Does a 12-year-old Mexican-American girl dreaming her way out of a dreadful today resonate with you?

Esperanza Cordero is a 12-year-old girl, the first-born of five children. Observant, cautious, and hopeful, Esperanza’s world is shown through a series of vignettes of Mexican-American life that represent precious contraband reporting of the patriarchal landscape Esperanza may never be able to leave – even while she hopes that she might one day be able to write her way out. Driving the stories with surgical precision and potent imagery, Cisneros tackles poverty, shame, oppression, and sexual violence. We think this novel is a timeless literary coup.