Esperanza Rising

Beautiful work! Nice story. I love how the writer adds so much emotion to the story. ♥️

Retelling: The book opened with the main character, Esperanza, eagerly anticipating her upcoming birthday. She lived on a plantation in Mexico with dresses and servants. Her childhood friend, Miguel, was the son of her Mother's servant and even though they loved one another, she knew they would never be together because of class differences. That changed when she was forced to move to the United States under the care of her former servants. Her father was killed and her uncle threatened to destroy everything if her mother did not marry him to further his political career. With hard work and determination, she grew to overcome her own prejudices, and keep her family together. She learned to find riches in friendships rather than wealth.

One of my favorite reads, I felt sorry for Esperanza but loved her resilience and how she made a new life for herself outside of upper-class life.

Best Required Reading Ever. Very sweet.

Middle grade historical fiction based loosely on the immigration story of the grandmother of the author, Pam Muñoz Ryan.

After an unfortunate disaster in the family, well-off teenager Esperanza leaves her home in Mexico to become a migrant worker in California in the early 1930s, during the Great Depression and Dust Bowl.

Issues of worker's rights, unions, racism and classism are all discussed.
A beautiful story of perseverance and traditions is lovingly told.

In the 1930s, Esperanza is the daughter of a well-to-do landowner in Mexico, where her family has servants and vineyards, and she has never wanted for anything. Then her beloved Papa is killed, and his brother Tio Luis proposes marriage to her mother. With their world turned upside down, what will Esperanza do?

The beginning of this book was so terribly sad that I almost stopped reading entirely. One tragedy after another rocks the family, until Esperanza and her mother immigrate to the U.S. I was helped along by the author's note, which mentions that some of the story is partially based on her own grandmother's experiences. And though Esperanza's life becomes hard as she's poor and works in migrant camps, it is ultimately one of hope and the power of family and friends to come together.

Published in 2000, this book is based on the author’s grandmother’s experience of moving from Mexico to California during the Great Depression. It is a riches to rags story. The family was wealthy and successful in Mexico, but after Esperanza’s father dies and relatives prove untrustworthy, they must find a new path.

The story is told from Esperanza’s perspective. She is age thirteen at the start of the novel. The tragedies are kept at arms-length, though the author does not shy away from portraying the prejudice and deprivations experienced by migrant workers of Mexican descent. It depicts how life can change, and how it is better to adapt than dwell in the past. The young protagonist experiences character growth brought on by hardships and learns some valuable life lessons along the way.

I listened to the audio book, beautifully performed by Trini Alvarado. She articulates well, pronounces the Spanish accurately, and provides a specific voice to each character. Adults may want a little more grit and in-depth examination of the labor issues, but I think it will appeal to young readers, middle grade and higher.

Good solid YA story with some good teachings about morals and values

It is a good book that make you appreciate what you have and do not take everything for granted. It also has some words in Spanish and it tells you what it means which is nice.

Esperanza Rising is a griping story of a wealthy land owner's young daughter, who's life gets turned upside by unfortunate events. She is forced to leave everything she has known in Mexico and travel to the United States. Her new life in the United States is far from what she was use to in Mexico. She is faced with many hardships and struggles. Through it all she finds comfort in her family and the people around her-appreciating the things she now has.

Sometimes it's a tear jerker, other times it's full of rich history and pride of self. A great read for people of any age.

Esperanza Rising by Pam Munoz Ryan is an award-winning YA work of historical fiction that chronicles the life a Mexican farmworker in the 1930s. In the book's beginning, Esperanza's wealthy father is killed by bandits in Mexico; then, a scheming uncle sets fire to her family’s ranch in order to pressure her mother into marriage. Esperanza & her mother escape to the United States with only their lives and life changes drastically for them. Former servants help them to find work as farm laborers and Esperanza finds out what life is like when one is no longer a member of the privileged class. Both the conditions of 1930’s farm workers and the status of Mexicans who came to America for a better life with more choices are examined in this story.

This is a beautifully written book that educates while it tells an engaging story. Capturing an era of California history, readers will sympathize with Esperanza, who must learn to work hard after living a life of luxury -- but more than that, they will be amazed by the strength she shows as she adjusts to the difficult life of a farmworker.

Esperanza Rising celebrates the Latino cultural experience in a realistic way and the author does not shirk away from exposing both the ethnic tensions that existed along with the plight of the Mexican-American workers during the Great Depression which included forced deportation, horrific living conditions and competition from the incoming “Okies. The author knows what she is writing about as she based this story on her own grandmother’s experience when she came from Mexico which gives the book a very authentic feel.

Esperanza is a young girl who lives a lavish life in mexico. Her father owns a farm and when an unexpected tragedy happens, Esperanza and her mother are forced to move to the United States and work at a farming camp. Working for survival is not something that Esperanza is use to but she must do it. This is not a typical story that you read about coming to America, so it is a great book to read to see other reason why people migrate. This story is a great book for advance readers. It is a great book to read to introduce the great depression or migration.

This book is about a young girl named Esperanza who has to migrate to the United States after her father passes away. After moving from riches to rags, Esperanza has to learn about herself and get back on her feet. This book would be a great read to acompany a lesson on the Great Depression and immigration. As this book is a more advanced read, with a deeper meaning and understanding of one's self, it would be best used with higher grade levels and more advanced readers.

This book tells the story of a young girl named Esperanza who migrates to the United States. Esperanza's immigration story is unique because many immigrants move to the US in hopes of a better life and opportunities, but Esperanza is different because she was originally from a rich family and had to leave Mexico due to harsh circumstances. Those situations force her to adapt to a more frugal lifestyle. I enjoyed this book because the readers were able to witness the young, naive -and spoiled- Esperanza mature into a more empathetic and thoughtful individual. This is a good book to use in the classroom because not only does it give exposure to other cultures and the immigration experience, but it also shows a different perspective as an Immigrant who had a more fruitful life in her native country. It can spark discussions on economic classes and issues within American society such as the economy and racial treatment. Ultimately, the characters in this story go through many ups and downs, but they all learn from their events and believe in hope which can be a life lesson for children.

This is a charming story of a child's undeniable love for her father. Throughout this story Esperanza finds herself insecure and - a bit too nieve when it comes to change(s). Her resilience comes across as snobbish and prudent. An yet from the genuine love of mere 'pesants' and their graciously humble hospitality, she learns to let go , an truly understand love and the meaning behind it entirely. Hardships is the true secret within understanding.

This is the first book I read out loud to Maya, at the ripe old age of two weeks. It was more of an attempt to help me deal with her hours of colicky crying than anything else. :-)

I've read this story approximately 23 times and about half of them were when I was 12. I just did a quick reread of this and it still makes my heart pitter patter every time I think about it.

Esperanza is a carefree 13 year old living in Mexico with a wealthy father, a loving mother and her wise Abuela. She anxiously awaits the day she turns 15 and has her quiceañera and finally be taken more seriously as a woman. But the worst thing imaginable happens: her father and uncle are ambushed in a secluded part of their land and only her uncle escaped the murder. Soon after he proposes marriage so suddenly and out of the blue literally after yet another tragic event, Esperanza's mother Ramona realizes that perhaps Tio shady (not his real name ha ha) is not entirely being nice to them in order to be helpful. So they pack up and go to the United States in hopes of finding a better life there.

With the help of their old friends Alfonso and Hortensia they settle into life as farm workers in Great Depression era California. All Esperanza is able to take with her is a doll her father was planning on giving her on her birthday and a blanket she had been making with her Abuela that she rescued from the fire and ended up injuring her foot for. This book touches upon Mexican laborers during the Great Depression, strikes over wages, work competition from the "okies", discrimination, the Mexican revolution, deportations, and living conditions of these people. But the main theme that comes back time and time again is the hope for a better future.

I never imagined how much I would still like this book about 14 years after I first read it. I'm a twenty something year old and the only thing that changed is that I got weepier over certain events that I didn't understand until maybe a few years ago since the last reread of mine. It's a great book for discussions and a fabulous introduction to Mexican culture, traditions, and history for those who want a quick crash course. And I can say this as a Mexican-American with born and raised parents from Mexico.

A powerful story of the coming of age of a young Mexican immigrant to the Californian farm labor camps during the Great Depression. This book has suspense, tragedy, romance, and message about the power of the strength one can find in oneself.

Lexile: 750

Esperenza is a book I have in my classroom library. This is a great story about Esperenza and the challenges she faced to come to the United States. Many students like reading how her life and the ups and downs she goes through.

Esperanza lives on an enormous ranch in Mexico, with her wealthy Father, Mother, and Grandmother, in 1930. But when her father dies, and Mexican law prevents him from leaving his property to females, his wicked and selfish brothers inherit his money and land. Esperanza and her mother are forced to flee to California to work on huge company farms as low paid manual labor.
In the course of events, Esperanza, the self-centered privileged girl of wealth learns the value of family, friendship, hard work, and having skills. A beautifully told story... simple and elegant.
(It also gives a good introduction to Unions. Some of the workers want to form unions and go on strike, and explain logically why this is best. Other workers want nothing to do with the unions and explain logically why they shouldn't strike. It is very much left to the reader to decide where he or she would stand on the issue if in the same situation.)

Beautiful and sad. It's hard for me to read books that start out with a tragedy that can't be reversed. Death is the worst of tragedies. Even still, Esperanza's journey from little princess to field hand is full of small bits of beauty and a huge dose of hope. Quite lovely.

Having to move through grief is one of the hardest things people have to deal with and Esperanza is a perfect example of this. Having lost many important people in a short period of extreme bad luck I know how she felt and the range of emotions she went through. I even lost my best friend the day before my birthday, therefore tainting it for a lifetime, similar to Esperanza. I also lost my long term partner and my older brother, but with incredibly unfortunate circumstances, within six months of each during 2014. I didn't think I would ever recover after year but I found strength and found a way out, and surprisingly have never been happier in my life... "don't be afraid to start over." Another thing I found in common with her was the way she had to grow up so quickly after her father's death, mother's illness, and the lack of her grandmother. This book is an excellent choice to exposing children to many new things, Mexican culture, immigrants, Spanish and even death and recovery. I didn't give the book five stars because I did find this to be one of the harder reads so far, it took a lot of energy and commitment for me to actually get through the book.

A wonderful story about a thirteen-year-old Mexican girl, Esperanza, from a well-to-do family who, after the death of her father, is forced to move with her mother and family servants to southern California. They must become migrant workers picking fruits and vegetables and living in a migrant camp. Through the eyes of this privileged child, the reader learns how it feels to "come down" in life, and also how it feels to be "looked down on" by others because of one's ethnicity and social standing, or lack thereof.

Esperanza also does a lot of growing up because of missing her grandmother who doesn't get to come along with them when they leave Mexico, and because of her mother's illness. She has to do a lot of growing up fast.

This story is based on the author's own grandmother's story, and it gives some of the history of migrant workers in the 1930's. It really is a story that includes several different issues that could be taught to younger children and middle-aged children. And even I, as an adult, was interested in learning of this era! Now I understand why it is on Amazon's Top 100 Children's Books List!

This book was very heart felt and an emotional rollercoaster. A great read for any young reader with Hispanic influences. This realistic fiction novel is about a young girl named Esperanza who after an unfortunate experience has to leave her country in Mexico with her mother to work in California as an immigrant farmer. When her mother becomes ill, Esperanza must learn to take care of herself as she embraces her new family dynamic on the farm. This book was beautifully written with great emotional depth. The story is very moving. What make the story even more majestic is when you read the message in the back about the author and how the book was homage to her grandmother and her struggle through the great depression. I recommend this book to any coming of age young girl especially girls of Latino heritage because of the positive image of the main character of the book. I believe the main idea of this story is perseverance is the face of adversary. The main character had a lot of negative things happen to her where she could have given up but she kept head up and rise.

This was a well-written story about a young Mexican girl whose life is set in turmoil.  She moves to California during the Great Depression.  Not only does she have to deal with the racism and economic hardships of the times, she also has to deal with personal loss and tragedy.  I liked the historical descriptions, but I found I really didn't like Esperanza all that much.  However, at the end, I could see her character changing and I began to accept her. 

Having said all that, if I was rating this book as a teacher, I would give it a 5 star rating.  The historical descriptions were excellent and there were plenty of talking points that would keep the students interested.

Esperanza Rising is a historical fiction tells a story during the time of the Great Depression, a wealthy girl who had everything and lived with her parents, Ortega and Ramona. However, things are begin to change with her father’s died. Her father murdered by bandits and then his stepbrother got all the money from her father, which is a great blow to this Esperanza and her mother. Because of this evil man, Ramona and Esperanza migrated to the United States and started their poor life with nothing. However Esperanza is far from their fairytale beginnings, but finally, with her newly expanded family, she is happy and that’s what counts.
Usage: This historical fiction is a good reading for 9-15 ages students. It can teach students there are a lot of difficulties during your life, the most important thing is that how to face difficulties and make life get better.

Genre: Historical Drama
Why it fits this genre:
-It takes place during the Great Depression

I would use this book to:
1. teach students about character development.
2. present Students to the Great Depression.

Summary: Esperanza was born into a wealthy family who lives in a ranch in Mexico. She is greatly loved by her family as well as the workers who live and work in the ranch. However, this all changes when Esperanza's father dies. This loss forces Esperanza and her Mama to leave Mexico and flee to California during the Great Depression. In California, Esperanza and her Mama settle at a camp for farm workers. At the camp, Esperanza and her Mama face a new challenge of getting use to a lifestyle that is different from the one they had.

Critique: "Esperanza Rising" is a great example of historical fiction because it is set in the past. For example, Esperanza grows up in a Mexico that is still resentful towards land owners, which is what caused the Mexican Revolution. Also, Esperanza moves to the United States during the Great Depression.

When her life changes abruptly, Esperanza is forced to endure the hardships of labor, and along the way becomes a more humble individual.

Munoz Ryan names every chapter after a fruit or vegetable. This is significant because it allows the reader to see how important symbolism is. The author also uses a lot of personification throughout the novel. Esperanza and her mother start their lives over, after the death of Esperanza's father, in America. This major change, along with many others, caused Esperanza to mature and accept responsibilities that she had never had to face before.

This chapter book set in the 1930's, is about a young girl who is forced to leave her life of wealth and luxury and immigrate to California to work in the fields after her father is killed. Esperanza and her mother have to learn a new way of life and work hard but it is difficult for Esperanza at first. Esperanza has to learn how to do simple tasks such as sweeping and changing a baby's diaper and she is embarrassed by her lack of skills. Along the way she learns a lot about privilege and racial differences between people from Mexico and the United States. She learns to overcome adversity. The story has many great themes that can start great discussions such as race and class differences in the 1930's and present day. There is also the theme of overcoming obstacles, not losing hope and persevering when things get tough. The language in this book is beautiful as the author uses vivid description and flawlessly weaves Spanish vocabulary into the text. There are no illustrations except for the front cover which features Esperanza who seems to be floating or jumping and is holding a rose, a symbol that is prevalent throughout the book. A teacher might use this book in their classroom to talk about diversity and the struggles that people of other races and ethnicities have faced and are facing today. Teachers could also use this book to talk about strength and hope in hard times. Teachers could have students read this and write a paper about a time they had to overcome adversity.