Comments (39)

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Jul 29, 2023MTLibrary10 rated this title 4.5 out of 5 stars
When unexpected tragedies occur in a young rich girl’s world, her life has never been the same ever since. Instead, she now takes on important responsibilities and learns new skills that she never deals with before. As the story…
Jan 22, 2023TealCat27 rated this title 4.5 out of 5 stars
This was a really well written book, and I really enjoyed it. Esperanza Rising is about a girl, Esperanza, who lives in Mexico. Then her father dies, and she immigrates, leaving everything she knows, and goes from being rich to being so…
Jun 17, 2022Kannadasanv13 rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
I am a fifth grader. I really liked this book because it was realistic and interesting. My favorite part of this book was at the end of the book on Esperanza's 14 birthday because she is happy with her new life as an immigrant worker, her…
Jan 07, 2022pacl_teens rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
"Esperanza Rising by Pam Muñoz Ryan is the story of a wealthy Mexican girl named Esperanza whose life suddenly turns upside down. At first, Esperanza's life seems perfect, she lives on a large ranch with many servants and is surrounded by…
Dec 20, 2021
What a beautiful and beautifully simple story! I love the angles of perspective, the rich culture and largely ignored history of the Mexican repatriation, that the author explores. Esperanza is a lovely young heroine who matures so…
Aug 15, 2021
The novel Esperanza rising is about a young girl named Esperanza. Esperanza lived a very lavish, happy life in Mexico with her family. But, one day her father does not return from work. A couple of days later, her house erupts into flames.…
Aug 13, 2021anish1234 rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
This is a fantastic book! I like how it shows Esperanza's growth from a little girl to the woman of the household through her perseverance to forge a better life for her family. Her determination to take care of her family is really…
Jun 24, 2021Cindy_163 rated this title 4.5 out of 5 stars
A heartwarming story that portrays the theme of love and sacrifice that young Esperanza tries to comprehend after witnessing the tragic loss of one of her family members, and her house burning down, losing everything. I recommend this…
Jun 18, 2021
Pam Muñoz Ryan’s Esperanza Rising tells the story of Esperanza, the daughter of a wealthy landlord who was cast down to the role of a farm worker after her father’s death. The change is swift. Esperanza’s father is murdered due to tensions…
May 24, 2021indigo_lark_33 rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
Esperanza, Papa, Abuelita, and Mama live on a rose farm that Papa owns. But tragedy strikes, and Mama and Esperanza need to leave Mexico and move to America. They end up in a camp and need to work to survive. The workers are not getting…
May 08, 2021sjanke2 rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
This junior novel tackles so much in only 250 pages: grief and loss, Mexican politics, migration across the southern border, migrant labor, farm workers, depression and dissociation, and labor strikes. I loved the way each chapter was…
Feb 05, 2021amandajolievo rated this title 3.5 out of 5 stars
Esperanza rising is about a rich spoiled girl in Mexico who has everything she could ever want to be taken away from her by a tragedy. Through this tragic event, she is forced to move to California with a family that works for her. She had…
Oct 17, 2020kyang_91 rated this title 3.5 out of 5 stars
This story by Ryan set in the Great Depression of the 20th century covers topics such as downfall and racism. Esperanza starts off living wealthy in a mansion until her father was murdered by bandits, which caused their family’s property…
Sep 30, 2020
Esperanza Rising’s concept is immigration and trying to fight for their independence. I read this book back in 5th grade and I didn’t understand much but it was still really heart warming to me. Before moving to America during the Great…
Aug 16, 2020
Age 10+
icecream4books
Jun 15, 2020icecream4books rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
A beautiful, poetically written historical novel of a wealthy Mexican girl whose family loses everything in 1930 and must flee with former servants to become farmworkers in California. Many themes are woven together like a tapestry in this…
Mar 20, 2019JCLBeckyC rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
I read this book just after my mother died. I found it quite comforting. I could easily relate to the characters even though I’m a middle-class, middle-aged white woman born forty years after this novel takes place. All people, no matter…
Nov 20, 2018mebacher rated this title 3.5 out of 5 stars
This was a recent selection from my Book Club, and made a nice companion piece to The Grapes of Wrath, which we read in the spring of this year. It was interesting to compare the work experiences and living conditions of Esperanza and her…
Mar 23, 2018JCLScottS rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
Functioning as modern American fairy tale, Esperanza is tasked with rectifying her father's untimely death, her mother's sickness, and the complicated politics of labor relations in Depression-era California. An inspiring and surprisingly…
Dec 12, 2017AnnabelleLee27 rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
Loved this beautiful, rich, and moving book; a coming of age story about a young girl who leaves Mexico to live and work in the Califonia fields during the Great Depression. The characters are well drawn and the setting is realistic and…
Oct 04, 2017zombiegravitation rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
I really love this book and own a hard copy of it. I first read it back in fifth grade as part of a group reading, despite being Mexican my Spanish was flawed in certain areas such as reading. I clumsily read the Spanish words, not always…
May 10, 2017black_horse_628 rated this title 4.5 out of 5 stars
I LOVED THIS BOOK!!!! I know I literally start all my comments with this, but this book was amazingly well written. I love reading about my heritage so much. I can TOTALLY relate to Esperanza's embarassing moments :)
Jun 21, 2016Djoulissa rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
I really liked this book because it tells a story that my friend went through. It is really emotional too.
Mar 20, 2016jdjonny rated this title 5 out of 5 stars
I LOVE this book
Dec 02, 2015LPL_AdamL rated this title 4 out of 5 stars
This was on of my favorite books as a kid, which I very recently reread. Thought-provoking and sweet, this book is an easy read for older teens and adults and absolutely perfect for younger readers. Esperanza's growth throughout the book…