Breaking Through

In this Pura Belpr Honor-winning memoir, sequel to best-selling The Circuit, Francisco Jimenez tells his timely story about immigrant prejudice, keeping hope alive when there is none and his family's journey to achieving their American dream.

At the age of fourteen, Francisco Jim nez, together with his older brother Roberto and his mother, are caught by la migra. Forced to leave their home in California, the entire family travels all night for twenty hours by bus, arriving at the U.S. and Mexican border in Nogales, Arizona.

In the months and years that follow during the late 1950s-early 1960s, Francisco, his mother and father, and his seven brothers and sister not only struggle to keep their family together, but also face crushing poverty, long hours of labor, and blatant prejudice. How they sustain their hope, their good-heartedness, and tenacity is revealed in this moving, Pura Belpr Honor-winning sequel to The Circuit. Without bitterness or sentimentality, Francisco Jim nez finishes telling the story of his youth.

Publisher: Clarion Books
Published: 10/01/2002
Pages: 208
Weight: 0.28lbs
Size: 6.90h x 4.90w x 0.60d
ISBN: 9780618342488
Age: Young Adult

Accelerated Reader:
Reading Level: 5.3
Point Value: 7
Interest Level: Middle Grade
Quiz #/Name: 54159 / Breaking Through


Review Citation(s):
Kliatt 01/01/2003 pg. 27

About the Author
Jiménez, Francisco: - Francisco Jiménez emigrated from Tlaquepaque, Mexico, to California, where he worked for many years in the fields with his family. He received both his master's degree and his Ph.D. from Columbia University and is now the chairman of the Modern Languages and Literature Department at Santa Clara University, the setting of much of his newest novel, Reaching Out. He is the Pura Belpre Honor winning author of The Circuit, Breaking Through, and La Mariposa. He is also the recipient of the John Steinbeck Award. He lives with his family in Santa Clara, California.