House on Mango Street is a coming-of-age story that shares one year in the life of Esperanza Cordero, a young Chicana struggling with questions of identity. Living in a Latinx neighborhood, Esperanza attempts to come to terms with her surroundings.

It was okay, some of the chapters were a bit weird and some were sad. Each chapter talked about a certain person in Esperanza's neighborhood struggling with different problems. Overall it was great not a bad book.

If you like reading, this book uses simple wording to convey powerful feelings and emotions, all of which I felt as I read it for myself both the first and second times through. This book teaches you that you always belong even if you don't feel like you do.

Jacqueline, 15

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This book is a real example of the Chican@ experience and its roots, with quips for days. The protagonist, Celaya, records three generations of her family history from her own memory and even interviews, some chapters interspersed with quotes from latin songs, icons, and wisdom.

This book held my attention for all of its 400+ pages with its compelling characters, amusing stories, and witticisms. It made me feel seen.

I would recommend this book to everybody with the caveat that it can be circular, full of little details, and may marginalize non-Latin@ or even non-Chican@/Mexican readers. It is peppered with Spanish that is not always explained and assumes a familiarity with Mexican/American history.

Mya, 15

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Note: Only available in adult collection

The setting is in San Diego more specifically National City. It's about a teenager that's Mexican and white and how he struggles to fit in with the Mexican community because he doesn't know Spanish. His struggles become even worse once he moves in with his uncle and aunt because their entire neighborhood speaks it.

This book was slow in the beginning but as I kept reading, it got better over time. This book is good because of the way it portrays how one feels when they don't fit in and I connected with the main character in that way.

I would recommend this book if you struggle with feeling like you don't fit in with a certain community. This book also revolves around baseball and that helps the main character fit in with more people.

Nadia, 16

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