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