Farmworker's Daughter: Growing Up Mexican in America

by Rose Castillo Guilbault

In this memoir, Guilbault invites us into her girlhood, revealing what it was like to grow up as a Mexican immigrant in a farming community during the turbulent 1960s. With openness, courage, and charm, she recalls her early struggles to learn English, to fit in with schoolmates with their Barbie dolls and cupcakes, to win approval, and to bridge the tensions between the home life and the public world to which she was drawn.

Genres: Nonfiction, Biography Memoir

224 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 2006

Reviews

[Flannery · Rating 4 out of 5]

Another nice personal story like Francisco Jimenez's books of stories. She grew up in the Salinas farming valley after leaving Mexico with her mother. An inspiring story. Very easy, fast read.

[Kezia · Rating 2 out of 5]

A factual account of her childhood and youth without the depth of other memoirs. Surprisingly void of social commentary one would expect from someone writing about this era in California history: the draft, Vietnam, the unionization of farmworkers, civil rights. I got the sense she's somewhat of a right-winger, and the book is intentionally defanged of any interesting political perspective. I found it hard to be interested in her awards for the high school yearbook when Chicanos were dying in Vietnam in staggering numbers.

[Liliana Bachelder · Rating 3 out of 5]

It is ok. A book club read. It left me and my club wanting to know more, more about her mother, more about the Farmworker movement, more about her later life--college and profession. It was just ok.

[Em]

This was a beautiful memoir about what it’s like to be an immigrant in America, from the eyes of a young child.

[Ijorabi · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is far from great. The author's life really isn't that interesting, and this book is pretty much her autobiography with a little family history mixed in. Still, it's worth a read if you're interested in the Mexican-American immigrant experience. Don't expect this book to be exciting, though. It's very tame as far as immigrant stories are concerned.

[Meg · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book, published by Heyday Press, is one of the really good memoirs I have read by a woman from California. The language is literate, the vocabulary great, and the concept of growing up Mexican in America hasn't changed much - both for Chicanos, but especially for Chicanas. I use it in my classes.

[Chelsea · Rating 4 out of 5]

i read this book for one of my classes. i really enjoyed reading this book. i even keep the book at the end of the semester. this is a book i would suggest reading over and over again. i have told a few of my friends about this book. they all enjoyed it also, some even went out and bought them selves a copy of this book.

[Gina · Rating 2 out of 5]

Nicely written autobiography of a Mexican immigrant who overcomes adversity to become a successful journalist and executive.

[Adriana · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was a very easy read. It takes place in the Salina Valley of California and gives a childs perspective of living and working on a farm for wages.

[Eileen Durgin-clinchard · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quick easy read...not particularly enlightening but lovely command of language. It seems like a collection of chronologically arranged stories of her life rather than a true memoir.

[Julie Greene · Rating 3 out of 5]

A nice window into a Mexican girl's life and growing up the daughter of a bracero in California. Can't match the power or drama of Reyna Grande's recent memoir, but a fine read nonetheless.