Status
Available
Publication
Scholastic (2002), 262 pages
Library's review
"The author of Amelia and Eleanor Go for a Ride (1999) and Riding Freedom (1997) again approaches historical fiction, this time using her own grandmother as source material. In 1930, Esperanza lives a privileged life on a ranch in Aguascalientes, Mexico. But when her father dies, the
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post-Revolutionary culture and politics force her to leave with her mother for California. Now they are indebted to the family who previously worked for them, for securing them work on a farm in the San Joaquin valley. Esperanza balks at her new situation, but eventually becomes as accustomed to it as she was in her previous home, and comes to realize that she is still relatively privileged to be on a year-round farm with a strong community. She sees migrant workers forced from their jobs by families arriving from the Dust Bowl, and camps of strikers—many of them US citizens—deported in the “voluntary repatriation” that sent at least 450,000 Mexicans and Mexican-Americans back to Mexico in the early 1930s. Ryan’s narrative has an epic tone, characters that develop little and predictably, and a romantic patina that often undercuts the harshness of her story. But her style is engaging, her characters appealing, and her story is one that—though a deep-rooted part of the history of California, the Depression, and thus the nation—is little heard in children’s fiction. It bears telling to a wider audience. (author’s note) (Fiction. 9-15)" www.kirkusreviews.com Show Less
Awards
Nebraska Golden Sower Award (Nominee — 2003)
Texas Bluebonnet Award (Nominee — 2003)
Soaring Eagle Book Award (Nominee — 2006)
Young Hoosier Book Award (Nominee — Middle Grade — 2003)
Massachusetts Children's Book Award (Honor — 2003)
Rebecca Caudill Young Readers' Book Award (Nominee — 2004)
LA Times Book Prize (Finalist — Young Adult Literature — 2000)
Great Stone Face Book Award (Nominee — 2002)
Utah Beehive Book Award (Nominee — Young Adult — 2003)
Charlie May Simon Children's Book Award (Nominee — 2003)
Cardinal Cup (Noteworthy — 2001)
William Allen White Children's Book Award (Nominee — Grades 6-8 — 2002-2003)
South Dakota Children's Book Awards (Nominee — 2003)
Nutmeg Book Award (Nominee — Intermediate — 2004)
Sunshine State Young Reader's Award (Nominee — 2005)
Judy Lopez Memorial Award for Children's Literature (Medalist — 2001)
Grand Canyon Reader Award (Nominee — Teen — 2003)
California Young Reader Medal (Nominee — 2003)
Jane Addams Children's Book Award (Winner — 2001)
Virginia Readers' Choice (Nominee — Middle School — 2003)
FOCAL Award (2008)
Colorado Children's Book Award (Nominee — 2003)
Volunteer State Book Award (Nominee — Young Adult — 2003)
Azia Books Diversity Award (Listed)
Maud Hart Lovelace Award (Nominee — 2004)
Américas Award for Children's and Young Adult Literature (Honorable Mention — 2000)
South Carolina Book Awards (Nominee — Junior Book Award — 2003)
Pura Belpré Award (Winner — 2002)
Best Fiction for Young Adults (Selection — 2001)
NCTE Adventuring with Books: A Booklist for Pre-K—Grade 6 (13th Edition: 1999-2001)
Books From All 50 States (and Washington, D.C.!) (California)
Notable Children's Book (2002)
Young Adult Favorites Award (2002)
Idaho Battle of the Books (Elementary — 2019)
Language
Original language
English
Original publication date
2000
ISBN
9780439120425