Book Review: Esperanza Rising
This was really a great book. It’s a young adult novel, probably most appealing to youth ages 10-16, but Stephanie and I both enjoyed it as well. It’s a great “instructional” book that I’d like my children to read because it’s a) historical and teaches about the time period of 1929 agriculture, b) it’s intercultural, and teaches about the challenges of being a Mexican immigrant in the US and the racism that occurs, and c) it teaches the value of overcoming challenges. The title “Esperanza Rising” is about Esperanza rising above her challenges as a phoenix from its own ashes. Finally, d) it teaches about the importance of family, as family is what carries Esperanza through and makes the challenges worthwhile. Beautiful message.
In a nutshell it’s about a primadonna rich girl in Mexico who has everything taken away when her father dies. Now destitute and threatened, she flees to the US with her mother to begin a new life as an agricultural worker.
A side note that the narrator on the audio version is excellent as well. Also, the book is based on a real person–the author’s grandmother.
