Tomás Rivera

"I tell you, God could care less about the poor. Tell me, why must we live here like this? What have we done to deserve this? You're so good and yet you suffer so much," a young boy tells his mother in Tomás Rivera's classic novel about the migrant worker experience. Outside the chicken coop that is their home, his father wails in pain from the unbearable cramps brought on by sunstroke after working in the hot fields. The young boy can't understand his parents' faith in a god that would impose such horrible suffering, poverty and injustice on innocent people.Adapted into the award-winning film ...And the earth did not swallow him and recipient of the first award for Chicano literature, the Premio Quinto Sol, in 1970, Rivera's masterpiece recounts the experiences of a Mexican-American community through the eyes of a young boy. Forced to leave their home in search of work, the migrants are exploited by farmers, shopkeepers, even other Mexican Americans, and the boy must forge his identity in the face of exploitation, death and disease, constant moving and conflicts with school officials.In this new edition of a powerful novel comprised of short vignettes, Rivera writes hauntingly about alienation, love and betrayal, man and nature, death and resurrection and the search for community.

All Good Gifts by Gail Gaymer Martin Widow Tess Britton came to the country for peace - certainly not for a romance with her handsome next-door neighbor, Ryan Walsh. But when he urged her to heal her relationship with God and to be open to a lasting love - his - Tess had to wonder if God was giving her a second chance. with Ryan by her side. Loving Grace by Cynthia Rutledge Nurse Grace Comstock needed a date for Thanksgiving - fast! When she prayed for a handsome prince, suddenly Mr. Charming himself, Dr. Nick Tucci, appeared to escort her! At the feast, Nick convinced everyone he was Grace' s adoring boyfriend, the man she' d been waiting for - and she found herself hoping their pretend relationship would blossom into true love.

In ‘…and the earth did not swallow him’ Tomás Rivera presents the life of the peasants of Texas during the 1950s with all their sorrows and joys. The narrator is a young man lost in the shadows of labor exploitation and continually mystified by his interactions in America -- its alien society and institutions. Between constant migration and clashes with bosses and school officials, the young man has to forge his own identity. At the same time that he is alienating himself from his original community, he ironically finds it again and embraces it."- Lining. " En '... y no se lo tragó la tierra' Tomás Rivera nos presenta la vida de los campesinos de Texas durante la década de 1950 con todos sus pesares y alegrías. El narrador es un joven perdido en las sombras de la explotación laboral y la mistificación de su vida por las instituciones de la sociedad. Entre la constante migración y los choques con mayordomos y oficiales escolares tiene el joven que forjar su propia identidad. A la vez que se va enajenando de su sociedad, irónicamente la encuentra de nuevo y la abraza."--Forro.

High School level