Esperanza Rising is the story of a young girl forced to abandon her home in Mexico and immigrate to the United States. At the age of thirteen, Esperanza looses her father, her home and view on the world in just a few short days and is made to leave everything she has ever known behind her for the safety of her family. Esperanza arrives in California and is shocked at the conditions she will be living and working in. Having never lifted a finger, and had all the space in the world, she is shocked to see her living conditions and the work she will be expected to do. It is a hard adjustment to say the least. Esperanza goes through quite a transition in the year that we are privy to her life, and it is clear that she learns to put others before herself and the value of hard work.
I thought this story is a great one to use in the classroom. It's not at a difficult level and would bring a lot of interesting discussion into the classroom. Not only could you talk about the immigration, but there is also a variety of other topics such as segregation, labor unions, and literary aspects such as internal struggles of a main character. I would love to use this in maybe a book club format to see what kinds of discussions my students would come up with!
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