Esperanza Rising

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Esperanza Rising

Original Scholastic book cover
Author	Pam Muñoz Ryan
Illustrator	Joe Cepeda
Cover artist	Pam Muñoz Ryan
Country	United States
Language	English/Spanish
Genre	Biography
Published	2000 Scholastic
Media type	Print (paperback + hardcover)
Pages	259 plus author's notes
ISBN	0-439-12041-1
OCLC	43487323
LC Class	PZ7.R9553 Es 2000

Esperanza Rising is a young adult historical fiction novel written by Mexican-American author Pam Muñoz Ryan and released by Scholastic Publishing on 27 March 2000.^[1] The novel focuses on Esperanza, the only daughter of wealthy Mexican parents, and the events that occur after her father’s murder and her subsequent move to California due to the actions of Esperanza's uncles, Tio Luis and Tio Marco. Esperanza, her mother, and their former household servants flee to California with no money during the Great Depression, where they find agricultural work which pays very little. The book received generally positive reviews from critics, who praised Muñoz Ryan’s writing and concluded that it was suitable for classroom discussion.

Plot synopsis[]

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In 1930, Esperanza lives in Aguascalientes, Mexico, daughter of wealthy landowners Sixto and Ramona Ortega. She lives on her family's ranch, with her mother, father, and grandmother (Abuelita). The day before Esperanza's 13th birthday, her father is murdered while working on the ranch. Her uncle Luis reveals he now owns their land, as it was not customary to leave property to women. Luis offers to continue to care for them and their ranch if Esperanza's mother will marry him. When she refuses, he burns down the ranch. Abuelita, injured during the fire, is sent to a convent where she can recover. Ramona plans to flee to the United States with her servants, Alfonso and Hortensia, leaving Abuelita at the convent due to the severity of her injuries. Esperanza and what remains of her family travel to the United States. Esperanza has difficulty adjusting to common life, which frustrates her mother.

Esperanza's family arrives in the United States, currently in the grip of the Great Depression, and settle in a farm camp in Arvin, California, with Alfonso's brother Juan, his wife Isabel, and their children. All the adults work either at the farm camp or with the nearby railroad companies. Esperanza is too young for a job and instead takes care of Juan's children during the day. Esperanza quickly realizes that she doesn't know how to do chores. She asks for Isabel's help to learn how to care for herself and the young children. She begins to adjust to her new life, but still fantasizes about Abuelita coming with her money and rescuing her from poverty.

One day, the camp is caught in a dust storm, and Esperanza's mother contracts Valley fever. She has to be admitted to the hospital and the doctors are unsure if she will survive. Esperanza, desperate for money to support herself and pay her mother's medical bills, takes work on the farm camp despite being underage. She starts to save money after realizing that Abuelita is probably being spied on by Luis and likely can't access her money in Mexico. She stockpiles money orders in the hopes of one day sending them to Abuelita and allowing her to travel to the United States.

Tensions rise in the camp as migrants from Oklahoma flee the Dust Bowl and look for work in California. Willing to work for lower wages, these "Okies" take many of the local worker's jobs. There are rumors that a camp is being built for Oklahoma migrants (likely based on places like Weedpatch Camp) that will have indoor plumbing, hot water, and even a swimming pool. Strikers from the farm camps insist that the only way to improve conditions in and for all of them is to unify and refuse to work, but many families are afraid of losing their only income and being unable to care for their children. Esperanza continues to work, crossing picket lines because she needs to pay for her mother's hospital stay. Following a massive demonstration by the strikers, the farm owners call immigration officials to round up the demonstrators. As part of the Mexican Repatriation initiative, many of the people deported were natural-born American citizens who had never been to Mexico.

Faced with these injustices and the strain of her sick mother, Esperanza is traumatized. She has a breakdown and has an argument with Miguel. The next day, they find that Miguel has left to seek work in Northern California.

Esperanza's mother recovers and is allowed to return home. Esperanza proudly goes to show her mother the money orders she saved for Abuelita that they could use, only to discover that the money is missing. Miguel took them when he left. Weeks pass until Miguel's family receives a note asking them to meet him at the train station, and to bring Esperanza. It was revealed he used the money orders to travel to Mexico and retrieve Abuelita in secret as "proof that things will get better".

The book ends on the day of Esperanza's 14th birthday and Esperanza has finally learned to be grateful for what she does have: her family reunited, friends who love her, and most of all: hope.

Background information[]

American laborers from Oklahoma were often hostile toward the Mexican workers because they felt they were taking away their jobs. Mexican migrant laborers would work for much lower pay, so there was much tension between the migrant workers on the fields. Some felt that their conditions were unlivable, so they began to protest for better working conditions. Still, others refused to join the protest in fear that they would be fired. In the 1920s and 1930s (about the time the story takes place) California remained about 86% white. Most of these people were those who owned the land, while the 36,800 workers, many of whom were Mexicans, did not.

Critical reception[]

Along with its Best Books citation, Publishers Weekly gave Esperanza Rising a starred review, citing its "lyrical, fairy-tale-like style". It praised the way "Ryan poetically conveys Esperanza's ties to the land by crafting her story to the rhythms of the seasons" and the fact that "Ryan fluidly juxtaposes world events... with one family's will to survive".^[2] Kirkus Reviews disliked the "epic tone, characters that develop little and predictably, and... romantic patina". However it also found that the "style is engaging, her characters appealing", ultimately saying that the story "bears telling to a wider audience".^[3]

Children's Literature praised Esperanza Rising and suggested that it "would be a great choice for a multicultural collection".^[4] The book has been incorporated into school curriculum in literature, social studies, and Spanish.^[5] The University of Missouri has a detailed literature unit available online, including maps, photos and links to other resources.^[6] Berkeley High School used recordings of the book with its English as a Second Language students in an Earphone English group. They found that Esperanza Rising doesn't just appeal to students who, like Esperanza, have emigrated from Mexico, but "also to those who have moved here after losing their fathers to violence in the former Yugoslavia".^[7]

Awards^[8][]

• The 2001 Jane Addams Children's Book Award
• The 2001 WILLA Literary Award for Children's/Young Adult Fiction
• The 2001 Judy Lopez Memorial Award for Children's Literature
• The 2001 Judy Goddard/Libraries Ltd. Young Adult Book Award
• The 2002 Pura Belpré Award

References[]