Told in a series of vignettes stunning for their eloquence, The House on Mango Street is Sandra Cisneros's greatly admired novel of a young girl growing up in the Latino section of Chicago. Acclaimed by critics, beloved by children, their parents and grandparents, taught everywhere from inner-city grade schools to universities across the country, and translated all over the world, it has entered the canon of coming-of-age classics.

Sometimes heartbreaking, sometimes deeply joyous, The House on Mango Street tells the story of Esperanza Cordero, whose neighborhood is one of harsh realities and harsh beauty. Esperanza doesn't want to belong--not to her rundown neighborhood, and not to the low expectations the world has for her. Esperanza's story is that of a young girl coming into her power, and inventing for herself what she will become.

i honestly don't know what the hype is about this book. i just finished reading this for my high school english class and i must say, it was horrible and discusting. the general story is about a mexican family of eight moving into a crumby house. the wholoe book is a compilation of short stories with one of the daughters as a narrator. each story is on average two pages long and either contains the theme of sexism or having a horrible life. every story is either extremely depressing, or contains some form of rape. it is the worst book in the world and should never be read for any class. it should not even be allowed to see the light of day.

Poignant, poetic, and refreshingly sincere, I liken this book to To Kill A Mockingbird sometimes, in that the child narrator is able to paint vibrant pictures of racism, sexism, abuse, prejudice, poverty, loneliness, cruelty, justice, maturation, and love with subtle (and often comical) strokes. Cisneros remains one of my favorite authors--in no small part to this book, which inspired me to become a writer and to aim somewhere near her standard of storytelling...

" In English my name means hope. In Spanish it means too many words. It means sadness. It means waiting."
Esperanza has always lived in places she feels like she doesn't belong. She wants her own yard, no breaking pipes, and no landlords getting mad because of the noise level. She wants a house to herself.
The little red house on Mango Street isn't exactly what she hoped for. No sharing yards, no landlords, but the house is run down and the neighborhood is faced with poverty and violence.
Mango Street is in a Hispanic neighborhood in Chicago. People emigrated from Central America thinking there were plenty of opportunities for a great life. However, the neighborhoods are racist and it is hard to find good jobs. People from other neighborhoods are afraid of each other just because of their race. People end up living in poverty and are not always safe from racism and violence. Esperanza and her family are faced with these problems every day.
Esperanza is shy and hates being trapped where she doesn't belong. She knows what she wants, but she doesn't yet know who she truly is.
I thought this book was very good. It showed that racism and poverty exist through the eyes of a young girl. I thought Sandra Cisneros' way of writing Esperanza's thoughts and pulling them together into a great story was very smart. I think every will love this book. It really teaches you to try to overcome the past and realize who you truly are.

" In English my name means hope. In Spanish it means too many words. It means sadness. It means waiting."
Esperanza has always lived in places she feels like she doesn't belong. She wants her own yard, no breaking pipes, and no landlords getting mad because of the noise level. She wants a house to herself.
The little red house on Mango Street isn't exactly what she hoped for. No sharing yards, no landlords, but the house is run down and the neighborhood is faced with poverty and violence.
Mango Street is in a Hispanic neighborhood in Chicago. People emigrated from Central America thinking there were plenty of opportunities for a great life. However, the neighborhoods are racist and it is hard to find good jobs. People from other neighborhoods are afraid of each other just because of their race. People end up living in poverty and are not always safe from racism and violence. Esperanza and her family are faced with these problems every day.
Esperanza is shy and hates being trapped where she doesn't belong. She knows what she wants, but she doesn't yet know who she truly is.
I thought this book was very good. It showed that racism and poverty exist through the eyes of a young girl. I thought Sandra Cisneros' way of writing Esperanza's thoughts and pulling them together into a great story was very smart. I think every will love this book. It really teaches you to try to overcome the past and realize who you truly are.

" In English my name means hope. In Spanish it means too many words. It means sadness. It means waiting."
Esperanza has always lived in places she feels like she doesn't belong. She wants her own yard, no breaking pipes, and no landlords getting mad because of the noise level. She wants a house to herself.
The little red house on Mango Street isn't exactly what she hoped for. No sharing yards, no landlords, but the house is run down and the neighborhood is faced with poverty and violence.
Mango Street is in a Hispanic neighborhood in Chicago. People emigrated from Central America thinking there were plenty of opportunities for a great life. However, the neighborhoods are racist and it is hard to find good jobs. People from other neighborhoods are afraid of each other just because of their race. People end up living in poverty and are not always safe from racism and violence. Esperanza and her family are faced with these problems every day.
Esperanza is shy and hates being trapped where she doesn't belong. She knows what she wants, but she doesn't yet know who she truly is.
I thought this book was very good. It showed that racism and poverty exist through the eyes of a young girl. I thought Sandra Cisneros' way of writing Esperanza's thoughts and pulling them together into a great story was very smart. I think every will love this book. It really teaches you to try to overcome the past and realize who you truly are.