Esperanza

by Carol Gaab

Esperanza by Carol Gaab is perfect for level 1 Spanish students! This hardcover book is a narrative nonfiction written in first person.
This novel is based on the chilling true story of a young family caught in the middle of political corruption and unspeakable violence during Guatemala’s 36-year civil war. Tired of watching city workers endure countless human and civil rights violations, Alberto organizes a union. When he and his co-workers organize a strike, Alberto and his family find themselves on the government’s “extermination” list. The violent situation leaves Alberto separated from his family and forces them all to flee for their lives. Will their will to survive be enough to help them escape and reunite? And if so, will they ever find another place they can call home?
The exceptionally low unique word count and high frequency factor (the number of times core structures are embedded in the text) in the Comprehension-based reader, ‘Esperanza’, make this an ideal read for advanced beginning Spanish students. Each page is loaded with cognates (words that are similar in English and Spanish), recycled vocabulary, and illustrations, which makes this read highly comprehensible. Enjoy the story! The more you enjoy it, the more you will acquire Spanish without even realizing it! We hope you enjoy reading your way to FLUENCY!

Genres: Spanish Literature, Read For School, School, Nonfiction

83 pages, Paperback

Published January 1, 2011

Reviews

[casey ;) · Rating 2 out of 5]

could be worse but i was forced to read it so

[Alicia Pressley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Yo lei este libro rapidamente. Pienso que es un libro bueno y demostra la realidad de la vida en Guatemala y otros paises que son corruptos y tambien las dificultades que las personas latinoamericanos tienen. No fue muy dificil para leer.

[Dara · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm getting ready to use this novel (past tense version) in my Spanish 3 class. It will be easy, but I value success with the language when it comes to reading. I don't want my students to fear or hate our reading. This is a decently written book with some themes that are thought provoking.

[shaysreading]

this book was only 80 pages but yes i am counting it towards my reading goal bc it’s in spanish and reading it was struggle

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tengo planes de leer este libro con mis estudiantes. Aprecio el retrato, simplificado pero real, de las razones por las cuales personas inmigran a los EEUU y la corrupción que enfrentan en los dos lados de la frontera.

[Isaac Smith · Rating 1 out of 5]

Please do not read this book. Just please, whatever you do, do not read this book. It's not that I have a problem with the immigration or anything like that. It's just a horrible book. First of all, the main character cries every other second about something or other, and some of the sentences don't even make sense. For example, "Me llamo Esperanza y esta es mi historia de esperanza." Which directly translates to "My name is Hope and this is my history of hope"(Gaab). Honestly. What even.
Please do not read this book. Ever. Thank you for coming to my TED talk.

[Marilyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was maybe a 3.5, but I'll round it up.

I read this book with my Spanish 2 class this year. It was the first year I have read this book with any of my classes. I liked the story and how the illegal immigration issue is depicted non-politically. I felt like my students could appreciate the story and empathize with the family's choices without feeling like they had to make a judgment about their decisions.

That said, there were some problems with this book. Esperanza cries a LOT and she is not exactly the strong woman character I like to see in novels. Everything that happens to her, she kind of just lets happen to her. On the one hand, this is probably what it is like for a lot of illegal immigrants. They do not wake up one morning and decide to leave their home and everything they knew just to live in the United States. Sh*t happens and sometimes that sh*t leads them to the U.S. through illegal means. On the other hand, my kids now know what "llora descontroladamente" means because she does it so often.

My students had a few problems reading though. Partly they were lazy and I do not think they felt invested in the story. However, the dialogue was extremely difficult for them to follow. It was a lot of back and forth with no notations about who was talking. I get that you don't want to junk the page up, but reading in a 2nd language makes it difficult to intuitively understand who is talking.

All in all, it was an okay book. A great benign way to get to talking about illegal immigration. Even though we never got into any political or moral judgment conversations about whether it is right or wrong, this book does a good job of showing how many of them don't WANT to come to the U.S., but they really do feel like they have no other options. It also did a great job of showing what that trip looks like and allowed for some fulfilling conversations about the dangers of that trip. Hence, the half star bump up.

[Amman Sills · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although I read this book for school, I did find it very interesting. The book is in Spanish though so it could sometimes be a bit confusing but I beleive that I understand the main parts. It was interesting to hear another story of something that can relate to what is going on now in the US.

The reason that it took me a while to read is because we were reading it as a class and therefore not reading everyday.

[Lisa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book for beginner Spanish students. Could spark some good activities around the immigrant experience to help students better understand why people make the hard choice to leave everything behind.

[Margarita Chambers · Rating 5 out of 5]

A mí me gusta mucho este libro. Las personas tienen mucho problemas, y tiene los carteles. A mí me interesan los carteles. Tambien, yo me siento por la familia porque sus vidas son más difícil que mi vida.

[Kimberly Huynh · Rating 4 out of 5]

I gave Esperanza by Carol Gaab a 4 star rating because it was an interesting book, with lots of emotions, and had a real life feeling to it. But I didn’t give it a full 5 stars because there were still a few words that I didn’t personally understand.

[Bodie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed the book mainly because it allowed me to explore a modern topic on something I really hadn’t thought about, although the Guatemala civil war is no longer going on. Corruption, and Injustice are still alive and expanding everyday. Overall I enjoyed the topic of our class novel.

[Magdalen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this book. It was an amazing story to hear and read about. I rated it 4 stars because it was enjoyable and easy to read. It was my first book I had completely read and understood in Spanish😊

[Connor Pell · Rating 3 out of 5]

Esperanza is a nice story about a family crossing the border. However, there is a lack of tension throughout the book and it’s hard to care about the characters. I don’t really relate to Esperanza’s story, but I get the idea of a family trying to escape hardship.

[Isabella Poppe · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked it because I liked the plot and the action that talked place to be with family. Family is the most important thing in life and nothing can stand in your way no matter how difficult the challenges along the way are.

[Abby Burns · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book was interesting but the story line was really predictable. I like reading books that aren’t predictable but that’s just a personal preference. Like I said before the book was good and it had a good description of what crossing the border can look like.

[Catalina Vrooman · Rating 4 out of 5]

I gave Esperanza 4 stars because I really liked this book! It showed the struggles people go through while trying to come to the US. I really liked how the book was a true story, it made it even more interesting.

[Maria · Rating 3 out of 5]

A good story in Spanish about a family moving to the United States From Guatemala seeking political asylum. It portrays how families are separated and the dangers they face in their country and when they cross the US border seeking a better life.

[Lia · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very quick and easy book to read. Not really enough action and information about the war to keep me totally interested though.

[Leo Eli Goddard · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a good Spanish learning book for beginners.

[Katrina Tangen · Rating 5 out of 5]

The audiobook is *so* well done--great reader and helpful sound effects. Although way overpriced if you are just a language learner like me rather than a teacher (which is the intended market).

[Raven Black · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book for beginner Spanish readers.

[G. Buckner · Rating 4 out of 5]

Read for Spanish II class. It was fine, but I think she cries uncontrollably a bit too much. And her kid vomits a lot too.

[Grace · Rating 5 out of 5]

Heart-wrenching. Great story. I was engaged the entire time. Well-written.

[Sebastian Matos · Rating 4 out of 5]

the best

[Julie Walz · Rating 3 out of 5]

I gave it a 3 star writing because the plot was complicated to follow. But it was a good book.

[Brayden Schropp · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was not the most interesting. It was difficult to understand in some parts. But it was not the worst I have read

[Samy Deloera · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was really good. Had a interesting plot. It was boring like some books. I like how they had the title as Esperanza

[Erin Sheehy · Rating 4 out of 5]

The book was really good at the beginning. It started to get a little confusing towards the middle of the book. It’s a good book though.

[Lizzie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked how the whole family ended up together. I’m glad the kids made it safe. I don’t like how esperanza didn’t have much hope and was sad a lot.