A powerful and personal glimpse of a little-known historical turning point through one girl's struggle to carve out a life of her choosing
In 1930s San Antonio, thirteen-year-old Petra dreams of going to college and becoming a writer.
But with her beloved father dead, two younger siblings to care for, and with a stepmother struggling to make ends meet, Petra has to drop out of school to shell pecans at a factory. Hoping it's only temporary, she tries not to despair over the grueling work conditions. But after the unhealthy environment leads to tragedy and workers' already low wages are cut, Petra knows things need to change. She and her coworkers go on strike for higher wages and safer conditions, risking everything they have for the hope of a better future.
Topics Strikes and lockouts. Employee rights. Pecans. Factories. Grief. Mexican Americans. San Antonio, Texas. Twentieth-century history. 1930s. Activism and social justice. Poverty. Family life.
Trim Size 7 1/2" x 5 1/2"
JLG Span Fall
Language English
Rights type Print
Publication date 2025-03-31
JLG Release Date Jul 2025
Minimum grade 6
Maximum grade 8
Reading level Middle
Format Print
Upper Middle School Fiction Plus (Grades 6-8)
Upper Middle School Fiction Plus
Upper Middle School Fiction Plus (Grades 6-8)
For Grades 6-8
This collection features fiction titles selected for older middle school readers who are ready for longer, more layered stories that explore growing independence and changing perspective. Selections include realistic and speculative fiction with increased emotional and narrative complexity, offering stories that look beyond immediate experience and invite readers to engage with broader questions about identity, belonging, and the world around them.