I received this book in my senior year of high school as a birthday gift from my best friend. Although the book is short, I never got around to reading it until my first semester of college and even then, I set the book aside as my course load got too large for personal reading. Even when I was able to read for fun again, I didn't pick the book back up. It sat on my bookshelf waiting for me to finish it.
What's funny is this is a very short book. It's only about 110 pages. It's a quick read. And yet, there it sat 30 pages in. Finally, my fifth semester of college, I decided that I would pick it up again as part of my "to finish" book list. This was the first book I selected which feels fitting. I haven't talked to the friend who gave it to me in over a year which is actually pretty sad to me so it was nice to have a piece of them with me even if it was just for the amount of time it took me to finish.
I really enjoyed this book. I liked watching the narrator grow up and watching her world change around her. I liked the people she interacted with and the sadness present in some of their stories. It's a story that feels real to me. One that I can imagine would happen in the city near where I grew up. I can imagine like that city, Mango street would likely eventually face gentrification. Instead of people from all over, the street would be demolished in favor of new apartments for wealthy city-goers. That thought makes Esperanza's desire to leave a little bit more heartbreaking. She desires not to struggle which makes sense, but when she is older she might feel sad about leaving.
That doesn't really have to do with the book too much I suppose, it's just what it made me think of. I really enjoyed this book and would encourage others to read it. It's a fast read and the stories are easy to understand.
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