In a racially polarized classroom in 1970 Alabama, Lu’s talent for running track makes her a new best friend — and tests her mettle as she navigates the school’s social cliques. Miss Garrett’s classroom is like every other at our school. White kids sit on one side and black kids on the other. I'm one of the few middle-rowers who split the difference. Sixth-grader Lu Olivera just wants to keep her head down and get along with everyone in her class.
Stanley Yelnats has terrible luck because of a curse traced back to his no-good-dirty-rotten-pig-stealing-great-great-grandfather. After being unjustly convicted of stealing a pair of athletic shoes, he is sent to a detention center, Camp Green Lake.
Esperanza thought she'd always live with her family on their ranch in Mexico - she'd always have fancy dresses, a beautiful home, and servants. But a sudden tragedy forces Esperanza and Mama to flee to California during the Great Depression, and to settle in a camp for Mexican farm workers.
