Oxford English Dictionary

Esperanza Ortega lives a charmed life on her family’s ranch in Mexico until her world suddenly comes crashing down when her father is unexpectedly killed. Esperanza and her mother flee Mexico in order to avoid her terrible uncle who wants to control their lives. Now settled in America, on the eve of the Great Depression, Esperanza and her mother must labor in the fields of Southern California. Ryan pulls the reader in from the very beginning and takes them along Esperanza’s journey in this reverse rags to riches tale.