Reaching Out (The Circuit, 3)

I remember reading this in college and I thought that his life as a college student was super inspiring. He lived with his family for a long time and decided to live on his own.

This is the final book of Francisco Jiménez's autobiographical trilogy, a coming-of-age story about his escape from the grinding poverty of his migrant farm laborer family. The first two books are The Circuit, about his early childhood; and Breaking Out, about his junior high and high school years. I recommend all three books. I had bought the books in both English and Spanish for my daughter, who is a 6th grade student in a bilingual immersion school. I don't speak Spanish, and I wanted the English version so that I could follow along and maybe try to read some of the Spanish as well with an English translation at hand.These books are a poignant look at a hard-working migrant family in California. Jimenez, the second-born of 6 children, is a brilliant and hard-working student who managed to graduate high school with honors and then manages to find a way to go to college as well -- the first in his family to attain this goal. These books are worth reading just for the sheer cussedness and determination he had to have to overcome his family's struggles. One of the most powerful parts is when he considers leaving school to help his family financially after they have a major setback, and a Jesuit professor at his college convinces him to stay and continue to excel in school, which will be a bigger help in the future. I'm glad to have read this moving story and would happily read another follow-up book about his subsequent doctoral work at Columbia and his ensuing career as a college professor and writer.

Compared to Francisco Jimenez's first three books of his series, Reaching Out is the weakest, but it's a good closing chapter to his series of biographies. This book details his experiences in graduate school, and it's more of a straightforward retelling of the events he went through. The events aren't as moving as what he went through as a child, but if you've read the first three books you have to read this last one.

This is the last of three sequels, The Circuit, Breaking Through and lastly, Reaching Out. Of the three, this is the book I enjoyed the least. I enjoyed it the least because I knew Reaching Out ends along with Francisco's childhood and clearly demonstrates he has learned how to deal with being an "American". Its the least pleasurable too because I want to know more. I want to learn what happened to Francisco's father who like many men gave up, left their families to return to Mexico. What does the future hold for Francisco's little sister who misses her father so much and witnessed her mother's despair? How will this situation affect her as a young woman? Will Francisco's brothers prosper? Will they ever see their father again? I find myself thinking of Francisco Jimenez and his family often and I realize, his family is very much like my family and many families I know. Francisco Jimenez, please write just one more!

I got the book as an assignment for my son’s summer reading. I read the book with him and it was great. I loved to be able to explain a little of my Hispanic culture to my son as we read the book

Having read the first two books in this trilogy I was excited to purchase this chapter in the author's life. It is a very personal tale of his experiences at Santa Clara University and since I am an alumna, I relived many of my college years through his eyes. I didn't feel that this book had the dramatic impact of the others. There were some wonderful moments, but I wanted to learn how he accomplished what he did. It was more of a recitation of events than a true insight into how these events transpired. Francisco rose from migrant worker with few English skills to a college professor. It is inspirational for young people, but could have been even more for adults.

This was assigned by my daughter’s 8th grade class, and I thought it was an important topic during these times that I also bought the 2 subsequent books in the series.

Francisco Jimenez's trilogy should be a mandatory reading in all elementary schools. When I bought the first book, I literally couldn't put it down, reading into the night. Later, I couldn't wait until the next two arrived. The hardship this family went through and the love they shared brought me to tears. While some people are concerned with what they will eat for the next meal other people are concerned with the next iPhone version. The society is becoming more and more shallow, ignorant and narrow minded and that is the reason why this should be a mandatory reading in schools.