Very loosely based, according to the afterword, on the life of Ryan's grandmother, Esperanza Rising tells of a young girl, the daughter of a wealthy landowner, who is forced to leave her home when her father dies and her dodgy uncles take over. Esperanza and her mother immigrate from Mexico to the US in the time of dustbowls and depression, and eke out a living on the California farms, picking fruit, working in the pack-houses, that sort of thing. It's a big adjustment for both of them, especially Esperanza, and there are times in the first half of the book where she induces exasperation as well as pity. It's not her fault that her privileged childhood left her so unsuited for a life of work and poverty, but she can be so thoughtlessly snobbish towards the people trying to help her - former servants of her family. But as is expected, given this book is for children, Esperanza learns useful skills and the value of work, taking on extra responsibilities in order to look after her sick mother, and becomes a more productive and considerate person in general.

More interesting - because we basically know how Esperanza's story will go from the beginning - is the treatment of strikes and forced repatriation. I wouldn't call this book The Grapes of Wrath for kids, exactly, but it doesn't shy away from the political side of labour, and how difficult it was for people to support themselves and their families - how easy they were to exploit, and how race played into that exploitation. It's a great way to introduce kids to that part of history, though, and I imagine this book could spark some interesting discussions in classrooms.