The Silver Star by Jeannette Walls

-

Strength of Sisters

The Silver Star by Jeannette Walls.   Two sisters, 15- and 12-year-olds, decide to leave their California home after their mother, an unstable aspiring singer, abandons them to “make some time and space” for herself, so she can find “the magic” again.  The two girls head out to Byler, Virginia, the town they were born in—the town their mother never wanted to return to.  There they find their Uncle Tinsley, a recluse who lost his wife six years ago.  Bean, the narrator, is the younger of the girls.  She’s a spunky, self-assured girl who takes matters into her own hands.  Her sister, Liz, is a gentler spirit who loves nothing more than to keep her nose in a book.  Together they start to forge a new life in the small town; there’s just one big snag. And this new problem turns things upside down for them.

I really liked this book.  Bean was such a bold, outspoken, forthright girl; it’s hard not to like her.  She reminded me a bit of Ava, the 13-year-old girl in Swamplandia!  I enjoyed the story of the family dynamics and was cheering the girls along the whole way.  I also found Walls’ writing style fun and comfortable, reminiscent of her bestselling memoir, The Glass Castle.

Thumbs-up and many stars to The Silver Star! 
This was a book club selection and our members also enjoyed the book. It was mentioned that the mother in the book reminded us a lot of Jeannette's real mom in The Glass Castle--which meas she wasn't winning any mother-of-the-year awards.  It was a quick and easy read (a couple members read it in one day).  The story and writing style held our interests and the ending was a nice surprise. Thumbs-up all around! 

This book met a couple of my 2015 Book Challenges:  Read a book about siblings; and read a book with a color in the title.

Happy Reading,
Annette


Comments

Anonymous said…
I really liked this book too.
August 10, 2015 at 3:28 PM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Lessons in Chemistry by Bonnie Garmus

-
Image
  You Go, Girl! Pure love—that’s what I felt about this book!  It’s smart, witty, and emboldening! I don’t know how many countless times I cheered or chuckled.   A female chemist struggles to rise above the chauvinistic male domination of the 1960s and live life on her terms despite ingrained oppression of women.  Hooray for this feminist heroine who points out that just because women’s bodies are smaller than men's doesn’t mean their brains are!   I fell in love with brilliant Elizabeth and her support system:  her impressively  smart daughter Mad; her straightforward neighbor Harriet; her kind-hearted producer Walter, the irreverent Reverend Wakely; and her obstetrician/rower Dr. Mason. Oh, and let’s not forget Six-Thirty, her beloved dog!   I would definitely be one of Elizabeth’s devoted fans of her show,  Supper at Six !  If my kids were still at home, I’d mimic Elizabeth and tell them, “Children, set the table. Your mother needs a moment to herself.” (Even though I’m not the
Read more

The Little Italian Hotel by Phaedra Patrick

-
Image
Italy: Just What the Doctor Ordered   This book is a sweet ray of sunshine (with a few stabs to the heart)! A group of grief-stricken people find solace in Italy and each other.   After a husband leaves his self-help radio talk show wife, she invites four random listeners to join her on what would have been her 25 th  wedding anniversary trip to Italy.  On this healing retreat, they each face their own grief in an old-world charming hotel where the innkeeper is stuck in the past and faces his own challenges.    I loved everything about this book:  the setting, the side trips to Florence and Venice, the delicious homemade food the hotel owner whips up, and the friendships formed through bonds of sorrow.   Charming and uplifting!    Pub date: June 6, 2023 If you like books set in Italy you may want to check out: One Italian Summer  by Rebecca Serle The Seamstress of Sardinia  by Bianca Pitzorno Beautiful Ruins  by Jess Walter Auntie Poldi and the Sicilian Lions  by Mario Giordano A Room
Read more

All the Broken Places by John Boyne

-
Image
  Guilt and Consequences. Oooh this book knocked me off my feet!  I have read a lot of good books, but this one was one of the best I’ve read in a long time!   It’s about guilt, conscience, our role in society and as humans.  It was such a well-crafted slow burn, I had a difficult time putting it down.     In this riveting narrative, we are pulled from one page to the next edging toward a 91-year-old woman’s secret from WWII.  At the same time a drama plays out in current-day London, with both culminating to a jaw-dropping moment.   So good!!    Here are a couple lines to give you a taste of the book.   “I told myself that none of it had been my fault, that I had been just a child, but there was a small part of my brain that asked me, if I was entirely innocent, then why was I living under an assumed name?”   –pg 29   Gretel thought the sparkle had left her eyes—her best feature. “Now they were the color of barbed wire, of rusty ovens, of smoke and ash.”  –pg 98   “My wife belongs to m
Read more