Commentary
In this novel about coming of age in Chicago, Esperanza Cordero grows up in its inner-city slums and resolves to transcend her background.

Publisher's Notes
In hardcover for the first time--on the tenth anniversary of its initial publication--the greatly admired and bestselling book about a young girl growing up in the Latino section of Chicago. Sometimes heartbreaking, sometimes deeply joyous, this novel depicts a new American landscape through its multiple characters.

In celebration of the tenth anniversary of its initial publication, and with a new introduction by the author, here is Sandra Cisnero's greatly admired and best-selling novel of a young girl growing up in the Latino section of Chicago. Acclaimed by critics, beloved by children and their parents and grandparents, taught everywhere from inner-city grade schools to universities across the country, and translated all over the world, The House on Mango Street has entered the canon of coming-of-age classics even as it depicts a new American landscape. Sometimes heartbreaking, sometimes deeply joyous, The House on Mango Street tells the story of Esperanza Cordero, 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. Esperanza's story is that of a young girl coming into her power, and inventing for herself what she will become. The San Francisco Chronicle has called The House on Mango Street "marvelous... spare yet luminous. The subtle power of Cisnero's storytelling is evident. She communicates all the rapture and rage of growing up in a modern world". It is an extraordinary achievement that will live on for years to come.

Reviews
"Sandra Cisneros is one of the most brilliant of today's young writers. Her work is sensitive, alert, nuance-full...rich with music and pictures."

Gwendolyn Brooks

"Esperanza Codera, a girl coming of age in the Hispanic quarter of Chicago, uses poems and stories to express thoughts and emotions about her oppressive environment."

"Cisneros draws on her rich [Latino] heritage, creat[ing] unforgettable characters we want to lift off the page. She is not only a gifted writer, but an absolutely essential one."

Bebe Moore Campbell