Esperanza Rising
by Pam Muñoz Ryan
★ Top 10 book of 2000 · #6 on Best Books of 2000
Esperanza and her mother leave behind a comfortable, wealthy life in Mexico and head to the labor camps of Southern California. There they must adjust to the hard conditions facing Mexican farm workers just before the Great Depression.
Best for: Young readers interested in historical fiction about immigration and farm labor during hardship
Esperanza Rising is #6 on BookWard's Best Books of 2000, out of 45 2000 books that cleared our data bar.
What Esperanza Rising is about
Esperanza and her mother once lived in comfort and privilege in Mexico. Then they are forced to leave, and they find themselves working in the labor camps of Southern California. The story is set on the eve of the Great Depression, when life for Mexican farm workers was hard and uncertain. Esperanza must learn to live in a world very different from the one she grew up in, and to adapt to circumstances she never imagined. Pam Muñoz Ryan tells this story in lyrical, earnest prose, with hope running through it. It speaks to readers interested in family, resilience, class, and the history of migrant labor.
Esperanza Rising on the Best Books of 2000
Esperanza Rising came out in 2000. Of the 45 books first published in 2000 that met BookWard's data bar, it ranks #6 on our Best Books of 2000 list.
Why it made the list: 989 readers have shelved it on Open Library; readers rate it 3.9 out of 5 (43 ratings); 76 are reading it right now. The list ranks each year’s books on how many readers have picked them up, how highly readers rate them, and how many are reading them right now.
It earns Being read right now.
Nearby on the 2000 list
- The Gruffalo Julia Donaldson, #4
- Life of Pi Yann Martel, #5
- Rich Dad's Guide to Investing Robert T. Kiyosaki, #7
- Angels & Demons Dan Brown, #8
See all Best Books of 2000 Best books by year
More years: Best Books of 1999 Best Books of 2001.
The numbers behind it
- Readers: 845 want to read it, 76 are reading it now and 68 have read it, according to Open Library.
- Ratings: 3.9 out of 5 from 43 Open Library ratings.
| Signal | This book (0 to 100) | Weight |
|---|---|---|
| Reach | 84 | 55% |
| Reader love | 44 | 25% |
| Being read right now | 91 | 20% |
Questions about Esperanza Rising
When was Esperanza Rising published?
Esperanza Rising by Pam Muñoz Ryan was first published in 2000.
Was Esperanza Rising one of the best books of 2000?
Esperanza Rising is #6 on BookWard's Best Books of 2000, out of 45 2000 books that cleared our data bar. 989 readers have shelved it on Open Library; readers rate it 3.9 out of 5 (43 ratings); 76 are reading it right now.
Why is Esperanza Rising on the Best Books of 2000 list?
989 readers have shelved it on Open Library; readers rate it 3.9 out of 5 (43 ratings); 76 are reading it right now.
More of the best books of 2000
- Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire J. K. Rowling, #1
- The 48 Laws of Power Robert Greene, #2
- Because of Winn-Dixie Kate DiCamillo, #3
- The Gruffalo Julia Donaldson, #4
- Life of Pi Yann Martel, #5
- Rich Dad's Guide to Investing Robert T. Kiyosaki, #7
See the full Best Books of 2000, the Top 100, or new books on Rising.
How we know
This page uses public data: Open Library reader counts and ratings, and Wikipedia page views for recent years. The description is paraphrased from real source text. Rankings reflect reading interest, not quality or sales, and can be affected by data gaps. Lists update monthly.
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