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The House on Mango Street
110 pages; Vintage
Why We Love It: The spare, poetic story of Esperanza Cordero speaks volumes about race, class and gender. It's also a profound look at what it is to be young and filled with hope for a better life.

The Sequel: "One day I will say goodbye to Mango," Esperanza says in the final vignette. Yet she plans to leave and come back for "the ones I left behind." Twenty-five years later, we would like Esperanza to do just that—succeed mightily.
— Dawn Raffel