The House on Mango Street
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3.8 • 902 Ratings
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- $10.99
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- $10.99
Publisher Description
A TODAY SHOW #ReadWithJenna BOOK CLUB PICK
NATIONAL BESTSELLER • A coming-of-age classic about a young girl growing up in Chicago • Acclaimed by critics, beloved by readers of all ages, taught in schools and universities alike, and translated around the world—from the winner of the 2019 PEN/Nabokov Award for Achievement in International Literature.
“Cisneros draws on her rich [Latino] heritage...and seduces with precise, spare prose, creat[ing] unforgettable characters we want to lift off the page. She is not only a gifted writer, but an absolutely essential one.” —The New York Times Book Review
The House on Mango Street is one of the most cherished novels of the last fifty years. Readers from all walks of life have fallen for the voice of Esperanza Cordero, growing up in Chicago and inventing for herself who and what she will become. “In English my name means hope,” she says. “In Spanish it means too many letters. It means sadness, it means waiting."
Told in a series of vignettes—sometimes heartbreaking, sometimes joyous—Cisneros’s masterpiece is a classic story of childhood and self-discovery and one of the greatest neighborhood novels of all time. Like Sinclair Lewis’s Main Street or Toni Morrison’s Sula, it makes a world through people and their voices, and it does so in language that is poetic and direct. This gorgeous coming-of-age novel is a celebration of the power of telling one’s story and of being proud of where you're from.
APPLE BOOKS REVIEW
We loved The House on Mango Street, a short but sweet coming-of-age novel. Esperanza Cordero is a Latina girl in Chicago; her story’s told in poetic vignettes that showcase her yearning for a better life and a home like the ones she sees on TV. Sandra Cisneros’ brilliantly written book is both funny and heart-wrenching, exploring themes like poverty and chauvinism. She brings to life the different characters who inhabit Esperanza’s world and celebrates the gift of writing, which ultimately lets her protagonist spread her wings and be free.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Esperanza Cordero, a girl coming of age in the Hispanic quarter of Chicago, uses poems and stories to express thoughts and emotions about her oppressive environment. no PW review
Customer Reviews
We must never forget where we come from!
I love this book. This is the second time that I read it because of the great memories that come to my mind. As a Latin woman, the Three Sisters is one of my favorite chapters because it is very sincere. I feel that many people may be identified with Esperanza, especially those who had been raised in a poor neighborhood or suffered discrimination because of its social and/or economic disadvantages. We must never forget where we come from!
House on mango street
Amazing book. Love it.
What did I just read?
And we wonder why most kids hate every single English class they take in school. Why they find it impossible to relate or find the importance of what they’re being forced to read in school. And then they’re forced to write an A+ paper on what can only be described as literal trash.
When you can’t convince your child that reading can be a truly enjoyable hobby, you can thank English teachers and school board members who decide junk like this is going to spark a love of reading. Cathy Queen of Cats… it’s so badly written I had to read it several times before I gave up and put the book down and said to myself “this book is lowering my IQ.” An entire world of amazing books and this is what we force our kids to read.