The Pecan Sheller
Despite being an enthusiastic student and passionate writer, 13-year-old Petra Mendoza is forced to quit school and work in a pecan-shelling factory alongside her stepmother, after her father’s death from a heart attack. It’s 1937 in San Antonio, Texas, and the region is still mired in the Great Depression, with many more workers than jobs available. Thus, employers can get away with paying very little and maintaining dangerous working conditions. The crowded factory and pecan dust cause many of the workers to fall ill with the “infection”—tuberculosis—including one of Petra’s favorite coworkers, 17-year-old Ofelia. Could Petra be next? When the factory owner fires Petra’s stepmother because she’s too slow and cuts the pay below subsistence level, the workers, including Petra, go on strike. They endure police violence and deprivation, but Petra also meets the young labor leader, Emma Tenayuca, and sees the community come together to support the strikers.
This gripping story, set in a neglected time and place in children’s literature, portrays a protagonist who isn’t afraid of speaking up for herself. Petra is loyal to her friends and coworkers in spite of their differences and has the makings of a leader as she grows into her new adult responsibilities. Particularly compelling is Petra’s relationship with her stepmother, who is guarding a secret about her own adolescent activism during the Mexican Revolution. Petra comes to recognize the reasons for her stepmother’s strict rules, but she also has to find her own way in a different era. Despite the mixed ending for the strikers, Ruiz-Flores leaves the reader with hope for Petra, her family, and the working-class community as a whole. This novel for upper elementary and middle-school readers features a historical note and discussion questions.
