Reaching Out (Hardcover)

by Francisco Jimenez (Author)
Key Phrases: César Chávez, Santa Clara, Father O'Neill, Santa Maria (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal
Grade 8 Up—Jiménez, the son of Mexican immigrants, left behind a life of hard work and poverty when he entered Santa Clara University in 1962. Here, he chronicles his college years and introduces people who befriended him as well as those who had prejudices against Mexicans. Throughout his story, the difficulties of his transition from family life to college life are evident. His palpable fear of failure was mitigated by those who helped him recognize his worth and develop and strengthen his character. The book ends as he is bound for graduate school at Columbia University. This sequel to Breaking Through (2001) and The Circuit (1999, both Houghton) again brings to the forefront the daily trials of poor immigrant families. The author poignantly relates his family's struggles and how their teamwork enabled him to attend college. While the book relates his trials and successes, it also tells how his family members overcame their own obstacles. Using the style of a good storyteller, Jiménez gives voice to strong familial bonds with an intensity that is both compelling and honest. The family photographs at the end of the book add a nice touch.—Sharon Morrison, Southeastern Oklahoma State University, Durant, OK
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From Booklist
*Starred Review* Papa’s raging depression intensifies young Jiménez’s personal guilt and conflict in the 1960s: “So now you think you’re better than us because you are going to college!” He is the first in his Mexican American migrant family to attend college in California. While at home, the family struggles with backbreaking work and lives without indoor plumbing; in college, Jiménez finds friends and mentors in class and at church, discovers the great literature in his native Spanish language, and joins César Chávez in the drive to unionize farm workers. Like his other fictionalized autobiographies, The Circuit (1997) and Breaking Through (2001), this sequel tells Jiménez’s personal story in self-contained chapters that join together in a stirring narrative. As he works many jobs to send something home, he is haunted by memories of his childhood spent laboring in the fields, and in college, he tells no one that he was born in Mexico and is not an American citizen. Rooted in the past, Jiménez’s story is also about the continuing struggle to make it in America, not only for immigrant kids but also for those in poor families. Never melodramatic or self-important, the spare episodes will draw readers with the quiet daily detail of work, anger, sorrow, and hope. Grades 7-12. --Hazel Rochman

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Product Details

• Reading level: Young Adult
  
• Hardcover: 208 pages
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Books for Children (August 25, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0618038515
• ISBN-13: 978-0618038510
• Product Dimensions: 7 x 5 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #117,575 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

  Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

  #8 in	Books > Children's Books > People & Places > Family Life > Multigenerational > Nonfiction
  #25 in	Books > Biographies & Memoirs > Ethnic & National > Hispanic & Latino
  #58 in	Books > Children's Books > People & Places > Biographies > United States

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Treasure , August 26, 2008

By	social scientist "university professor" (California) - See all my reviews

In Reaching Out, Francisco Jimenez traces his life as a Mexican immigrant child from a migrant farm worker family to his experiences as an undergraduate at Santa Clara University. Along the way, he encounters challenges and tensions as a first generation college student. Francisco shares with his readers how he reached out to a place so far removed from his childhood - Santa Clara University - and how others, particularly Jesuits, reached out to him to support him on this journey,

I truly believe that Reaching Out should be read by all students, particularly first year students. Many students will identify with the story and understand that they too can succeed. Those who come from families far removed from Francisco's background will better understand how to reach out to first generation students. In fact, I highly recommend that faculty read this book so that they may also understand how to reach out to students from backgrounds similar to Francisco's. Although Reaching Out deals with the life of a specific individual, it is truly a universal story.

Just like his other two books, The Circuit and Breaking Through, Reaching Out will be a treasure for generations to come.

0 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars For Adults Also, June 24, 2009

By	K. M. Halbig (California USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Having read the first two books in this trilogy I was excited to purchase this chapter in the author's life. It is a very personal tale of his experiences at Santa Clara University and since I am an alumna, I relived many of my college years through his eyes. I didn't feel that this book had the dramatic impact of the others. There were some wonderful moments, but I wanted to learn how he accomplished what he did. It was more of a recitation of events than a true insight into how these events transpired. Francisco rose from migrant worker with few English skills to a college professor. It is inspirational for young people, but could have been even more for adults.