summary

Jesse is the story of a Mexican American teenager named Jesse and his older brother Abel. The two brothers have dropped out of high school and moved into a place of their own, away from their mother and alcoholic stepfather, to pursue education at a local community college and make a life for themselves. Jesse and his brother must manage their daily lives around going to school, making friends, and finding work in a climate of political and social unrest. The novel takes place in Fresno, California in the late 1960s, during the high point of Cesar Chavez’s labor union struggle and the fallout of the Vietnam War. Jesse must balance the social tribulations of the average teenager that he is, with the trials of his faith and the political pressure of his time.