The house on Mango Street / Sandra Cisneros.

Author: Cisneros, Sandra.

Edition: 2nd Vintage Contemporaries ed., 25th anniversary ed.

Publisher: New York : Vintage Contemporaries, 2009.

ISBN: 9780679734772 (pbk.)
0679734775 (pbk.)

Description: xxvii, 110 p. : ill. ; 21 cm.

Series: Vintage contemporaries

Subject: Mexican Americans Fiction.
Girls Fiction.
Chicago (Ill.) Fiction.
Bildungsromans. gsafd

Contents: The house on Mango Street -- Hairs -- Boys & girls -- My name -- Cathy queen of cats -- Our good day -- Laughter -- Gil's furniture bought & sold -- Meme Ortiz -- Louie, his cousin & his other cousin -- Marin -- Those who don't -- There was an old woman she had so many children she didn't know what to do -- Alicia who sees mice -- Darius & the clouds -- And some more -- The family of little feet -- A rice sandwich -- Chanclas -- Hips -- The first job -- Papa who wakes up tired in the dark -- Born bad -- Elenita, cards, palm, water -- Geraldo no last name -- Edna's Ruthie -- The Earl of Tennessee -- Sire -- Four skinny trees -- No speak English -- Rafaela who drinks coconut & papaya juice on Tuesdays -- Sally -- Minerva writes poems -- Bums in the attic -- Beautiful & cruel -- A smart cookie -- What Sally said -- The monkey garden -- Red clowns -- Linoleum roses -- The three sisters -- Alicia & I talking on Edna's steps -- A house of my own -- Mango says goodbye sometimes.

Summary: This book tells the story of Esperanza Cordero, a young girl growing up in the Hispanic quarter of Chicago, whose neighborhood is one of harsh realities and harsh beauty. Esperanza doesn't want to belong, not to her run-down neighborhood, and not to the low expectations the world has for her. Capturing her thoughts and emotions in poems and stories, she is able to rise above hopelessness and create a quiet space for herself in the midst of her oppressive surroundings. Esperanza's story is that of a young girl coming into her power, and inventing for herself what she will become.