The House on Mango Street

I love reading books that bring me in to the journey of someone’s real life.  The House on Mango Street, written by Sandra Cisneros, does just that.  Cisneros shares what it was like immigrating to Chicago’s urban center as a child of a Mexican family and moving into a house on Mango Street.  Esperanza, the lead character, may or may not be a complete biography of Cisneros, but certainly it is influenced by her own growing up.  The book is written in very short vignettes capturing the life of Esperanza, all written in a first-person narrative.  The stories range from her interactions with her five siblings, parents, aunts and other family members, neighbors, and kids from school.  The themes capture abuse, older relatives dying, growing up poor, growing up with lack of English speaking abilities, Catholic school and challenges with the nuns, what the Hispanic family dynamics are in their community, growing up, the plight of an immigrant in the US, and what is happening in the 1960s-70s in our society.  There is a ton to find in this “coming of age” tale of Esperanza and how the reader knows that she is remembering a time and place that she has left (for greener pastures?).  The book is a very quick read, less than 90 minutes front to back.  It’s one of those “little gems” that you get to read from time to time.  I certainly will pick it up again.  For anyone who is teaching young adults how to write about their journey, this is a great illustration of how to do it.  Moving and worth picking up!