The House on Mango Street

The House on Mango Street
By Sandra Cisneros

I love this book for many reasons.  One is, I can read it in a day and still feel like I've read a substantial novel..  Another is that it is told not in chapters or a chronicle timeline, but in short little snips of Esperanza's life.  To me, it is how memory really works.  We would never be able to remember everything a year has given us, but it is like triggers.  Esperanza remembers her neighbors shoes and writes about them.  She remembers a person, a car, or a garden, and can show you their meaning to her in two pages or less.

The main reason I love this book is Cisneros' descriptions.  They are absolutely charming and unconventional.  My favorites are when she is describing the small windows of her house, like they are "holding their breath" or how Sally is sad like a "burning house."  These descriptions, to me, are extremely intriguing and memorable.  They tie into Esperanza's poetry and how she likes to color all of her words.

I would recommend this book to adolescents in sixth grade and up.  The story is a great "belonging" scenario I feel like a lot of people struggle with or like to reflect upon.  It is also a coming of age story that shows how much Esperanza grows up in a single year on Mango Street.