A girl from a wealthy Mexican family
becomes a migrant farm worker

Esperanza had lived a fairy tale life in her early years. Her father was a wealthy farmer and rancher in Mexico. He had many men working for him. Esperanza, along with her mother and grandmother, lived in a beautiful home with many servants. Miguel, the son of two of her father's employees, had grown up with Esperanza. When she was little, Esperanza had thought she would grow up and marry Miguel. As she grew older, she realized she and Miguel were from different classes of society and that their ever marrying was just not possible.

Esperanza's life was suddenly changed through tragedy. Her beloved father was murdered by bandits while he was out riding in his fields one day. Esperanza had two uncles who were powerful and had been envious of her father's wealth. They managed to cheat Esperanza's mother of the ranch and the money that had been left to her. The one uncle pressured the mother to marry him and tried to keep her from leaving Mexico until she did. With Miguel's help, Esperanza and her mother were able to flee Mexico to join relatives in California. They thought that in the United States they would be free and safe. The beloved grandmother was left behind in Mexico.

In the U. S. they were surprised to find their relatives worked as farm workers. Mexican workers, if they wanted work, were forced to live in camps under primitive conditions and work long hours for low wages. In addition, the country was in the midst of a depression and large numbers of American workers were without work. The Americans were so desperate to support their families that they would work for even less than the Mexican workers. The times were unsettled and even dangerous for the Mexican workers, many of whom were not U.S. citizens.

The story is really about how Esperanza, who had grown up wealthy and privileged, was forced to adapt to being poor and looked down upon by many in her new country. She had never worked in her life before. As her mother became seriously ill, Esperanza had not only to be strong for herself, but do what she could to help and protect her mother. She needed to bring her grandmother to the U.S. if her mother was to regain her health. It was true that Miguel had remained in California after helping the two women to escape. But Miguel was a young Mexican male in a country that would not treat him fairly. With his own problems, how could he help Esperanza as her situation became worse?

You will experience Esperanza's problems and eventual victories as you learn about the life of migrant workers during the Great Depression.

A girl wants to be like her brothers
but finds being a girl isn't so bad after all

Twelve-year-old Carolyn is not thrilled about being a girl. She has a brother, Jack, who is a couple of years older and a brother, Allen, who is not quite two years younger. Carolyn hated being "ditched" just because she was a girl when the boys did things. She liked what boys did for fun a lot more than what girls tended to do. She certainly didn't like dressing in frilly clothes or playing with dolls.

Things looked up a little bit for Carolyn when Jack and his friends started ditching their younger brothers. Then Allen started doing things with Carolyn since the older boys cut him out of their activities. So Carolyn and Allen could go "spying" together on their weird neighbors. They even called one set of neighbors the "Freekos." Mr. Freeko and his wife, "Fattabutta," were usually fighting and yelling at each other. The husband liked to drink and lie out beside their swimming pool, which was covered with green slime. One time the kids even though he was dead because he didn't move for such a long time. But when Fattabutta kicked him and yelled at him, he moved.

The neighbors behind Carolyn's family were the Moyers. There were two boys and a girl in that family. The girl was older and in high school. Will was in fourth grade along with Allen, and Charlie was in sixth grade along with Carolyn. Although she couldn't admit it, Carolyn had a crush on Charlie. One reason she liked him was because Charlie never made fun of her for being a girl. He was actually nice to her.

Carolyn keeps getting into different kids of trouble, mostly because she tries so hard not to be like other girls. When her mother and dad start acting sort of funny, especially her mom, Carolyn starts to wonder what's gong on in her house. She finds out that her mother is going to have a baby. Carolyn hopes that it will be a girl instead of another boy, so that she will have a sister. What! She's wishing the baby will be a girl? Maybe being a girl isn't so bad after all.

A teen-age boy tries to escape the rampant killing
in his war-torn country

Ehmet had grown up in Serajevo, which had been the capitol of Yugoslavia. Now the country was divided into factions. Groups of guerrilla fighters were roaming the country killing those who were not of their religion or ethnic background. People, who had lived and worked together before, now were afraid of each other, and all were fearful for their lives. Food and fuel were rapidly becoming impossible to find. People stayed in their apartments in bombed out buildings because they feared being shot by snipers outside on the streets.

The story begins with Ehmet still living in an apartment in the city with his mother and father. When the building is so badly bombed that they can no longer live there, Ehmet and his mother pack a few clothes and move out of the city. They move to the small farm of his aunt and uncle. The father, who is a newspaperman, stays behind to try to keep publishing limited editions of the paper.

It turns out that even the farm is not safe. One night, guerrilla fighters show up and kidnap Ehmet's aunt and uncle. His mother manages to warn Ehmnet and he escapes through an upstairs window. Later, his mother, although badly beaten, is able to join him in a secret hiding place along the river. The two follow back roads and seldom used trails in an attempt to find safety with relatives in a neighboring country. On their travels they experience many narrow escapes and make do with very little to eat or drink. As they get nearer to the border, Ehmet's mother develops pneumonia, and in spite of her son's best efforts to save her, she dies, leaving Ehmet all alone.

It seems impossible for Ehmet to make it to safety and, in fact, he is at one point captured by enemy forces. One of his great concerns is whether he will ever see his father alive again. You need to read the book to find out if Ehmet survives and is able to make a new life for himself.