Description: Told in a series of vignettes stunning for their eloquence, this vignette is Sandra Cisneros's greatly admired story of a young girl's growing up in the Latino section of Chicago.Review: The House on Mango Street was chosen for the One Book, One Chicago program a couple of years ago. It is also used in two English classes at my high school. For these reasons alone, I purchased a copy but never actually sat down to read it. The book is very short and consists entirely of vignettes from the author's childhood in a poor section of Chicago. The writing is beautiful and spare. In just a short of space, no vignette is longer that 2 or 3 pages, we get a vivid image of her family, her neighborhood, and her neighbors. We also get a chance to see our world through a different type of racial lens. It really reminded me of my younger years living in a Chicago high rise apartment. The author carefully picks and chooses her words that are potent and evocative rather than exhaustively descriptive. Would high schoolers appreciate the book's message? It's hard to tell if they would appreciate the nostalgia of childhood, but I think they would definitely could relate to Esperanza's, the narrator of the story, desire to seek freedom and explore the outside world.
Rating: 4 stars
Words of Caution: There are some allusions to sex, drug use, and violence in the book that happen off the page. For this reason, I think it is suitable for Grades 9 and up.
If you like this book try: Carmelo by Sandra Cisneros or How the Garcia Girls Lost Their Accent by Julia Alvarez
Description: A closer look at the bizarre mysteries of everyday life in Chicago's gritty ethnic enclaves during the 1960s and 1970s.Review: The Coast of Chicago is another book used in my high school's English curriculum that I have not read before. I liked how this book was told from different parts of Chicago with a colorful cast of characters from different ethnicity, age, and gender. The book is composed of alternating long and short stories as the author recalls his old ethnic neighborhood, his early romances, and recounts a freaky urban legend about a young woman's body frozen in a block of ice. Each character stands on their own and you can feel the various emotions that they are going through. I actually preferred the short chapters that goes straight to the punch rather than the meandering longer stories which can be a bit much. Regardless, you can still pick out the important messages and themes in all of them.
Rating: 4 stars
Words of Caution: There is strong language, crude humor, and allusions to sex in the book. Recommended for Grades 10 and up.
If you like this book try: Chicago: City on the Make by Nelson Algren, Never A City So Real: A Walk in Chicago by Alex Kotlowitz
Description: Since the publication of The Catcher in the Rye in 1951, the works of J.D. Salinger have been acclaimed for their humor, intensity, and their lack of phoniness. A collection of short fiction, Nine Stories contains works with those qualities that make Salinger such a well-loved author.Review: The Catcher in the Rye had a huge impact on my life and it's a book that I never get tired of re-reading. I was afraid that I picked up another book from Salinger, it would diminish my love for Holden Caufield but I'm glad that I was wrong. Nine Stories was a mixed bag for me. I didn't love all of the stories and some of them just went over my head to be honest. The stories are varied ranging from a soldier struggling with post traumatic stress disorder after returning to war in the amazing, haunting, and gut wrenching "A Perfect Day for Bananafish" to the remarkable thought process of a child genius whom everyone thinks is sick in "Teddy". What I remember most of Salinger's writing is his uncanny ability to creating characters who mirror our problems and frustrations in trying to find a resolution.
Rating: 3.5 stars
Words of Caution: There is some language, some strong description of war violence, and other mature adult topics. Recommended for Grades 10 and up.
If you like this book try: What We Talk About When We Talk About Love by Raymond Carver, Self Help by Loorie Moore
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