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In The Pecan Sheller, a spirited 13-year-old girl learns to stand up for herself against an oppressive factory system.
The Pecan Sheller by Lupe Ruiz-Flores. Carolrhoda Books, 2025. 256 pages.
- Reading Level: Middle Grades, ages 10-12
- Recommended For: ages 10-15
Petra loves school, especially since she discovered a talent for writing stories and hopes to develop her skills. Maybe even attend college, which would be an ambitious goal for a Mexican-American girl at any time, but even more in 1937. Her father was proud of her and encouraged her ambitions, but sadly he died two years earlier. Her stepmother, Amá, seems less sympathetic. To be fair, she has little room for sympathy, as the nation is in the grips of a Great Depression and she’s struggling to support the family at the local pecan factory. Petra and her two siblings help by shelling the nuts Amá brings home, but one day Amá brings terrible news instead: they won’t be able to supplement their income this way any longer. Petra will have to drop out of school and apply for a job. The factory is the most likely place, shelling pecans for six cents per can.
That’s bad enough, but even worse when Amá’s poor health—broken by years of breathing factory dust—sinks farther. The supervisor has no sympathy; his aim is to squeeze the workers as far as he can, and if they can’t keep up, others are waiting for a job. Matters come to a breaking point when the factory owners all over San Antonio decide to lower the wage to five cents. The only way the workers can survive is by banding together to strike.
The author convincingly recreates the historical setting and gives the characters depth by drawing out relationships. Petra’s conflict with her stepmother is particularly well done, from misunderstanding to hostility and finally forgiveness. The historical background includes an economic lesson: as national wages were raised to 25 cents/hour, employers could not afford as many workers. It turns out well for Petra and other underage factory drudges, but the market has—or should have—the final say in setting wages and prices.
Bottom Line: An engrossing and educational novel about overcoming the odds.
Related Reading From Redeemed Reader
- Reviews: Light Comes to Shadow Mountain by Toni Buzzeo and Echo Mountain by Lauren Wolk are two more historical fiction novels set during the Great Depression.
- Reviews: Nonfiction books about the Great Depression include The Forgotten Man graphic novel by Amity Shales and Picturing a Nation by Martin Sandler.
- A Review: The Year We Were Famous by Carol Estby Dagg (based on a true story) is a vivid picture of a relationship “forged in adversity” as the two attempt to walk across America in 1896.
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