The House on Mango Street is about a latin twelve year old girl named Esperanza who moves into a house with her family. The house isn’t what she dreamed of but it was better than the apartment they lived in previously. The house they moved into is raggedy and small in a tough neighborhood in Chicago. The neighborhood was segregated with Latinos being the dominant race in the city. Esperanza doesn’t like the way she’s living and dreams of moving into a much better house on her own.

Esperanza’s little sister, Nenny, and her best friends Rachel and Lucy that lived across the street from her went through wild adventures. They learn stories about boys from a girl named Marin. As Esperanza gets older during the year she matures sexually and emotionally. Her hips grew, she has a crush, and faced sexual assault. They are about to hit puberty and they come across helpless situations. Esperanza is not happy about her family’s position and writes poems to share with the older women she trust.

In the summer Esperanza starts to hit puberty. She dreams about boys and dances in front of them. Esperanza’s sexual maturity helps her find a new friend named Sally who she can relate too. Sally gets abused by her father and she uses boys as an excuse to cover up. Esperanza doesn’t agree with Sally’s sexual experiences and Sally becomes distant from her. This results in Esperanza being by herself and gets sexually assaulted by a bunch of boys.

Esperanza's experiences and from the older women that she would talk to made her realize how much she wanted to leave Mango street. She realizes she can’t leave Mango Street because that means she is leaving all the women that she talks too. She ends up staying on Mango street and starts to mature even more.  She has an even stronger will to leave and writing is the only way to help her until she leaves. Writing helps her emotionally for now and can help her in different ways in the future.