The House on Mango Street is the coming-of-age story of Esperanza Cordero, who lives in an underserved Latin neighborhood in 1960s Chicago. The author, Sandra Cisneros, tells Esperanza's story in the first person, present tense, and forty-six poetic vignettes. Esperanza is a keen observer, taking in gender roles, homes, money, and languages with tenderness and humor. "I like to tell stories," she says. "I tell them inside my head. I am going to tell you a story about a girl who didn't want to belong."