Francisco Jimenez

In this highly autobiographical novel Francisco Jimenez tells the story of a Mexican family, who ruined by the aftermath of NAFTA, escapes to California to become migrant workers. The story is told from the point of view of the second son, who is around six years old in the beginning of the book. Sometimes the children help their parents harvesting cotton, strawberries and other crops. They only attend school a few months a year in various places. Since the children don't speak English they a dependent on the willingness of individual teachers to learn enough to get by. As time goes on the family grow and by the end of the book there are six children.

I loved this close look at the migrant worker experience in the fifties and sixties. The language is clear and simple, end the chapters are short, which makes the book very legible for fifth or sixth graders. The content, however, is definitely also meant for adults. I am looking forward to reading the sequel "Breaking Through".
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