Book review
General response/reaction:
Ryan’s novel moved me to tears. Ryan tells Esperanza’s story truthfully but without making the story too tragic. Esperanza goes through an emotional roller coaster and the audience goes with her. At first, I did not understand why all the chapters were named after fruits and vegetables, but by the end of the novel, I understood. I could not imagine the hardship that Esperanza had to go through, but she definitely matured by the end of the novel. I was glad that Esperanza grew up, accepted, and even enjoyed living a different lifestyle than what she was used to. She understood that people are rich if they have their families.
Subjects, Themes, and Big Ideas:
• Family
• Hardship
• Worker wages
• Pride
• Hope
• Discrimination
• Kindness
Characters:
• Esperanza – main character, loses her father, must flee from Mexico and all her riches to the United States. She is no longer a rich princess and must work and take care of her family.
• Miguel – childhood friend and servant of Esperanza. His family helps Esperanza flee Mexico and set up a life in the United States.
• Mama – Esperanza’s mother. She gets sick while working and Esperanza must take care of her.
• Abuelita – Esperanza’s grandmother. She hurts her ankle at the beginning of the novel and is unable to travel with Esperanza and Mama to the United States. She is Esperanza’s inspiration to continue through the hardship.
Plot summary:
Esperanza is a princess in her town. She attends private schools and has many extravagant birthday parties. However, on her thirteenth birthday, Esperanza will not be able to celebrate anything as her father was murdered by bandits. As the family mourns, her uncle Luis comes to the house to ask for Mama’s hand in marriage. Luis is a powerful man and could make life hard for Esperanza, Abuelita, and Mama if Mama refuses his request. After the first refusal, Esperanza’s house and most of the grape field catches on fire. Luis asks Mama again and this time she agrees. However, Mama and Miguel’s family already have plans to escape to the United States.
When they arrive in the United States, Esperanza cannot imagine living in such bad conditions. She claims that the servants’ quarters were better than the cabin that she must live in. At first she is not accustomed to doing anything because she had always been served. A neighborhood girl picks on Esperanza for her former lifestyle, but Esperanza learns quickly and begins to do housework while the rest of the family works in the fields.
Mama gets sick after a dust storm one day and must be hospitalized when she doesn’t get any better. Esperanza decides that she must work in the shed in order to have some money to pay for the hospital bills. With the ever-present possibility of a worker’s strike, Esperanza goes to work everyday weary that her job might be taken away from her. When the strike happens, her camp holds their ground and continues working.
Finally, when Esperanza loses faith, she gives up on Miguel and all the dreams of a better life. However, the world has a different plan for Esperanza. Mama begins to get better. Miguel leaves the camp and Esperanza feels guilty for driving him away. One afternoon, Miguel comes back with Abuelita and Esperanza’s hope is restored. In the end, Esperanza celebrates another birthday and this time she truly enjoys it.
Strengths (including reviews and awards):
• Pura Belpré Award Winner
• Jane Addams Children’s Book Award Winner
• ALA Top Ten Best Books for Young Adults
• Los Angeles Times Book Prize Finalist
• New York Public Library 100 Titles for Reading and Sharing
• Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year
• Stresses the importance of family
Drawbacks or other cautions:
None that I can think of
Teaching ideas:
Pre-reading activities:
• Journals about family and what family means to the student
• Bring in your most prized possession (kind of like show and tell)
• Background information on working conditions during that time in history
During reading activities:
• Story time with a migrant worker
o Possibly find someone who has had first hand experience with the events in the story. If not, I’m sure there are documentaries detailing this time.
• To strike or not to strike?
o Divide the class in half and have each side create arguments whether the workers should strike or not.
o This activity should probably happen before the chapter describing the result of the strike.
• Interdependency
o Show the class how the strike would affect the company from an economic standpoint.
o Possibly the class could look at this story from the company’s point of view and re-tell the story from a different perspective. (Sounds like a journal)
Post-reading activities:
• Re-visit journals from before the novel
• Now what do you think of your family?
• What is your most prized possession?
• Make yarn dolls and Hibiscus flower punch
- Goodreads rating – 4.02
- SUMMARY – Jessica Abarquez