Tolog Review: The Glass Castle

The Glass Castle
by Jeannette Walls 
reviewed by Claire Villegas 

Have you ever wondered what it would be like to move from town to town not knowing where your next meal would come from? In her incredibly moving memoir, The Glass Castle, author Jeannette Walls talks about just this. She describes not only hardships during her childhood but also her personal development while becoming a young woman.

With an artistic mother, who seems to care more about painting than her children and an alcoholic father, who rarely keeps a job, the four Walls children have to learn to fend for themselves at a young age. The family is always on some sort of “adventure” whether it is sleeping in a crumbling home, running from the police, or trying to find scraps to eat. But with no beneficial parent figure, the Walls children are forced to mature and learn to adapt in different environments. As you are taken through Jeanette Walls’s perspective, it is evident that by having to grow up quickly, the children are able to endure the poverty they face and also use these experiences to help them become independent in their futures.

The Glass Castle keeps you on your feet through the erratic journeys and constant adversity faced by the Walls family. This memoir made me not only know pain through the family’s experiences, but also know triumph through the children’s prosperity. By reading this book, I had the opportunity of better understanding the importance of family and the impact they can make on your life. This memoir is an incredible story of taking life into your own hands and thriving through misfortune.