A Seed in the Sun

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.

January 1, 2023

Gr 3-7-Seventh-grader Lula is the middle child of five in a Mexican American family. She may have inexplicably lost her voice-reduced to a "whispery rasp"-but she astutely bears witness to her family's peripatetic struggles as migrant farmworkers in California: her mother is mysteriously ill; her father is too-often violently angry; her older sister dreams of escape. Inspired by her own mother's stories as "a migrant farmworking child," Salazar deftly weaves her fictional characters into the real-life 1965 Delano grape strike led by Filipino and Mexican activists, including Larry Itliong, Dolores Huerta, and Helen and Cesar Ch�vez. Spanish-fluent, youthfully pitched Villarreal is Salazar's complementary cipher, augmenting the already resonating historical novel-in-verse with expressive rhythms and emotional depth. Salazar herself concludes the recording with a thoughtful "Dear Reader" afterword urging readers to "fight for justice through your voice." VERDICT Writer and reader are perfectly paired for flourishing results.

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