The Silver Star by Jeannette Walls

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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
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