The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros

'She is honest about language, neighborhoods, aspirations, and so many other themes and truths that are not only universal but timeless. 'Cisneros taps into the truth of what so many Latinx young people and their families face,' Elizabeth Acevedo, author of the National Book Award winner The Poet X, says. She struggles with her family's poverty, her desire to find a space of her own, and the plight of growing up as a young woman in a world where danger and disappointment seem to lurk around every corner. Written in a series of poetic vignettes, Cisneros's seminal work follows Esperanza as she comes of age in Chicago in a primarily Latinx neighborhood. The way that Cisneros was able to capture and celebrate Mexican culture was so magical to me.' 'Her neighborhood was so similar to the one I grew up in - full of both beauty and despair. 'It was one of the first times I’ve ever felt seen,' Erika Sánchez, the author of National Book Award finalist I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter, tells Bustle.

And for many Latinx readers like me - including authors Elizabeth Acevedo, Angie Cruz, Kali Fajardo-Anstine, Lilliam Rivera, and Erika L. It has sold over six million copies and been translated into over 20 languages. Since its publication 35 years ago, The House on Mango Street has become one of the most influential works in modern literature. The House on Mango Street was our assigned reading, and as I devoured the novel, I realized that this was the first time I'd read about a girl with a last name like my abuela's, who lived in a neighborhood like mine. As one of the youngest there, I was worried that I wouldn't be able to keep up with the other kids, and I arrived at orientation feeling more dread than excitement. I was nine years old, just two months away from starting the 6th grade, and I was attending an advanced summer class with middle school students from across the city. I first picked up Sandra Cisneros's The House on Mango Street in the summer of 1998.

The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros