A Seed in the Sun

August 1, 2022
Twelve-year-old Mexican American Lula longs to speak out and stand up against oppression in 1960s Delano, California. Lula lives with her migrant farmworker family in bedbug-infested barracks. Her older sister, Concha, loves school just like Lula does; big brother Rafa works the fields with Mam� and Pap� while youngest siblings Gabi and Mart�n tag along. Pap� drinks, has an unpredictable temper, and only shows love to the littlest ones. Lula dreams of being able to make Pap� smile. When Mam� becomes gravely ill, she's turned away from the emergency room due to lack of money. A local curandera thinks she's been poisoned by pesticides used in the fields and treats her with herbs. At school, Lula befriends Leonor, a Filipina and Mexican American girl, and is inspired by her powerful voice and grit. Leonor's family is involved with the Filipino strikers' union, the Agricultural Workers Organizing Committee. The AWOC are recruiting the Mexican National Farm Worker's Association, led by Dolores Huerta and Cesar Ch�vez, to join them in striking for better wages and conditions. This introspective novel with a well-developed sense of place features free verse in varied layouts that maintain visual interest. The character development is strong; as Pap� is influenced by Ch�vez, who speaks of nonviolence, his behaviors change. Lula shows tenacity as her seeds of potential are nourished. Compelling and atmospheric. (author's note, further reading) (Verse historical fiction. 9-13)

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October 24, 2022
Centering a family of migrant workers during the 1965 Delano grape strike, Salazar (Land of the Cranes) tackles civil rights and labor justice in an extensively researched novel in verse. In Delano, Calif., 12-year-old Lula, who is Mexican American, helps her siblings to drown bedbugs as they settle into “another labor camp/ as terrible as the last.” But as Lula and her older sister Concha begin school, and their parents and older brother head into the fields with the littlest siblings in tow, the family learns that they’ve inadvertently crossed picket lines against Filipino workers striking for better wages. The situation intensifies when the siblings’ mother becomes mysteriously ill and can’t afford treatment; their father, who drinks, turns increasingly volatile; and the family faces increasingly dangerous working conditions, including the threat of pesticides and sexual assault. As Lula seeks her voice, her Filipina and Mexican American classmate Leoner speaks up for the Filipino-led Agricultural Workers Organizing Committee, of which her family is a part and which seeks to collaborate with the Mexican National Farm Workers Association, striking for better working conditions for all. Spotlighting historical figures including Dolores Huerta and Cesar Chávez, Salazar’s lyrical poetry shines offers a sensitive depiction of Lula’s struggles and hopes, culminating in a personal arc that emphasizes developing one’s voice. An author’s note contextualizes historical language used. Ages 8–12. Agent: Marietta Zacker, Gallt and Zacker Literary.

Starred review from November 1, 2022

Gr 3-7-Lula Viramontes, a seventh grader in Imperial Valley, CA, has big worries in 1965. Her big family lives in a labor camp, as they follow the farming crops of grapes and whatever else needs harvesting. Lula and her older sister Cocha want to go to school, but they are often needed at home to help with the younger siblings, as Mam� has developed a mysterious illness. Papa and their older brother Rafa toil in the fields, doing the backbreaking "men's work" while often being mistreated and not paid. The plight of Lula's family and that of migrant farm workers is deftly told. Lula has big dreams, but her wispy voice is all but gone, and she lives in fear of her father's violent temper. When Lula's friend Lenor tells her of strikes that are forming for workers to get better rights and wages, Lula is afraid to speak up. Then they learn Mam�'s illness may be a result of the pesticides used on farms, and the family is more willing to hear the compelling voices of Dolores Huerta and Cesar Chavez, the leaders for the striking farming associations. When the family faces eviction for striking, Lula must find her voice, and stand up for what is right. VERDICT Poignantly told, the story of Lula and her family's plight will tug young readers' heartstrings; this is an important, and sometimes unspoken, part of the American past and present that needs to be brought to light.-Michele Shaw

Copyright 2022 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from September 15, 2022
Grades 4-7 *Starred Review* There is a special power in historical fiction's ability to blend real issues and events with engaging characters, turning the past into a living, breathing thing. Salazar (The Land of the Cranes, 2020) accomplishes this beautifully in her new novel in verse, set in 1965 California during the Farmworkers' Movement. Lula Viramontes works on a farm where she and her family harvest grapes in dangerous conditions. At home, she helps care for her siblings and her mother, who is extremely sick, while also trying to dodge her father's angry outbursts. Lula finds some respite in dreaming about becoming a ringmaster in a Mexican traveling circus, despite knowing this aspiration will likely have to be set aside. One day, by chance, she meets a group of activists, which includes Dolores Huerta, that is tirelessly fighting for the rights of farm laborers (including migrant workers like Lula's family) to make sure the work is distributed more fairly and safely. As the story progresses, readers witness Lula as she finds her voice and learns to speak up, realizing that she's in charge of her future and her dreams. Led by a memorable protagonist, this novel mixes themes of growth and change with historical details and powerful observations on the abuses that sparked the Farmworkers' Movement and the strength of those demanding justice.

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Starred review from November 1, 2022
In this lyrical verse novel set in 1965 California, Lula has lost her voice. She can only speak in "a whispery rasp" that doesn't help when she has to call out in the fields where she picks grapes with her family of migrant workers. It doesn't help when her father becomes angry and accuses her of not doing her part for the family's survival. And it doesn't help when there is danger and she needs to protect her siblings. With a stronger voice, she would make her case for attending school, but now that her mother has been stricken by a mysterious illness, that's not possible. When the exploited farmworkers start organizing and a woman named Dolores Huerta urges them to strike, things begin changing. Will her father be receptive to these ideas? Will her mother get medical assistance? Will Lula and her siblings return to school? Salazar seamlessly combines historical events of the farmworkers' rights movement and the 1965 Delano grape strike with a sensitive portrayal of a girl trying to make sense of the world. It's a powerful coming-of-age story filled with evocative language, memorable characters, and apt nature imagery. A lengthy author's note tells more about what Salazar calls "one of the greatest labor justice movements undertaken in United States history." Alicia K. Long

(Copyright 2022 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)

July 1, 2022
In this lyrical verse novel set in 1965 California, Lula has lost her voice. She can only speak in "a whispery rasp" that doesn't help when she has to call out in the fields where she picks grapes with her family of migrant workers. It doesn't help when her father becomes angry and accuses her of not doing her part for the family's survival. And it doesn't help when there is danger and she needs to protect her siblings. With a stronger voice, she would make her case for attending school, but now that her mother has been stricken by a mysterious illness, that's not possible. When the exploited farmworkers start organizing and a woman named Dolores Huerta urges them to strike, things begin changing. Will her father be receptive to these ideas? Will her mother get medical assistance? Will Lula and her siblings return to school? Salazar seamlessly combines historical events of the farmworkers' rights movement and the 1965 Delano grape strike with a sensitive portrayal of a girl trying to make sense of the world. It's a powerful coming-of-age story filled with evocative language, memorable characters, and apt nature imagery. A lengthy author's note tells more about what Salazar calls "one of the greatest labor justice movements undertaken in United States history."

(Copyright 2022 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)