With the same audacity with which John Steinbeck wrote about migrant worker conditions in "The Grapes of Wrath "and T.C. Boyle in "The Tortilla Curtain," Viramontes ("The Moths and Other Stories") presents a moving and powerful vision of the lives of the men, women, and children who endure a second-class existence and labor under dangerous conditions in California's fields. This first novel tells the story a young girl, Estrella, and her Latino family as they struggle with arduous farm labor during the summer months, and still manage to latch onto the hope of a liberating future. Viramontes graces the page with poetic touch, artfully describing poverty conditions and bringing to the reader a panoramic view of social consciousness and unforgettable characters."