The Glass Castle
by Jeannette Walls
This is a memoir detailing the author's childhood, growing up in extreme poverty and neglect with her eccentric parents and three siblings. While the circumstances of her childhood were harsh and often shocking, Walls never uses the voice of a victim. Her story is not just of hardship, but also of resilience, optimism, and the power of family bonds.
The book begins with Walls as an adult, driving down the street in New York when she sees her mother rooting through a dumpster; her mother and father, she reveals, have been homeless by choice for several years. Seeing her mother triggers Walls to reminisce about her family, and from there, the book moves to a chronological account of her childhood, starting with her earliest memory when she was three-years-old.
Walls grew up in the '60s, in various small towns in rural America. Her parents were unconventional, and they rebelled against traditional concepts of family life. They were free spirits who could never stay settled in one place for long, and so the family moved frequently, living in numerous tiny mining towns throughout the Appalachia region of the United States, as well as living briefly in some more exciting places like Las Vegas and even the Arizona desert.
Walls recalls never having a sense of "home," and of never being able to form close attachments, since she always knew she would soon be uprooted. In addition, the family was always leaving town in a rush, usually fleeing bill collectors or the aftermath of some violent altercation with neighbours, and the children would always be forced to leave most of their possessions behind.
Walls' mother was a self-proclaimed artist, who loved to paint, write, and sculpt. She never had an interest in traditional domesticity, and she encouraged extreme independence in her children, so she could be free to pursue her art interests rather than having to tend to the children. This neglect is exemplified in Walls first childhood memory: being severely burned when she caught her dress on fire cooking hotdogs for herself at the age of three. The burns were so bad that the young Walls had to undergo skin graft surgery. Suspicious of any authority figure, to the point of paranoia, her parents abduct her from the hospital one night before she had fully recovered, assuring her, "Don't worry honey, you're safe now," as they sped away like criminals.
Walls' father was an extremely intelligent man who loved his children, though he suffered from alcoholism that left him unable to give his children the care they needed. On his better days, he brought excitement and closeness to his family, encouraging intellectual debates and free-thinking, and teaching them about physics, stars, planets, and nature. Yet when he was drinking, he could be neglectful, absent, or just downright abusive. He also could never hold a job for long and would spend most of the family's meagre income on alcohol, so that the children would often go for days without food; the children generally had to find their own way to eat, whether that involved recycling scrap metal and bottles, stealing from neighbours, or even rooting through the garbage cans at school.
Walls details the shocking and often heartbreaking scenes from her childhood with straightforward candour, and although the events of her life were hard, she never takes on the voice of a victim. Through their strong bond, Walls and her siblings eventually all make it out of Appalachia and come to call New York their home. Through their support of each other, they grow to become successful adults.
The Glass Castle, by Jeannette Walls, is an engaging true-tale of poverty, neglect, and above all, survival. Readers who enjoy memoirs of ordinary people overcoming incredible odds will greatly enjoy this book. It is an engrossing page-turner that is truly stranger than fiction.
It's available in the adult non-fiction area, as a large print book, and as a book on CD.
- reviewed by Teresa Taggart,
readers' advisor
at the Prince George Public Library
Heist Society
by Ally Carter
Kat Bishop is done with a life of crime. Determined to escape the family "business" of international art thievery, she has enrolled herself at a prestigious private school and is on her way to becoming properly educated.
Unfortunately, Kat's crooked past catches up with her and when she is kicked out of school for a prank she didn't commit so she knows something important must be up. Five paintings have been stolen from a very dangerous man and none other than Kat's own art thief father is the only suspect in the crime.
Determined to clear her father's name, Kat accepts her true talents and delves into the task of uncovering what really happened to the artworks.
Famous for her spy series Gallagher Girls, Ally Carter has written an exceptionally fun, slick take on the classic art thief story. The very definition of a strong young woman, the main character Kat is quick, clever, and an inspiring leader to her wily troupe of young felons. This book would be an excellent choice for teens that like strong female characters, spy and adventure stories, or for those who are looking for an entertaining, "just like a movie" read.
Find copies of Heist Society in the teen section at the Bob Harkins branch of the Prince George Public Library.
- reviewed by Amy Dawley,
teen librarian
at the Prince George Public Library
