At the age of 14, Francisco Jim
énez, together with his older brother Roberto and his mother,
are caught by La Migra. Forced to leave their home, the entire
family travels all night for 20 hours by bus, arriving at the U.S.
and Mexican border in Nogales, Ariz. In the months and years that
follow, Francisco, his mother and father,
and his seven brothers and sister not only struggle to keep
their family together, but also face crushing poverty, long hours
of labor and blatant prejudice.
At the age of 14, Francisco Jiménez, together with his older brother Roberto and his mother, are caught by La Migra. Forced to leave their home, the entire family travels all night for 20 hours by bus, arriving at the U.S. and Mexican border in Nogales, Ariz.
In the months and years that follow, Francisco, his mother and father, and his seven brothers and sister not only struggle to keep their family together, but also face crushing poverty, long hours of labor and blatant prejudice.
This is the story of ‘Breaking Through’, the book selected for Silicon Valley Reads: One Book, One Community. The vision of the program is to have Silicon Valley residents reading the same book at the same time and begin a community wide discussion around a common theme.
The book’s author, Francisco Jiménez, immigrated with his family to California from Tlaquepaque, Mexico. As a child he worked in the fields of California. He received a doctorate and master’s degree at Columbia University and is now chairman of the Modern Language Department at Santa Clara University. Jiménez lives in Santa Clara with his wife and three children.
People all over Silicon Valley will be reading the book during January and February. Breaking Through will be the Morgan Hill Library Book Discussion book for February. Copies will be available to check out at the library. If you want to own your own copy, BookSmart bookstore on Monterey Road at Second Street has copies of the book available at a 20 percent discount.
Plan to read the book, and attend one of our book discussions: on Monday, Feb. 24, at 7:30 p.m. or on Friday, Feb. 28, at noon, in the library’s meeting room. Keep watching the Morgan Hill Times for information about other related events, and check the Silicon Valley Reads website (www.siliconvalleyreads.org) for an interview with Jiménez and for information about other upcoming events.
Jiménez himself will lead a discussion of the book on Saturday, Feb. 22, from 10 a.m. to noon in the El Toro Room of the Community Center, 17000 Monterey Road. While the book is written for children 10 through high school, it is also an important read for adults.
