<Tr> <Th> LC Class </Th> <Td> PS3553. I78 H6 1991 </Td> </Tr> <P> The House on Mango Street is a 1984 coming - of - age novel by Mexican - American writer Sandra Cisneros . It deals with Esperanza Cordero, a young Latina girl, and her life growing up in Chicago with Chicanos and Puerto Ricans . Esperanza is determined to "say goodbye" to her impoverished Latino neighborhood by turning to a life on the streets . Major themes include her quest for a better life and the importance of her promise to come back for "the ones (she) left behind". The novel has been critically acclaimed, and has also become a New York Times Bestseller . It has also been adapted into a stage play by Tanya Saracho . </P> <P> The story begins with Esperanza, the protagonist, describing how her family arrived at the house on Mango Street . Before the family settled in their new house, they moved around frequently . The reader develops a sense of Esperanza's observant and descriptive nature as she begins the novel with descriptions of minute behaviors and observations about her family members . Though Esperanza's age is never revealed to the reader, it is implied that she is about thirteen . She begins to write as a way of expressing herself and as a way to escape the suffocating effect of the neighborhood . The novel also includes the stories of many of Esperanza's neighbors, providing a picture of the neighborhood and offering examples of the many influences surrounding her . Esperanza quickly befriends Lucy and Rachel Guerrero, two Texan girls who live across the street . Lucy, Rachel, Esperanza, and Esperanza's little sister, Nenny, have many adventures in the small space of their neighborhood . As the vignettes progress, the novel depicts Esperanza's budding personal maturity and developing world outlook . </P> <P> Esperanza later slips into puberty and likes it when a boy watches her dance at a baptism party . Esperanza's newfound views lead her to become friends with Sally, a girl her age who wears black nylon stockings, makeup, high heels, and short skirts, and uses boys as an escape from her abusive father . Sally, a beautiful girl according to her father, can get into trouble with being as beautiful as she is . Esperanza is not completely comfortable with Sally's sexuality . Their friendship is compromised when Sally ditches Esperanza for a boy at a carnival . As a result, Esperanza is sexually assaulted by a man at the carnival . Earlier at her first job, an elderly man tricked her into kissing him on the lips . Esperanza's traumatic experiences and observations of the women in her neighborhood cement her desire to escape Mango Street . She later realizes that she will never fully be able to leave Mango Street behind . She vows that after she leaves she will return to help the people she has left behind . Esperanza exclaims that Mango Street does not hold her in both arms; instead, it sets her free . </P>

How old is esperanza from the house on mango street
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