The Pecan Sheller is set during the late 1930s and follows Petra, a thirteen-year-old girl who has to leave school and get a job shelling pecans after her father’s death in order to help her Amá pay the bills and take care of Petra’s younger siblings. While working in the pecan factory, Petra makes new friends, but also is confronted with terrible working conditions and seeing many people get tuberculosis and die. When one of her new friends dies and the factory owners want to cut already low wages, Petra is ready to fight for change.
This is really intense in many ways and deals with many tough topics, but I also think Petra’s perspective gives enough distance from the topics to make them real without making them overwhelming. I also really loved how much she felt like a teenager, wanting to do fun things and hang out with her friends, as well as wanting to finish high school, just like she promised her Papa. Her relationship with Amá is especially contentious because she’s the one denying Petra, and it’s hard for Petra to see and understand that it’s coming from a place of love.
I also really appreciated the historical setting, as this is a period I was unfamiliar with, and seeing early unionization and that it included even some of the youngest workers makes the book feel very hopeful. If unionization worked almost a hundred years ago, surely it’s important today and still making important changes for working conditions and wages.
I really enjoyed this book and the history it gave me. I also love Petra as a narrator, and the nuance of the story’s different characters. There are definitely heartbreaking moments, but overall this feels like a story of hope and community.
[I received an advance copy from the publisher via Netgalley for review purposes; this in no way influences my review. The Pecan Sheller releases April 1, 2025.]