Welcome back to our second installment of the blog post series “The Busy Parents’ Book Club.” Here is a brief recap of what this club is all about:
I decided to start this series after having my second baby in two years and finding that even as a librarian *gasp* I was having a hard time finding time to read. (Contrary to popular belief, we do not read at work.) After mentioning this to a few coworkers, and finding we all had the same shared issue, the idea was born.
The goal of this book club is success! We’ll select short books and have flexible timelines (we are busy after all). We’ll also help keep each other accountable; however, if you don’t finish for the month, hey no judgment here. If you are a parent struggling to find time to read, we hope you’ll join the club and read along (as life permits).
For our second book club selection, we read The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros. This is an unusual work as it is comprised of a series of vignettes, each depicting a person in the main character, Esperanza’s, life. Esperanza is a young girl growing up in the Hispanic quarter of Chicago. During the course of the novel, she interacts with a kaleidoscope of people in her neighborhood, each with their own story to tell. Some of their stories are heartbreaking. Others are healing. None leave the reader untouched.
What impresses me so much about this book is that Cisneros is able to envelop the reader in so many lives, leaving them invested after only a few short pages. Not only was I captivated by Esperanza’s coming of age story as an immigrant in a big city, but I was also drawn to the various people in her life for a whole host of other reasons.
In library school, librarians learn the Five Laws of Library Science. Two of them are as follows:
Every Reader His/Her/Their Book
Every Book Its Reader
I truly believe that this is one of those rare books that is for most readers…that almost everyone can find something to relate to.
Here are what some of my coworkers thought:
Sarah Fenninger:
The last time I read The House On Mango Street I was in 9th grade. Being 14 is its own coming of age story, so I don’t think I appreciated this book enough then. Today, reading it as a woman and a mother, my heart breaks for Esperanza while simultaneously cheering her on as she chases down joy. At a time where rhetoric about immigrant communities can be so divisive, I found this to be an important read as a lens into the immigrant experience in this country. This book made me laugh, cry, look inward, and smile wide. Packed with universal observations on humanity and a lens of innocence that can only be achieved with a child’s POV, this book triumphs as an ode to optimism even in the most wretched places.
As it relates to this book club, The House on Mango Street is only 110 pages long and comprised of two- to three-page vignettes. This makes it a quick read – and a bingeable one if you have the time. I don’t know of many other books that consistently pack punch after punch in 2-3 page bursts, but Cisneros delivers a gem in this book. Check it out today!
Briesa Koch:
“I make a story for my life, for each step my brown shoe takes.”
House on Mango Street follows the story of Esperanza Cordero, a 12-year-old Mexican-American girl who lives with her family in Chicago. The story, while engaging, doesn’t follow a linear timeline. Instead, the book shares bits and pieces of Esperanza’s life through short vignettes as she and her family navigate through the struggles of poverty. Through these stories, you learn about her family, her neighborhood, and her hopes for the future. What I really loved about this book was that each and every vignette makes you feel differently. Sometimes they’re happy, other times the stories leave you feeling heartbroken. But after reading each piece, you begin to understand the complexities of life, and what it’s like to live in Esperanza’s world. If you’re looking for a book that challenges you to gain a new perspective, I highly recommend House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros!
Next Month’s Read:
A Psalm for the Wild-Built by Becky Chambers
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