When Esperanza and Mama are forced to flee to the bountiful region of Aguascalientes, Mexico, to a Mexican farm labor camp in California, they must adjust to a life without fancy dresses and servants they were accustomed to on Rancho de las Rosas. Now they must confront the challenges of hard work, acceptance by their own people, and economic difficulties brought on by the Great Depression. When Mama falls ill and a strike for better working conditions threatens to uproot their new life, Esperanza must relinquish her hold on the past and learn to embrace a future ripe with the riches of family and community.
BONUS FEATURE: Afterword Read by the Author
Winner of the Pura Bélpre Award
Selected Audiobooks for Young Adults (American Library Association)
Audiobooks Too Good to Miss (Capitol Choices)
Reviews
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Esperanza Ortega adores her family's beautiful El Rancho de las Rosas. Like her father, she loves the land, the grapes, the bird songs, even the servants, all part of her privileged life. But her contentment dissolves with her father's brutal murder. Forced to flee, 14-year-old Esperanza and her mother escape Mexico to a migrant camp in California with nothing more than the goodwill of their former servants. Trini Alvarado gives the lyrical text a sensitive reading, faithfully portraying Esperanza's transformation from a pampered, self-important rich girl to a generous and self-aware young woman. The richness of Alvarado's Spanish infuses the reading, and the text affords her an opportunity to display her beautiful singing voice, as well. Rich in history and culture, this novel is all the more successful in the audio format. T.B. (c) AudioFile 2001, Portland, Maine
