Book: The Glass Castle

Author: Jeannette Walls

Review:  This book was fantastic, I kept thinking about well after I had finished reading it.  It is really a memoir.  It is incredible that this girl survived to adulthood and was able to become somewhat of a success.  It opens with her earliest memory.  She is three years old and is boiling herself a hotdog, by standing on a chair next to the stove.  She is wearing a pink princess outfit, which is less than flame retardant.  When she goes up in flames she starts calling for her mother, who is working on her art in another room.  While she is in the hospital the state wants to take her away from her family, but her father comes in and checks her out "Wells" style.  They skip town and (thankfully?) stay together.  There is one incident after another like this.  Sadly, the author states that their best time is when they live in the desert.  They are barely scraping by, but that is best, because if they have any money then her father will start drinking.  Every time they come somewhat close to getting a better life, her parent's blow it.  For example, her mother gets an inheritance, which includes a house and some land with oil.  They move into the house, but within months it is falling apart, and they abandon it to go to her father's family.  You will be riveted by each story.  It is an amazing look at alcoholism, homelessness, and poverty.