The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros
(1984) 110 pages

The House on Mango Street is the story of a young girl named Esperanza who is trying to find her way through life. She experiences many kids my age may feel such as embarrassment and hiding her personal life, hiding her clothes, and weird feelings about people and life itself. Though she feels ashamed of who she is and insecure about what she surrounds herself with, by the end of the novel, she realizes that you should never forget your roots – and also that you can never truly forget something as fundamental as that. Though trauma from childhood can seep into adulthood, there are ways to cope and get better, and Esperanza realizes that she can use writing as a way to carry on. 

I had begun to read this book because I had found out that the story was told through a series of vignettes – something I had never really seen before in a book. I thought it would be hard to follow a definite plot throughout the story, but once reading, I had realized that the main idea wasn’t necessarily about the plot, but more about the themes and messages that Cisneros was trying to convey. I found the book to be quite relatable, especially for someone in the same shoes as Esperanza; a child who is growing up to learn the realities of the world, whether that be positive or negative. In all, growing up teaches us life lessons which are essential to shaping ourselves once adults. 

As children, we all look up to people around us, just because they’re older and seem more mature; we don’t know any better. For example, Sally, a character in the book, is so intriguing to Esperanza. She seems beautiful and everything Esperanza wants to be. However, behind closed doors, we see that Sally doesn’t live the dream life we expect. She is harshly abused and forced to grow up faster than the rest her age. Again, I found this another relatable aspect in the book, not to me personally, but many children my age probably go through the same cycle of their childhood being cut short. From experience, I’ve noticed that kids my age try to seem grown up just to look cool, but in doing so, that can be damaging in the long run.

I really did enjoy this book because I felt it captured the mind of a young girl perfectly. The story was narrated in a way that Esperanza was almost having a conversation with the reader, and I found that  There were diverse topics that were very realistic, and therefore something that everyone can relate to one way or another. I’d recommend this book to someone who’s in a place where they don’t know where they’re going; I think it’d be a comforting read.