Esperanza Rising

Rating: Cleanest

Audience: 3rd grade and up (though younger readers can enjoy).

Plot: Esperanza is the daughter of a wealthy ranch owner in Mexico, and lives with her parents and grandmother in an almost fairy tale existence, but when her father dies and her uncles seize control of the family ranch, Esperanza and her mother flee to California.  Desperately poor, they are taken in by relatives of their previous servants and become field workers.  Esperanza goes from riches to rags and has to rebuild her life the middle of the great depression.

What makes it great?

Esperanza grows from her trials and eventually rises above them. I love the lyrical voice of the narration and it is interesting to learn about how life might have been for an immigrant and a field worker in the great depression.  Also . . . I love Miguel.

This is a beautiful book, and I recommend it to anyone who likes coming of age stories and/or historical fiction.