The Circuit
By Francisco Jiménez
Plot
The Circuit by Francisco Jiménez is about a boy named Panchito from El Rancho, Mexico. Him and his family illegally cross the border and travel to California in search of a better life. The find work and Panchito and Robert start school. They learn they are about to get a baby brother. One he is born he grows very sick and almost dies. The take him the the doctor and they pray every night for him. He finally gets well.
Panchito fails his first year of school because he can not speak English. He try's very hard to learn English and studies difficult worst till he knows them. He work in the fields with his parents and older brother. They move to follow the crops throughout the year. That is until one day the migration officers come to Panchito's school and take him away as well as the rest of his family.
Panchito
Panchito is a very optimistic character. He always try's to make the best of his situation no matter what is happening. He finds the best in life no matter what situation he is in. One example is "As she began to wrap the gifts, silent tears ran down her face. I did not know why." He was optimist because he didn't accept that it was not the ball he wanted. He still had hope that he might get the ball he wanted.
Recommendation
I would recommend this book to a friend. I thought the whole book was interesting. It had many smaller story's inside the main story keeping you hooked. One example is the part about torito. These small story's keep it interesting. The author also make you feel sympathetically for Panchito. That is why I would recommend the story to a friend.