Breaking Through

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More About This Book

Overview

"Are you Francisco Jimenez?" he asked firmly. His deep voice echoed in my ears. "Yes," I responded, wiping my tears and looking down at his large black, shiny boots...I followed the immigration officer out of the classroom and into his car marked Border Patrol.

At the age of fourteen, Francisco Jimenez, together with his older brother, Roberto, and his mother, is caught by la migra. Forced to leave their home in California, the entire family travels for twenty hours by bus, arriving at the U.S. -- Mexican border in Nogales, Arizona.

In the months and years that follow, Francisco, his mother and father, and his sister and four brothers not only struggle to keep their family together, but also face crushing poverty, long hours of labor, and blatant prejudice. How they sustain their hope, goodheartedness, and tenacity is revealed in this moving sequel to The Circuit. Without bitterness or sentimentality, Francisco Jimenez finishes telling the story of his youth. Once again, his simple yet powerful words will open readers' hearts and minds.

Having come from Mexico to California ten years ago, fourteen-year-old Francisco is still working in the fields but fighting to improve his life and complete his education.

Editorial Reviews

Publishers Weekly
Francisco Jiminez continues the moving tale of his early youth begun with a dozen autobiographical short stories in The Circuit. Breaking Through chronicles the author's teenage years. At the age of 14, Francisco and his family are caught by la migra (immigration officers) and forced to leave their California home, but soon find their way back. The author explores the prejudice and challenges they face while also relaying universal adolescent experiences of school, dances and romances. (Aug.) Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.
Children's Literature
Born to poor Mexican parents, Francisco and his family migrated to the United States in the 1950's. This is the true story of young Francisco's struggles with poverty and discrimination. To help support the family, he often misses school to work on farms picking lettuce or strawberries. As he gets older, Francisco obtains a job cleaning offices. During most of his high school years, Francisco wakes at the crack of dawn to clean a few offices. He then attends a full day of classes, spends some time studying in the library after school, then heads directly to another cleaning job. Francisco is determined to become a teacher even though his family is unable to provide any financial support and only limited moral encouragement. Francisco is living proof that success can be achieved when a person's motivation and drive is great enough. This book is a sequel to The Circuit. 2001, Houghton Mifflin, $15.00. Ages 12 up. Reviewer:Denise Daley
More Reviews (2) Fewer Reviews
VOYA
"I lived in constant fear for ten long years, from the time I was four until I was fourteen years old." The author's fear became reality in eighth grade, when immigration officials took him from school. His family was being deported back to Mexico. In this sequel to The Circuit (Houghton Mifflin, 1999), Jimenez uses deceptively simple prose to describe the life-shaping events that occurred from the deportation through his high school years. Once he is able to return to the United States, school dances and student government responsibilities must be balanced with working to help support his family. College seemed an impossible dream to this immigrant boy from a poor family, but caring teachers and counselors helped him both to find financial resources and to overcome the reluctance of his father to send his son away to school. The book ends as his family drives him to the University of Santa Clara to start a new chapter in his life. Jimenez first experienced reading for pleasure when his sophomore English teacher introduced him to The Grapes of Wrath. He was entranced by characters whose experiences mirrored his own working in the fields of California. By sharing from his own life, he provides readers the same possibility to become involved with a book. The simple language makes this work an excellent choice for reluctant readers and ESL students who will relate to how Jimenez's deep ties to his family are stretched by living in a new culture. VOYA CODES:4Q 4P M J (Better than most, marred only by occasional lapses;Broad general YA appeal;Middle School, defined as grades 6 to 8;Junior High, defined as grades 7 to 9). 2001, Houghton Mifflin, 208p, $15. Ages 11 to 15. Reviewer:LibbyBergstrom—VOYA, December 2001 (Vol. 24, No. 5)
School Library Journal
Gr 5-8-Maturity means breaking through the cocoon into freedom for Panchito, whose adolescence is described in this sequel to The Circuit: Stories from the Life of a Migrant Child (Houghton, 2001). The simplicity of life and the unending work for the whole family continues here, but is mitigated by Panchito's increased awareness and gradual loss of innocence as he learns to make his life a success. His father's bitterness, pain, and need for unquestioning obedience is matched by his mother's ability to coax agreement out of her son. The clash of cultures between teen insolence in the U.S. and Mexican respect for elders' authority is vividly portrayed, as is the injustice and casual bigotry often endured by young and old. Fortunately, the protagonist, now often known as Frankie, finds friends and employers willing to recognize his strength of character and ability. While sure to be inspiring and reassuring to readers mesmerized by the first book, this follow-up lacks the intensity and voice so memorable in that one, and is consequently less affecting. Still, Jim nez ably helps readers see the world of 1950s and 1960s California through adolescent eyes. Rock 'n' roll, Kennedy versus Nixon, the old-boy network of service clubs, the humiliation of deportation, and the painful struggle to have the right clothes are among the pieces of that world that readers see with a startling clarity from a new perspective. The photos at the end are great additions.-Carol A. Edwards, Sonoma County Library, Santa Rosa, CA Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

Product Details

  • ISBN-13: 9780618342488
  • Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
  • Publication date: 11/12/2002
  • Edition description: None
  • Pages: 208
  • Sales rank: 71,446
  • Age range: 13 - 15 Years
  • Lexile: 0750L (what's this?)
  • Series: Edition 001 Series
  • Product dimensions: 5.00 (w) x 7.00 (h) x 0.56 (d)

Meet the Author

Francisco Jimenez

Francisco Jiménez emigrated from Tlaquepaque, Mexico, to California, where he worked for many years in the fields with his family. He received both his master's degree and his Ph.D. from Columbia University and is now chairman of the Modern Languages and Literature Department at Santa Clara University, the setting of much of Reaching Out. He is the award-winning author of The Circuit, Breaking Through, La Mariposa, and his newest novel, Reaching Out. He lives in Santa Clara, California, with his family.

Read an Excerpt

Jiménez' autobiographical story The Circuit (1997) broke new ground with its drama of a Mexican American migrant child in southern California. It won many prizes and was a Booklist Editors' Choice. This moving sequel is a fictionalized memoir of Jimenez's teenage years in the late 1950s, when the family finally stayed in one place and Francisco and his brothers worked long hours before and after school to put food on the table. First they picked strawberries in the fields. Later the jobs got better: cleaning offices, washing windows and walls, waxing floors. The prose here is not as taut as in the first book, but Jimenez writes with simplicity about a harsh world seldom seen in children's books. He also writes about a scary, sad, furious, and broken father—like the father in Na's A Step from Heaven [BKL Je 1 & 15 01]. He stays true to the viewpoint of a teenager growing up poor: the yearning (What would it be like to live in a house, rather than the crowded barracks?); the ignorance (College?); the hurt of prejudice. Yet he celebrates his Mexican roots even as he learns to be an American. The images are powerful, especially the one of the boy cleaning offices before dawn, with notes of English words to memorize in his shirt pocket. An excellent choice for ESL classes, this is a book for many readers, who may discover an America they didn't know was here.

Table of Contents

Forced Out 1
Home Alone 19
Stepping Out 29
Together Again 42
Back to the Fields 48
Saint Christopher Medal 56
Summer Skirmishes 61
Becoming a Saint 70
If the Shoe Fits 80
A Promotion 83
A Typing Machine 91
Making Connections 94
Broken Heart 103
Behind the Wheel 109
Turning a Page 113
Los Santitos 117
Choosing Sides 122
Junior Scandals 127
Running for Office 135
A New Life 146
A Test of Faith 151
A Fumble 157
A Breakthrough 163
Graduation Day 175
Still Moving 185
A Note from the Author 194

Customer Reviews

Average Rating 4
( 28 )

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See All Sort by: Showing 1 – 20 of 30 Customer Reviews

  • Posted April 1, 2009

    Breaking Through Review

    Breaking Through by Francisco Jimenez
    Review by Felipe Sanchez
    In all memoirs that I've read, this book, Breaking Through, is truly an outstanding piece by Francisco Jimenez. The word choice that he puts into his work adds extremely fine detail. For example, in one part of the story
    Francisco describes his brother as, "awed and speechless" when he's touched and then he adds the finishing touches by saying, "He grabbed the statue firmly with both hands, making sure not to drop it". Put simply this book isn't one of those "repetitive" or "tired concepts". This book inspires you.
    Sure Jimenez wrote a story about his family crossing the border. Sure almost every other author has done that. But the way that that actually happened is just amazing. Francisco deals with problems all over the book. His family can barely make enough money to put food on the tables, everyone is just about sick with working in the fields to only get a dollar a day, and the dad wouldn't even let Francisco go to college! The storyline flows through the book cleverly from crossing the border to watching movies and dancing in clubs. A person who has suffered for being a Mexican, for having a grumpy dad that is not inspiring at all, and for having mono, one of the worst diseases you could have, Francisco did it. He showed that anybody could achieve their goals.
    If I had to describe Francisco in one word, or maybe even the book, it would have to be determination. That guy must have a lot of courage to stand up to his dad and fight for his future. Now, in the end, words are just words. That's all they really are but, the way you organize those words is what makes them come to life. That's why I love this book. That's why it will continue to be great for readers and have that effect for years to come.

    1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

    Was this review helpful? Yes  NoThank you for your feedback.   Report this reviewThank you, this review has been flagged.

  • Anonymous

    Posted April 16, 2008

    A book for the ages

    The book Breaking Through is a heart warming story about a boy named Fransico Jaminez.He is an immigrant who moves to the U.S and is learning the language and trying to fit in.Through out the story he encounters many difficulties in his middle school and his school times.He also grows up very much.Fransico is very close to his brother and work together on a daily basis.At a young age he starts to work and make money to support his family.Overall this book was very interesting and I enjoyed it very much.I recommend reading this book as soon as possible.

    1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted January 29, 2006

    Good book!

    'Breaking Through' is the autobiography of Francisco Jimenez. It is his story of immigrating with his family to California from Mexico. They struggled to make a living in California. As a young boy he labored in the strawberry fields while trying to complete his education. When money becomes scarce he gets another job cleaning business offices. All the while he continues to excel in school. He recognizes that an education will lead to opportunities for a better life for him and his family. I like this book because it is a great example of perseverance. Francisco's persistence and his resolution to rise above his circumstances is admirable. He never gave up. Despite family illness and financial hardships he continued to work hard. I would recommend it because it is a good story. It is inspirational. People who recently immigrated might find it reassuring.

    1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted February 23, 2012

    Good book to read.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted November 4, 2011

    Beautiful

    Wonderful heart warming story . A good book for ALL AGES . I LOVED IT !!!!!!!! All i can say is wonderful .

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  • Posted July 11, 2011

    Cool

    Loved it

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  • Posted April 26, 2011

    OMG got to read amazing story

    a boy that goes from poverty to a proffeser!

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  • Posted November 3, 2009

    Breaking Through in the classroom

    I used this book with my ELL students. They enjoyed reading the book and thinking about what their families may have gone through that was similar.

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  • Posted September 19, 2009

    more from this reviewer

    Flat as the flattest thing ever.

    I read this book for my reading class. This books is really flat. What I mean is it's not going anywhere. Like other books which starts with a problem, then goes to the struggle of the characters, then to the ending, this book is just like a story you hear everyday. I appreciate the Author's writing style. It's easy to read. This is perfect for first time readers of fiction. However, this book is not worth recommending at all.

    0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted March 5, 2009

    This story is unforgettable.

    A trilling page flipping book.

    0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted February 17, 2008

    Outstanding

    Francisco Jimenez does an exceptional job of describing his life, not only in Breaking Through but also in The Circuit. His life story really shows the determination and will to succeed in a country that gives him the opportunity to do so. It's a great book!!

    0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted January 8, 2006

    AMAZING!!!! =)

    This book was really good. It's amazing how much courage Fancisco and his family had. It was a book that I will never forget!!

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  • Anonymous

    Posted October 20, 2004

    Nothing but the truth

    This book has become one of my favorites. It shows the sad but true reality of the life of many migrant children and people who only come to the this country in search of a better life. I was really motivated by the strength of the family to always get through every situation and make the best of it, as well as Dr. Francisco Jimenez's perseverance of furthuring his education. He is truly an inspiration and an 'Orgullo Hispano'(a hispanic pride).

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  • Anonymous

    Posted April 14, 2004

    Hard Life

    My Friend recommened this book, so I decided to read it. It is a great book, and it shows us the hardships of life. Francisco is hardworking and is a great friend. Kids can see how greatful they are from reading this great book.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted January 27, 2003

    Inspirational Book

    This book is one of the best that I have ever had the privilege of reading. It is an inspiration to all who believe that your fate is sealed upon birth. When I feel that my circumstances are grim and want to give up, I think back to the hardships and sacrifices that Mr. Jimenez endured as a child and move forward with the notion that life is what you make of it and can be changed with a little courage and determination.

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  • Anonymous

    Posted April 10, 2009

    No text was provided for this review.

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    Posted November 16, 2011

    No text was provided for this review.

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    Posted July 25, 2011

    No text was provided for this review.

  • Anonymous

    Posted May 31, 2009

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    Posted August 7, 2011

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