Have you ever left anything behind? Many immigrants do, only for the hopes of a better future. These three realistic fiction books by Hispanic-American authors explore real-life scenarios and contain amazing descriptions of immigrant life. Not to mention, they are excellent coming-of-age novels that any high schooler would enjoy. Not just immigrant readers but all readers would appreciate reading about these characters’ lives.
Esperanza Rising by Pam Munoz Ryan, Return to Sender by Julia Alvarez, and Becoming Naomi Leon by Pam Munoz Ryan all have both Spanish and English versions available, with the English versions having small inclusions of Spanish to create an immersive reading experience.
Esperanza Rising by Pam Munoz Ryan
Esperanza Rising is a novel based on the life events of author Pam Munoz’s grandmother. This book takes place in Mexico during the early 1930s, twenty years after the Mexican Revolution and during the Great Depression. During this time, there was a lot of classism and hatred towards the rich. Esperanza comes from a wealthy family of farmers and she is very spoiled. She explains how it is dangerous to go outside since most people believe that the rich abuse their workers, not knowing that this is not true in Esperanza’s father’s case.
Esperanza is 13 when her father is killed by bandits. After her father is killed, the life she knew falls apart. Her mother is pressured to remarry and when she refuses, their house is burned down. In fear for their life, they are forced to leave everything behind. One of Esperanza’s family’s trusted workers helps them run away to the United States, where he gives them work and a place to stay. As the story continues, Esperanza has a hard time adjusting to her new place.
“Honestly, this story really opened my eyes. It helped me realize that even if what is written in the book is fiction, these things happen to real life people!” Said Amora Wilson (9).
This story provides a strong perspective on how the life you knew can change in an instant. This book really portrays how when circumstances change, we need to learn to adjust and change with them. Many people lived through these same experiences and this completely changed how they grew up and how they viewed certain experiences and situations. In this book specifically, it shows the change in an immigrant’s life when they move away from their country.
Return to Sender by Julia Alvarez
Return to Sender is another coming-of-age novel set in 2005 Vermont about a young girl named Mari Cruz who works on a farm owned by Tyler Paquettes’ family. This story alternates within Tyler’s third person view and Mari’s first person view with her letters and diary entries. Tyler’s non-immigrant Vermont family faces financial issues around their farm after an accident and decides to employ the new immigrant Cruz family since they are looking for work. Many of the Cruz family members are undocumented, except for two out of the three sisters.
During the story, kidnappers take advantage of the fact that the Cruz family is undocumented and can’t ask for government help without risking deportation. They kidnap Mari’s mom and hold her for ransom in North Carolina.
This book shows how undocumented immigrants can sometimes be taken advantage of because of their situation. Many families, like the Cruz family in the book, immigrate in the hopes of a better future for themselves and their families but face challenges while doing so.
“I actually really enjoyed this book when I read it two years ago,” said Josephine Huynh (9th).
Becoming Naomi Leon by Pam Munoz Ryan
Becoming Naomi Leon is a story about a young Mexican-American girl named Naomi Leon. This coming-of-age novel is set in Lemon Tree Trailer Park, California in 2005-2006. Naomi Leon and her little brother Owen live there with their grandma.
One day, their biological mother, who has been missing for seven years, suddenly appears at their doorstep. At first, Naomi and Owen are happy and excited to finally meet their mom. But soon enough, they find out that she is not the person she pretends to be and she is threatening to take them away from each other and hurt their grandma. Since their grandma doesn’t have legal custody of them, they go on an adventure to Mexico to find their dad, as he is the only one allowed to fight back for the legal custody of both children.
Naomi has to learn how to be strong and stand up for herself and not let her mother abuse her or her brother. As the story continues, she learns that her voice matters. This book shows us how immigrants, of any nation, need to be strong to reach their goal.
Windows, Mirrors and Glass doors
With these three books you can read and learn about people’s experiences or relate to some of your own experiences. They help you open your mind to new ideas and views.
Rudine Sims Bishop, author and professor of multicultural education at Ohio State University describes the power of multicultural reading and how it can introduce you to new experiences or even just relate to the experiences of new characters.
“Books are sometimes windows, offering views of worlds that may be real or imagined, familiar or strange. These windows are also sliding glass doors, and readers have only to walk through in imagination to become part of whatever world has been created or recreated by the author. When lighting conditions are just right, however, a window can also be a mirror. Literature transforms human experience and reflects it back to us, and in that reflection we can see our own lives and experiences as part of a larger human experience”.
