Scan barcode
aileen369's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-paced
5.0
jadynproulx's review against another edition
4.0
So many ppl have created fake instagram accounts for every character in this book
acesarrows's review against another edition
2.0
2.5 stars.
I'm not entirely sure what I expected from this, but what I read wasn't it.
Walls' childhood was harrowing and disturbing. I think we can all agree on that. But this memoir is written without any emotion to it. It comes across as a recitation of facts, dates and stories - instead of a true memoir. With emotion behind the stories.
We start to read with a bit more emotion to it once she gets to New York. Perhaps that is due to being older and remembering her feelings more than when she was a child, but I still felt that there could have been more anger, or emotion, or love come through in the pages. Instead we just get more pages telling the tale of an incredibly dysfunctional family, and the horrid surroundings these children were left to fend for themselves in.
Is this a good story - yes.
Is this a good memoir - no.
But, I feel safe to say that some people should not be allowed to raise children, and shame on the West Virginia school and welfare system who left these children in those conditions.
I'm not entirely sure what I expected from this, but what I read wasn't it.
Walls' childhood was harrowing and disturbing. I think we can all agree on that. But this memoir is written without any emotion to it. It comes across as a recitation of facts, dates and stories - instead of a true memoir. With emotion behind the stories.
We start to read with a bit more emotion to it once she gets to New York. Perhaps that is due to being older and remembering her feelings more than when she was a child, but I still felt that there could have been more anger, or emotion, or love come through in the pages. Instead we just get more pages telling the tale of an incredibly dysfunctional family, and the horrid surroundings these children were left to fend for themselves in.
Is this a good story - yes.
Is this a good memoir - no.
But, I feel safe to say that some people should not be allowed to raise children, and shame on the West Virginia school and welfare system who left these children in those conditions.
cheyarsen's review against another edition
5.0
Definitely an interesting read. Read this is my high school English class and it definitely sparked some interesting conversations. I highly recommend this book for everyone!
thatnatiam's review against another edition
5.0
I loved this book. It gave so much insight into ideas relating to poverty, family ties, addiction, mental illness, and family loyalty. I could not put it down!
liketheverb's review against another edition
5.0
The Glass Castle really is "nothing short of spectacular." Unlike so many works of fiction that contain 2-dimensional characters, Walls does a beautiful job in presenting her siblings and her parents as thoroughly and as perfectly as reality necessitates while demonstrating the complexity of the human psyche. There are times when you want to loathe her parents for their neglectful, whimsical--and sometimes downright childish and dangerous--approach to parenting, but as you get more and more involved in their story, you can't help but understand--and sometimes pity--them for their own destructive childhoods. This story may not have an archetypal or stereotypical "fairy tale happy ending," but Walls gives her story the ending it deserves with all of the anticlimax and contentedness that reality will provide. A truly beautiful story about the hardships of life and what one must do to overcome them, The Glass Castle is a reminder that our past never truly leaves us, and it is our responsibility to embrace it and learn from it.