居住在拉美貧民社區(qū)芒果街上的女孩埃斯佩朗莎。生就對(duì)他人痛苦的同情心和對(duì)美的感覺(jué)力，她用清澈的眼打量周圍的世界，用美麗稚嫩的語(yǔ)言講述成長(zhǎng)，講述滄桑，講述生命的美好與不易，講述年輕的熱望和夢(mèng)想，夢(mèng)想著有一所自己的房子，夢(mèng)想著在寫(xiě)作中追尋自我，獲得自由和幫助別人的能力。
The boys and the girls live in separate worlds. The boys in their universe and we in ours. My brothers for example. They've got plenty to say to me and Nenny inside the house. But outside they can't be seen talking to girls. Carlos and Kiki are each other's best friend…not ours. Nenny is too young to be my friend. She's just my sister and that was not my fault. You don't pick your sisters, you just get them and sometimes they come like Nenny. She can't play with those Vargas kids or she'll turn out just like them. And since she comes right after me, she is my responsibility. Someday I will have a best friend all my own. One I can tell my secrets to. One who will understand my jokes without my having to explain them. Until then I am a red balloon, a balloon tied to an anchor.
男孩和女孩生活在不同的世界。男孩在他們的天地里，我們?cè)谖覀兊奶斓乩?。比如我的弟弟們。在家里，他們有很多話跟我和蕾妮說(shuō)?？墒堑搅送饷妫麄兙筒荒鼙蝗思铱匆?jiàn)和女孩說(shuō)話?？逅购推嫫媸潜舜俗钜玫呐笥选?不是我們的。 蕾妮還很小，做不了我的朋友。她只是我的妹妹，這不是我的錯(cuò)。你不能挑選妹妹，你只是就那么得到了她們，某些時(shí)候他們就像蕾妮一樣到來(lái)。 她不能去和法加斯家的孩子們玩，要不然，她會(huì)變得和他們一樣。既然她跟在我后面來(lái)了，她就是我的責(zé)任。 有一天，我會(huì)有一個(gè)我自己的、最要好的朋友。一個(gè)我可以向她吐露秘密的朋友。一個(gè)不用我解釋就能聽(tīng)懂我的笑話的朋友。在那之前，我將一直是一個(gè)紅色氣球，一個(gè)被泊住的氣球。