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List price: $8.95
Pages: 176
Format: Paperback
ISBN:
978-0976812623
Publisher: Brown Barn Books
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by Harriet Hamilton
In my village we grow flowers. Big, strong,
beautiful flowers. Carnations, roses, calla lilies, daisies – all kinds of
flowers. When their buds start to open and they are the most beautiful, we
take them to Santa María del Sol and sell them in the marketplace. My
mother always told me I was her special flower, a gift from la Virgen.
That’s why she named me Rosa.
Twelve-year-old Rosa begs to go with her father to the
city to sell flowers, and when that day finally comes, she can barely
contain her excitement.
But her joy turns to despair when she realizes the real
reason for her trip to the city--her impoverished family has been forced
to sell her into service as a maid.
Assaulted and humiliated by the patron, she is thrown
out on the hostile city streets to fend for herself. Alone and without
hope, her beliefs shattered, Rosa learns to survive and triumph in this
emotionally violent but deeply spiritual coming of age story.
A story that will linger in your memory for years.
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What
Reviewers
are Saying About this Book
Rosa is 12 when her father takes
her from their village in southern Mexico and sells her services to a
wealthy household in a provincial city. There, Rosa not only faces a
critical, demanding mistress but also sexual abuse from the head of the
house. Eventually pregnant, the young girl is thrown into the street to
fend for herself. Rosa's story is a composite of true stories of young
Indian girls that were reported to the author, a journalist and filmmaker
who lived for many years in Mexico. Published posthumously, the novel is
Hamilton's attempt to bring the plight of these exploited young people to
the world's attention. Hamilton depicts Rosa's indomitable spirit as she
eventually reaches into the depths of her spiritual background to
recognize her own self-worth. While the story of child exploitation has
been told before in other novels, the narrative's simplicity and lack of
graphic sexual detail make the book an excellent choice for YA as well as
adult fiction collections.
-Library Journal, October 2006
...Cultural details are smoothly woven into the story. At times
lyrical, the writing depicts social problems frankly, without
sensationalizing or oversimplifying. Based on fact, this compelling story
brings attention to issues of child exploitation and abuse and fosters a
deeper understanding of the dilemmas faced by many young people across the
globe.
-School Library
Journal, November, 2006
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About the Author
Harriet Hamilton was a journalist, a writer,
director and producer of prize-winning radio and television programs, and
a teacher. She went to school in the United States, Paris, Frankfurt and
Mexico and lived in Mexico for fifteen years. While she was there, she
became aware of the abuse of children there and throughout the world and
became interested in the groups who are helping to end that abuse. She
considered herself a messenger to bring this problem to the attention of
as many people as possible.
Ribbons of the Sun is her message.
Ribbons of the Sun was published posthumously.
Harriet Hamilton died in January 2006, before its publication, although
the manuscript was complete in every detail. We publish with gratitude for
her message and with pleasure for her graceful and moving story of Rosa's
life. |