The house on Mango Street (original 1984; edition 2010)

A short novel written from the perspective of a young girl. She shares the struggles she went through in her life, and the events that occurred while living on Mango street. The short stories reflect her experiences as a young Latina growing up in low socio-economic environment. ( )

The House On Mango Street is a lovely short novel as told by Esperanza, a young girl living in a too small house with her too big family. While Esperanza is merely recounting her daily adventures with friends, siblings, employment, school, what this novel does is show how intersectionality affects adolescents. Esperanza struggles through her daily life with issues that she considers normal and as a rite of passage, but really are a reflection of what being a young Latina from a low socio-econmic background means, and the problems that come with it. Her storytelling is that of a charming youth going through the challenges of growing up and is a great example of diversity for readers of all ages. ~Lian M.

Characters:
Esperanza
Rachel and Nenny
Marin
Papa
Mama
Alicia

Setting: In a small house, racially segregated, and poor area.

Theme: Every culture is different in its own way and identifying oneself.

Genre: Coming of age.

Summary: This book is about young adult girl who is identifying herself through her cultures and her surroundings. While living in an apartment and moving to a house, which she has always dreamed of, her move wasn’t so expected. As the house is not as fancy or beautiful as she dreamed of. Instead, the house is small and run down. The story paces through different ages of her life from being young to going through puberty. The story also gives the perspective of how she views her community, culture, and her identity. As she continues to have a negative view of where she lives, her desire lies in the goal of leaving Mango Street.

Audience: Young adults and ethnically diverse students.

Curriculum ties: history, learning about different ethnicities, and language.

Personal response: Being born in Vietnam, my parents came over to America as refugees. This how I can relate to this book. The observations she makes of her community and culture are very interesting and critical. In the way it was written, in short paragraphs separated by detailed headings, helps the reader identify what the writer is going to describe. What I liked most about this book is how she describes herself as an avid reader and her education is what will ultimately get her out the circumstance she is in. This is very important, because it helps the read identify the importance of an education and how other cultures may view education. What I think was rough in this book, is the observation of putting some of her male figures in a bad light. But this could just be her observation of what was going on . Overall, I enjoyed reading the book and it is very good to see such a book that exposes the experiences of a not so well-off ethnically diverse family. ( )

I can't even begin to explain this book.
I had to read it as part of a class assignment and i had been told it was a really good book, but after having read it im not so sure i agree with that opinion.
The story in itself is good but the way the story was told was what i didn't like. It felt like i was reading some sort of journal, the kind in which you just jot down the first thing that comes to mind about certain experiences or your first thoughts on a person. At times, this was a good thing because most of the characters, with the exception of Esperanza (who was the main character and the one telling the story)just come and go. It seems that only three to four characters were really present throughout the story. However as i am writing this, i can't help but think that maybe it was done with the purpose of showing how people come and go in our lives, or in this case, Esperanza's life.
Still, in my opinion, it was a bit hard to understand. Maybe if i read it a second or third time i might get a different understanding and even change my review. But for the meantime, i'll leave it at that.