The Glass Castle

The Glass Castle

By Jeannette Walls

304 pages

11 hours and 14 minutes listening time

Grade B+

This book was the book selected for my monthly book club. I didn't read any reviews or had any idea what kind of book this was prior to reading it. I also didn't know it was non-fiction. What I did know, is that this book was terribly heartbreaking from the very first chapter.

The story is about a girl who is the second oldest of four. Her family lives in pure poverty, as in, when she went to school the only meal she ate was lunch and even that meal was just what she could find in the trash cans. Her father was some kind of super genius, and her mom was an artist with a teacher's degree, however, her parents moved around, were mostly homeless and although could have had the means to care for their children, preferred to live in squaller.

It was one of the hardest books I have ever had to listen to. So many times, I just wanted to reach through my headphones and hug the kids, or slap the parents. I, like my friend Claudia, found myself wanting to call CPS on the parents, only to having to remind myself that this all has already happened and the kids have all grown.

I was so heart broken while listening to this book. If you have a tough heart, I would say go for it, but you will need to be tough to listen to it because it is very very heart wrenching.

Regardless, even though there were many many times when I thought I would have to shut if off because I was just so angry at the parents, I am really glad I stuck with it.

Thanks Mandi for a nice book selection.