stevia333k's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
This book is very much of the baby boomer generation (I had to use an inflation calculator), the setting is a single year circa 1977-1984. I'm not sure how much is historically accurate. There's obsolete parts.
This had been on my to read list since I was a little kid. I finally got an audiobook copy from my library today & it was only 2h19m long. Circa 2014 i was reading chapters of this book out of order because i approached it as an anthology similar to "chicken noodle souo for the [fill in the blank] soul". Also my reading speed back then sucked.
Um, let's just say there's a massive rape culture, massive domestic violence, and there's at least 1 murder. Also suicidality. There's a part in the book where the girls are parroting transphobic biological essentialism, but to be fair that part of the story kind of calls out the academics who do that as people with power making just-so stories in order to maintain how they outrank others (hence calling this sort of queerphobia as naive).
I feel like this book was presented way back in my day how "braiding sweetgrass" is these days. I'm not sure how to feel about that. The book "settlers" by j sakai was contemporary to this book. IDK why this book became the popular book for including Latinx/hispanic people in academia.
Graphic: Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Violence, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Xenophobia, Animal death, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Grief, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Lesbophobia, Medical content, Suicidal thoughts, Abandonment, Alcohol, Body shaming, Bullying, Domestic abuse, Murder, Car accident, Classism, and Excrement
dlsmk's review against another edition
- 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
Included below are the trigger warnings not given as options in the click boxes.
Moderately mentioned; teen pregnancy, emotional abuse, assault
Lightly sprinkled; poverty
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
- 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
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
- 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
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 eventsSpoiler
like abuse and assaultSpoiler
but doesn’t include graphic details.literaryecho's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
A lot of these stories were great and a couple of them hit me really hard. Geraldo No Last Name comes to mind immediately. It was the saddest and my favorite of the vignettes in this collection.
Cisneros writes this book from the perspective of Esperanza, a young girl who is growing up poor and struggling with friendships, family, and life in general. The range of these vignettes is so wide, covering topics of school, religion, abuse, immigration, poverty, boys, sisters, having fights with friends, the magic of old hangout spots fading as you get older, and so so much more. Each one is individual and yet connected at the same time.
In addition to the book being great, the preface was amazing. Cisneros wrote about her life growing up, what inspired these stories, what it was like growing up Latina in a poor neighborhood—
When she thinks to herself in her father's language, she knows sons and daughters don't leave their parents' house until they marry. When she thinks in English, she knows she should've been on her own since eighteen.
This is one of those books everyone should read at least once.
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Classism, Domestic abuse, and Death
Brief mentions of most of these things. The author is not explicitly describing anything, just showing observations from the perspective of a child as this was going on around her. Much of it isn't portrayed in full context because Esperanza (the narrator) does not fully understand all of the details of what is happening.its_van_vulpen's review
- 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
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Domestic abuse, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Pregnancy, Sexual harassment, Classism, Pedophilia, and Sexual violence
cassielaj's review
- 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
4.25
Minor: Sexual harassment, Violence, Classism, and Physical abuse
spookybitch's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Graphic: Bullying
Moderate: Misogyny, Sexism, Rape, Classism, Domestic abuse, Death, Child abuse, and Pedophilia
Minor: Child death
turnip11's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Moderate: Sexual violence, Fatphobia, Addiction, Suicidal thoughts, Adult/minor relationship, Car accident, Death, Drug abuse, Domestic abuse, Grief, Alcohol, Body shaming, Child abuse, Classism, Death of parent, Sexual assault, and Sexism
sofipitch's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
5.0
Moderate: Sexual assault, Rape, Classism, Fatphobia, and Domestic abuse