munoz Ryan. I was a little skeptical with it being a Juvenile Fiction book but decided to keep an open mind and checked it out of the library. Chelle could not have been more right. This book was fantastic--so much so, that it is making my short list for the best book I've read this year.

Esperanza Rising is about Esperanza, a wealthy young Mexican girl that has grown up on a ranch called El Rancho de las Rosas during the era of The Great Depression. When her father is killed by bandits, she, her mother, and their servants are put in a precarious position. They cannot maintain the ranch without Papa and so the servants--Hortencia, Miguel, and Alfonso decide to move north and seek agricultural work in America. A series of events requires Esperanza and her mother to flee Mexico as well, and the five make their way to Southern California and begin working the fields to make a life for themselves. Life is hard for Esperanza because she is used to a life of luxury, but she feels the pressure to perform duties just like anyone else in order to avoid the shame and embarrassment of not knowing how to do the work. She works hard and undergoes a transformation as she adjusts to her new life.

I loved this book for a few reasons. The book is gives a voice to migrant workers and is told beautifully. I think with the current climate in my country regarding immigration, this book is very valuable to understanding the mind of an immigrant worker. The book personifies the resilience and perseverance of immigrants in the United States despite working and living conditions that were less than desirable. These immigrants came to America in search of a better life which the country was known for. The poem by Emma Lazarus on the Statue of Liberty showed the welcoming of newcomers to America with these words:

"...Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!" 

People flocked to the U.S. in search of this idea of prosperity. The characters of Esperanza Rising embody this hope of prosperity while encountering the everyday challenges that were typical during The Great Depression. Overall, whether you are of school age or an adult, I think this book is a great way to understand the mindset of many immigrants throughout history in the United States. I absolutely loved this novel and think that the subject matter could not be more relevant in American society today. I highly recommend reading it so that we can start a better dialogue in the United States about immigration policy.

I thought this was a book that offered a chance to have discussion and dialogue about a current event, so if you are interested, please click the 'Read More' to view some links and my take on the issue. Also, feel free to leave links in the comments if you have a viewpoint on this. My only request is that we keep the conversation civil.

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