The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros is a great novel for young teens and in my opinion, it should be read in all classrooms. The main character, Esperanza, learns things about herself and maybe others that read this book could learn things about themselves as well.

The House on Mango Street is centered around a young girl named Esperanza who is growing up in a house that she doesn't really consider a home on Mango Street. She is ashamed that her family can't afford the ideal house that they've always dreamed of but more importantly- and sadly- she is ashamed of her roots and where her family comes from. We can see this from the story "Alicia & I Talking on Edna's Steps" when Esperanza says, "No, this isn’t my house I say and shake my head as if shaking could undo the year I’ve lived here. I don’t belong. I don’t ever want to come from here."

Esperanza isn't the only character in this book. There are her siblings, her mother and father, the people that surround her at school, and then of course, there's the people that come and go that she either befriends or comes to hate in her years living on Mango Street. I liked the way the author described the characters that she lived in her neighborhood, and I also love how Cisneros gave each character their own personality. In my opinion, no two characters were exactly alike.

I liked the descriptions and personalities of the characters the best in this story. Cisneros bought each character to life and by the end of the story, I felt like I personally knew all of them. One thing I didn't enjoy about the book was at times, it felt like many of the short stories included in it were left unfinished and I wanted to know more since I had grew so invested in the characters. I guess that leaves things up to the reader’s interpretation, though.

In conclusion, I loved The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros and believe it is a book that should be read in all high school classrooms. By the end of the story, Esperanza grows and learns a lot about herself as a person and she learns not to be so ashamed of where she comes from, and that's a lesson that many teenagers these days can stand to learn.