Weekly Reader: The Road to Delano by John DeSimone; Gripping Historical Fiction About Interracial Friendship Set During the Migrant Farm Workers Struggles of the 1960's

 

Weekly Reader: The Road to Delano by John DeSimone; Gripping Historical Fiction About Interracial Friendship Set During the Migrant Farm Workers Struggles of the 1960's

By Julie Sara Porter

Bookworm Reviews

Spoilers: John DeSimone's The Road to Delano is one of those terrific historical fiction novel that mixes fact with fiction. It details the Migrant Farmer Worker struggles in the 1960's including the racism towards the undocumented immigrant workers, the fights between the laborers and the growers, and the organization of the United Farm Workers (UFW) labor union led by Cesar Chavez. This struggle is seen through the eyes of two high school boys from different races and economic sides who are coming of age during these tumultuous times.

One of those boys is Jack Duncan. His father, Sugar, died in a car accident. He and his mother are in danger of losing their farm to creditors. He then receives information from a neighbor that his father's death was no accident. As Jack starts asking questions, he becomes the target of locals who aren't too happy with his probing. Their combine is stolen, without it they can't harvest, and he gets chased on the road by people who no doubt want to finish what they started with Sugar's death.

The other boy is Adrian Sanchez, Jack's best friend and the son of the Duncan's field supervisor. Adrian and his family are caught up in the beginnings of the UFW. In fact his father is a member. Because of this, Adrien and his family are the victims of various racist attacks, including ostracism and violence.

The Road to Delano explores Jack and Adrien's friendship against the backdrop of these times. The UFW is realistically portrayed as a reaction to the cruelty of how the workers are treated and why they decide to fight against it. There are various passages where the workers are forced to work in the heat for several hours and for very few wages. Many of them came to the United States for a better life, but they see just as quickly that the American Dream has only sold them a bill of goods. They aren't any better than they were before and now they have the added mistrust and racism that comes with being new to a country.

One of the most emotional moments occurrs when Jack sees the home of one of the workers, a girl about his age named Sabrina, and her sickly dying mother. This experience is not only heart wrenching for Sabrina and her mother but also because of the lack of concern their employees show for the situation. It is no wonder that they want to strike and fight against these circumstances.

 We meet Cesar Chavez a few times and he provides a quiet, intimidating, leading presence. He is someone who is dedicated to the rights of others sacrificing his reputation and his life for the cause. However, Chavez's presence is mostly talked about not read and in this case, it's for the best. While Chavez is an important powerful presence in the novel, the type of character that when he enters everyone shuts up and listens, but this isn't his story. This is about two teenage boys and their struggles with the world around them.

Sometimes Jack and Adrian deal with the issues that affect typical teenagers of any era. They are both on the baseball team hoping to win scholarships. They have their eyes on girls: Jack starts a romance with Ella, an outspoken anti-war activist, and Adrian begins a relationship with Sabrina after he, Jack, and Ella help her and her mother. They often tease and defend each other like brothers. Even though the strained circumstances often cause them to be at odds on occasion, they never lose their friendship with each other. 

The different sides and violence surrounds the boys particularly when the fight becomes personal. Jack peers into his father's death as well as Adrian lets his father's struggle become his. Their conflicts are interconnected by the larger picture of the UFW strikes.

One passage demonstrates this interconnectivity between the personal and the public. A UFW strike occurs during a high school baseball game.The sounds of an every day school event are mixed in with the external cries of "Huelga! Huelga! Huelga!" (Strike! Strike! Strike!) As though the normal world tries to go on in the event of monumental change, but it can't go in like normal because normal is what got them in this situation.

Normal is what produces racism without thought, a lack of understanding towards those who are economically disadvantaged, and cruel treatment towards workers without questions or conflicts. The world shouldn't go back to normal, it should go to better. The friendship and acceptance between Jack and Adrian demonstrates that.