Reviews tagging 'Chronic illness'

The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros

13 reviews

orangebeanreads's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

Reading "The House on Mango Street" makes you remember what it felt like to come into consciousness as a child. Throughout each short, which Cisneros expertly crafts into their own complete story, we watch Ezperansa process her world of Mango Street. It's touching and occasionally rather striking to glimpse into the life of a young Hispanic girl coming into her own. 

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Content Warnings

Minor: Chronic illness, Adult/minor relationship, Death, Domestic abuse, Bullying, Child abuse, Car accident, and Child death

Added content warnings are mild, within the book they are from a child's perspective and help her to form an understanding of the world.

_annika__'s review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual assault, Chronic illness, Classism, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Sexism, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Physical abuse, Racism, and Sexual harassment

axel_p's review against another edition

mysterious reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

I don't know what to think about the book

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Content Warnings

Minor: Child abuse, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Car accident, Fatphobia, Sexual harassment, Suicide attempt, Domestic abuse, Child death, Confinement, Chronic illness, Grief, Bullying, Death of parent, Body shaming, Abandonment, Physical abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Death, and Terminal illness

historyoftape's review against another edition

hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.75

Every vignette seemed like its own poem, a child picking apart someone else's brain, asking only questions adults would be ashamed or scared to ask, and coming to conclusions about herself through it all. I wished this was longer-but at the same time I understand that it couldn't be, because maybe the next vignette would have been the leaving, and maybe the coming back would have been much later, or never, and I guess the not knowing was the point anyways - I was in love with every character, ached for every character, and loved Esperanza though she seemed to talk about herself only in relation to others. And isn't that how a child learns and grows? By defining the world in vignettes, in people you want to become and people who show you what directions you never want to take? I have discovered that one day, I too might return to mango street. The house I belong to but do not belong to. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Confinement

Minor: Body shaming, Suicidal thoughts, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Infidelity, Grief, Bullying, Addiction, Alcohol, Child death, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Death, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, and Toxic relationship

vaekay's review against another edition

adventurous funny lighthearted fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Alcohol, Car accident, Child abuse, Physical abuse, Body shaming, Child death, Bullying, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Sexual harassment, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Fatphobia, Classism, Confinement, Grief, Adult/minor relationship, Chronic illness, and Pedophilia

Minor: Sexual assault

perfectcupoftea's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

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Content Warnings

Minor: Body shaming, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Car accident, Death, Physical abuse, Classism, Domestic abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Cancer, Chronic illness, Terminal illness, Child abuse, Rape, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual harassment, and Sexual violence

dlsmk's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.75

Trigger warning for a lot of things in this my sweet. 

Included below are the trigger warnings not given as options in the click boxes. 

Moderately mentioned; teen pregnancy, emotional abuse, assault

Lightly sprinkled; poverty

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Domestic abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, and Child abuse

Moderate: Death, Emotional abuse, Chronic illness, and Pregnancy

Minor: Bullying, Racism, Suicide, and Classism

_bobatea_'s review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Terminal illness, Emotional abuse, Pedophilia, Classism, Toxic friendship, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Toxic relationship, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, Bullying, Child death, Abandonment, Physical abuse, and Xenophobia

ashybri's review against another edition

emotional funny lighthearted reflective sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A

4.0

A uniquely written work that made you feel as though you personally spoke to the characters and witnessed the events in each story. Beautiful storytelling with parts that were more poetry than stories. 

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Content Warnings

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Car accident, Child abuse, Child death, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Chronic illness, Misogyny, Terminal illness, Classism, and Domestic abuse

Touches on sensitive subjects and events

like abuse and assault

but doesn’t include graphic details.

savvylit's review against another edition

emotional inspiring reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

The House on Mango Street is a beautifully-written, joyful, and often heartbreaking series of stories. Each of the Mango Street characters is portrayed in an empathetic and fully-fleshed way. None more so than our delightful narrator Esperanza. Cisneros perfectly captures the confusion, frustration, and wonder of youth and distills it all into Esperanza. Each vignette is an immersive memory from Esperanza's childhood. The memory-like quality of the stories then creates an overarching sense that you, the reader, have also grown up with Esperanza and her neighbors on Mango Street.

Ultimately, my greatest takeaway from reading The House on Mango Street was that Sandra Cisneros is an absolutely fantastic writer. Let me leave you with just a few of her gorgeous sentences so that you can see what I mean:

"I am a red balloon, a balloon tied to an anchor."

“She looked out the window her whole life, the way so many women sit their sadness on an elbow.”

"Their strength is secret. They send ferocious roots beneath the ground. They grow up and they grow down and grab the earth between their hairy toes and bite the sky with violent teeth and never quit their anger. This is how they keep."

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Sexual assault, Racism, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Grief and Chronic illness

Minor: Suicide