The Glass Castle: Book Review

Yo Glass Castle, Imma let you finish, but...... I have got to give a shout out to Duck Dude's uncle. 1. For his beautiful attempt at recreating Duck Dude's breakfast and 2. For letting me display it on the internets for the all the world to see. 

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Now on to The Glass Castle. My first book review ever. I, honestly, do not even know how book reviews are supposed to work, so I just started writing down thoughts... over different aspects, and this is what I came up with. 

My First Thoughts

The book is so completely like my childhood, and then on the next page it is the furthest thing from my childhood.

I was engaged from the 2^nd chapter on. It begins with the present and then flashes back to Jeannette Walls’ childhood. The first chapter was intriguing, but it did not hook me. As soon as I began the 2^nd chapter, I could not put it down. Luckily, I read it during STAAR testing, so I didn’t have to put it down for 4 hours.

Main Character Thoughts

The main character is the author. You can tell Jeannette is a motivated little girl from the beginning of the book. She is motivated to survive on her own, whether her parents were going to provide for her or not. There were so many times throughout the novel where I admired her positive outlook on life, no matter their current situation.

There are many times throughout the book where her parents say, “We’re going on an adventure!” While I do like the symbolism of life being an adventure, no child should ever have to live through an adventure like hers.

Thoughts Related to My Students

I thought about a lot of my student’s home lives throughout the book. Former students, current students, and future students. It was a good reminder that I never really know what they are going through at home or what their relationships with their parents are like.

This is not a book for my students to read because of language, however, I think it would be interesting for them to read it and (for my students) see the juxtaposition to their own lives. If you teach in a lower SES school, it might be interesting to see how they relate to the book.

Thoughts on the “Glass Castle”

The glass castle is essentially an unattainable dream.

But, it’s not the author’s dream. Her dream starts as unattainable until she works, and works, and works, and works to make it attainable. That determination is what makes the book such an inspiring story.

Final Thoughts

I am very happy to say I added this book to my checked off list. I would definitely recommend it to other people to experience. I have already given my copy to my mom, and I cannot wait to hear what she says about it!

*do not let my attempt at this deter you from reading this book or any others.