Rating: 
Summary: If a picture is worth 1,000 words
Review: If a picture is worth 1,000 words, then the cover art would be worth two, "Lame" and "Drawing". Now on to the actual book. I have nothing personal against Sandra Cisneros, but I think that its terrible to write a book with such little content with such poor grammar. This book consists of 40 or so vignettes that tell a small piece of Esperanza Cordera's life story. I understand that the long, un-punctuated sentences are a "stream-of-consciousness" type thought, but that doesn't make them interesting. It is written with the voice of a fifth-grader, but some of the details are way to explicit for anyone under 14. For example, Esperanza is raped by a boy with a "sour smell, his dirty fingernails on my skin..." etc, etc. This is a coming of age novel with a bleak twist on it. If you enjoy making yourself sad, I cordially invite you to read 'The House on Mango Street'. Also, if you enjoy this book, might I recommend sticking a fork in the toaster to see if that "electricity thing" works?
Rating: 
Summary: Severely Overrated
Review: While the writing here is engrossing and well done at times, it is quite self-indulgent and disconnected, too. I suppose it has been praised so extravagantly because it is written in such an accessible style. However, at times it reads like a poorly done imitation of Sherwood Anderson's Winesburg, Ohio.
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Summary: boring vignettes on latino society
Review: The House on Mango Street is approximately 107 pages of vignettes about a teenage Latino girl living in a rundown neighborhood and the feeling of being trapped in her family's poverty. She is still optimistic despite the lack of privileges surrounding her. Some of the vignettes are funny, others are sad, some sarcastic...however, most of them I found unaffecting and the level of reading is painfully at the third-to-fifth grade level and rather disorganized. I personally found the book uninteresting and quite a bore, and it should be left out of college-level English classes.
Rating: 
Summary: Beautiful
Review: As beautiful and well-written this book is, I can't help but think it is lacking a little substance. Each vignette is a piece of artwork in its own right, but I felt as if there should've been more vignettes to tie together the story.While there was a sense of closure, the end came far too quickly. A beautiful, quick read. I just wish there was more to it.
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Summary: Primer for ethnic and gender identity politics
Review: They're starting in on the PC indoctrination early; my daughter was given this book as required reading for the first grade. On
the PC side, here's a rundown of the purpose of each chapter. "The House...": hispanics are poor and have to live in run-down places; Catholic nuns are offended by their poverty. "Hairs": people are different but this is not threatening; mother is comforting. "Boys & Girls": Boys, and her younger sister, don't understand Esperanza; she is lonely; she longs for meaning. "My name": strong women don't marry; Mexicans don't like strong women; Esperanza is unhappy with herself. "Cathy...": Anglos hype their heritage and badmouth others, and are afraid of living with hispanics. "Our Good Day": Collectivism works. "Laughter": Sisters share experiences others are unable to understand. "Gil's Furniture...": People demonstrate covetousness in different ways. "Meme Ortiz": A child focuses on things that are irrelevant to adults; the reverse is also true. "Louie...": A pimp (auto thief?) can be friendly. "Marin": A worldly older girl is fun to hang out with. "Those...": You only feel safe when you're in a neighborhood where the people are the same race as you. "There was...": After a while, no one cares about neglected kids. "Alicia...": Men don't support women who attempt to improve themselves. "Darius...": Even a fool knows that nature is God. "And Some More": Kids can riff like beatniks. "The Family...": Men will hit on little girls who dress sexy. "A Rice Sandwich": Nuns are mean; fulfillment of desire is a letdown. "Chanclas": Overcoming inhibitions leads to pleasure. "Hips": Sexual maturation is nonsense to kids. "The First Job": Public school makes you turn out bad; nice men turn out to be lurking pedophiles. "Papa Who...": Death causes a disruption to routine. "Born Bad": Peoples' sickness have no purpose or reason. "Elenita...": Santaria practitioners are frauds. "Geralado": No one cares about illegal Mexicans (but should). "Edna's Ruthie": Emotionally and mentally screwed up people can be fun. "The Earl...": Anglos who frequent prostitutes live in the barrio. "Sire": Preadolescent girls have sexual longings. "Four Skinny Trees": Esperanza compares her depth of soul to trees' roots, both fighting against urban alienation. "No Speak English": Hispanic mothers will lose their children to American pop culture; American English sounds bad. "Rafaela...": Men are ready to take advantage of a beautiful naive girl with false promises of material comfort. "Sally": Adolescent girls, particularly those brought up strictly, are alienated from family and society. "Minerva...": Men are abusive and women vacillate at their peril. "Bums...": The rich don't care about the poor. "Beautiful...": Esperanza decides to eschew patriarchal gender roles. "A Smart Cookie": Children keep you from realizing your full potential -- or is it shame? "What Sally Said": Fathers physically abuse their children. "The Monkey Garden": No one cares about sexual victims, sometimes not even the victim herself. "Red Clowns": Teenage boys sexually abuse preadolescent girls. Linoleum Roses": Abused girls are further abused by their husbands. "The Three Sisters": Ethnic and class solidarity are good. "Alicia...": Communities must be built by their residents in order to be of value. "A House of My Own": (Some) people neither need nor want to depend on others. "Mango Says Goodbye...": Ethnic solidarity requires successful Latinas to return to the barrio to help their benighted brethren. On the style side, many other reviews note both the problems and the advantages of the author's style. I'll only add that it's inappropriate to write using metaphors ("You are like the Cream of Wheat cereal") and sophisticated similes ("Until then I am a red balloon, a balloon tied to an anchor") while simultaneously speaking in a child's voice. It's intellectually inconsistent and emotionally manipulative; after a while it just become enervating. I won't even get into the jarring, bizarre or just plain dumb thumbnail characterizations (e.g., "Sally is the girl with eyes like Egypt..."). On the theme side, am I the only one to see that the book is mainly about people who are screwed up? I'm sure there's a lot of those kinds of people in the world, but do we really believe that most kids' contacts with adults, adolescents and other children are with freaks, weirdos and pervs? OK, so I've had a few yucks pointing out the book's left-wing PC bias and the author's stylistic shortcomings. But you'll note I give the book two stars. As an introduction to existentialism, it's not bad. I'm not sure if the first grade is the right time to start your daughter off on alienation and existential angst, but if you do, then you can do worse than this book.
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Summary: Death to Mango Street
Review: What the hell is this, people giving this book 5 stars!! IT SUCKED, and i only read it because I HAD TO!!! *Esperanza and her college Chum Spirit Bear Viciously Maul ROnald Reagan Jr To Death* See, this book is violent, and it teaches people that it is ok to live in a poor mexican comunity in down town chicago, and that it ok to steal cars and viciously maul small children with your sharp claws and fangs. Mexicans are lawn care workers, nothing more, they shouldnt write a book about them!! This book encourages Peaganism, and is against the ways of Christ!! It should be BURNED!! Good Day Yo!!
-Leanza Cornett PS. Join the Cuban Mafia!!
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Summary: The House On Mango Street Book Review
Review: The book The House On Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros is a novel about a young girl and the life she deals with while growing up in Chicago. The main character of the novel is Esperanza. Esperanza is a young girl growing up in an old broken down house on Mango Street. Esperanza dreams of the day she will have her own house, one she can be proud of unlike the house on Mango Street. The novel is a series of different vignettes, each vignette about a different character or experience that Esperanza encounters. Other significant characters discussed in the vignettes narrorated by Esperanza are: Nenny who is Esperanza's little sister. Rachel and Lucy are two sisters that become close friends of Esperanza's. Another character who is admired by the boys because of her beauty is Sally. Sally, who Esperanza is somewhat jealous of, is another one of Esperanza's friends. The characters are faced with many problems throughout the novel. One problem endured by Esperanza, Rachel and Lucy together is when they prance down to the corner store, showing off their legs, in dancing shoes. The three girls are overwhelmed with confidence hearing the boys hoot and holler at them. The problem wasn't walking to the corner but the drunk bum man they meet there. This man who has no respect for women tries to test the vulnerability of the young girls, but Lucy and Esperanza sense something is wrong and all three girls flee home. The three of them realize that growing up isn't all it is made out to be and throw the "grown-up" shoes away. A serious problem that Sally deals with everyday is abuse; her father beats her when he does not agree with something she has done. Abuse like this not only leaves Sally emotionally scared but also physically. An on going conflict seen in many characters throughout the whole novel is the characters, more than anything, want something better then what they have and are willing to give up what makes them happy to achieve that goal. There are many characters with likeable qualities in the novel but my favorite character is Nenny because she is so young and carefree.
Many people, myself included, can find themselves relating to the characters. Like the characters in the novel, I imagine many people while growing up wanted more than what they had, always longing for the next best thing. There was a point in my life I always wanted better but now I realize none of the things I begged my parents for could of made me happy. I did not mind reading this book but it is not one that I would read again because I found it kind of boring and dull. I found the book to be very easy reading, it seemed too simple. My favorite part was when Esperanza, Rachel, Lucy and Nenny bought their new bike. My least favorite part was when Sister Superior denied Esperanza a seat in the canteen at lunch. I wouldn't change anything in the novel because the author did a good job of fitting all of the vignettes together very well.
I would recommend this book to others because it is easy to understand. I think this book would be best for a freshman high school class because they would get the most from it. Anyone facing the struggles of growing up and fitting in would enjoy reading this novel.
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Summary: REVIEW ON MANGO STREET
Review: The book "The House On Mango Street" was midly interesting.The book is about a young latina girl named Esperanza learning how to grow up on urban streets. Esperanza learned how to grow up on urban streets.Esperanza tells stories about the whole blocks. The books has little stories in each chapter,which i didn't like, because im not used to reading books like that. Sandra Cisneros brought the book to alive by the words she used.I loved how she used Spanish words in her book. So people can get understanding what language. The way I related to the book was the chapter hairs in my family we have different type of hair.
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Summary: The House on Mango Street
Review: The House on Mango Street Vintage Contemporaries, 1984, 110 pp., $9.95
Sandra Cisneros ISBN 0-679-73477-5
"I knew then I had to have a house. A real house. One I could point to. But this isn't it. The house on Mango Street isn't it."
Esperanza Cordero is a Mexican girl who lives in a rundown neighborhood in Chicago in the 1960s. She lives in a one-bedroom house with her Mama, Papa, her brothers Carlos and Kiki, and her sister, Nenny. Esperanza doesn't want to belong, she doesn't want to fall into the stereotype that the world has made for her, and she doesn't want to live in the house on Mango Street. She does NOT want to become a low class Latino woman who lives in a small house in the bad side of town raising children. The House on Mango Street tells the story of a fictional girl who tried to change what the world thought of her, and how her experiences on Mango Street helped her.
If you want to find out how Esperanza overcomes being ashamed of where she lives and comes to the realization of the person she will become. The world has low expectations for her because she is Latino (not to mention poor), and because she is a girl. Read The House on Mango Street. You won't regret it.
The House on Mango Street provides funny vignettes about Esperanza's neighborhood. I read about many different characters and I felt like I knew them. Martin, she is an older girl who is like a big sister to Esperanza, it automatically made me want to meet her. She seemed like the kind of person that all younger girls look up to. The House on Mango Street not only brought good laughs, but it also brought Latino culture from a young girl's point of view.
The House on Mango Street is made up of a series of vignettes. It is a short read, and definitely a page-turner. This book is totally different from any book that I have ever read. I would recommend The House on Mango Street to girls over the age of twelve who like realistic fiction. I think boys can read it too, but it is meant for a female reader. Even the dedication page says "A las Mujres" (To the Women).
Sandra Cisneros was born in Chicago in 1954. She worked as a teacher, arts administrator, and more. Sandra is Mexican (her father was Mexican and her mother was Mexican-American). She isn't married and she does not have any children. (She is the independent woman that Esperanza wanted to become). Sandra currently living in Texas and she is also working on a novel.
The House on Mango Street is captivating. I was so absorbed in this book. This story showed me that women can do anything. The House on Mango Street is sensitive and empowering. Sandra Cisneros paints a picture with her words. If you have never read The House on Mango Street, I strongly suggest that you do because "Mango says good bye sometimes. She does not hold me with both arms. She sets me free." -Megan Lewis, Grade 8, Patrick Lyndon Pilot School, Boston, Massachusetts
Rating:
Summary: I didn't like it.
Review: I was forced to read this book for school to my dislike. The author of this book seemed to me like a woman trying tosound brilliant. She didn't make a lot of sense and expected her audience to be extremely insightful or something to even understand what she was saying at some points. To me, a good author is explaining things with their perspective as WELL as leading you to understand. It also seemed like every sentence was this girl wanting us to pity her for this 'awful' life she had. It was a book of 'pity this, pity that', and 'what a horrible life us hispanics lead'. It truley made no sense whatsoever. Aren't books supposed to have a plott?
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