Esperanza Rising
Genre: Historical Fiction
Interest Level: 5th –
8th Grade Reading Level: 5.5 (Fifth Grade-Fifth Month)
Esperanza Rising is a historical fiction novel based on the real-life experiences
of author, Pam Munoz Ryan’s, grandmother. The story begins as the reader meets the
protagonist, Esperanza Ortega,
a young, Mexican girl of privilege. Esperanza lives on her family’s vineyard, El Rancho de las Rosas. She has
everything a little girl could dream of; beautiful dolls, lovely dresses, a
picturesque home, and servants to tend to her every need. That is until tragedy
strikes her family. Suddenly, Esperanza finds herself poor, homeless, and
struggling to understand and integrate into a world she has never been a part
of, and thus, the chronological plot
begins.
In Esperanza Rising, author, Pam Munoz Ryan, transports the reader
into a world of loss, hope, courage, and perseverance experienced by Esperanza
Ortega. The setting, which changes dramatically as the book progresses,
contributes to the novel’s mood;
through the author’s descriptions, the reader experiences both tranquility and
anxiety. In the beginning, Ryan writes,
“This whole valley breathes and lives,” he said, sweeping his arm toward the
distant mountains that guarded them. “It gives us the grapes and then they
welcome us.” He gently touched a wild tendril that reached into the row, as if it
had been waiting to shake his hand. He picked up a handful of earth and studied
it. “Did you know that when you lie down on the land, you can feel it breathe?
That you can feel its heart beating?” Later, Ryan writes, “The land was dry and
the panorama was barren except for date palms, cactus, and an occasional
squirrel or road runner.
Another aspect of the book that I found appealing was the manner in which the book was organized. The chapters were cleverly titled according to the different harvesting seasons; for example: las ubas (grapes), las Papayas (papayas), los higos (figs), las guayabas (guavas), just to name a few. Lastly, I would consider the development of the character, Esperanza, to be awe-inspiring to the young reader. The thoughtful way in which the author takes Esperanza from a young girl of entitlement to a young woman of empathy is a lesson every young person should encounter. The story reminded me of the old adage; to whom much is given, much is expected.
