Unscripted Adventures

Book Name: Esperanza Rising

A young girl named Esperanza thought her life would be perfect – living in El Rancho de las Rosas in Mexico with her family, having fancy dresses, and a beautiful home filled with people who loved her. A sudden tragedy strikes and Esperanza is forced to flee to California with Mama and settle in a Mexican camp for farm workers. She isn’t ready for the hard work and doesn’t get accepted by others. When Mama gets severely sick, Esperanza has to fight against the circumstances – because her family’s life depends on it. She can only have hope now, praying that all the pieces will be put together again. 

The best character was Miguel, as he understood Esperanza like a brother. He may have been a servant, but to me, it seemed like he was a blessing in disguise, helping Esperanza overcome her difficulties and showing her what reality was. 

The main conflict of this book expresses Esperanza being forced to accept overwhelming changes in her life in such a short period of time. She loses everything at once – her riches, her clothes, and most importantly, her family. One by one, they go away, but all she does is have hope, hoping that everything will be okay. 

Esperanza Rising takes place in 1924, almost a century ago, during a time of racism and inequality (or the Mexican Revolution). It starts in Mexico, where she lives on her family’s ranch in a big house. Then she is forced to flee to a place near Arvin, California, where she faces reality and hardships. 

The message that Esperanza Rising gives the readers is that one should never give up hope, no matter how dark one’s life situation seems. Esperanza suffered through losing her family and moving away from a place she had felt so connected with. Another underlying theme is determination – she didn’t care what people said, and she achieved her goal. 

Pam Muñoz Ryan, an author who won a Pura Belpré award for this book (among many others) was raised in San Joaquin, California. She considers herself as ‘truly American’, as her background is a smudge of different cultures – Spanish, Mexican, Italian, Oklahoman, and Basque. Her inspiration for this book was her grandmother, Esperanza Ortega. When Pam was a young girl, her grandmother used to narrate stories about her childhood in the United States, working on a farm and experiencing several misfortunes. She told her about the days before she went to the United States – a fairy-tale life. The story is almost parallel to her grandmother’s story and lets the readers know there had been so many other people just like Esperanza – hopeful and determined.