BACKGROUND

I truly enjoyed reading Jeannette Walls's first book, The Glass Castle. Walls published this memoir in 2005, and it introduces us to her early childhood and teen years in the desert SW and in poverty-stricken West Virginia.

I chose this book because of positive student reviews and because I read that writer had overcome EXTREME POVERTY and is a successful journalist today. I wanted something with a bit of grit and some hope, and this autobiography exceeded my expectations.

Although I tried not to be judgmental, I found myself constantly questioning the parents' decisions. Wikipedia calls the parents, Rex and Rose Mary, "DEEPLY DYSFUNCTIONAL." And a big part of that dysfunction involves how Jeannette's father constantly fluctuates between being highly supportive, intelligent, and loving one day and carelessly abusive, drunk, or absent the next.

CONTEXT:
When Jeannette is 5, she describes a Christmas in the desert town of Midland, California. Her father had lost his job, and Jeannette writes: "The family had no money at all" (39). ANALYSIS: Characteristically, Jeannette's father uses his intelligence and love for his family to make the best of the situation.

QUOTE
"Pick out your favorite star," Dad said that night. He told me I could have it for keeps. He said it was my Christmas present. . . . I could have any star I wanted, Dad said. . . . I looked up to the stars and tried to figure out which was the best one.

QUOTE
"I want that one;' I said.
Dad grinned. "That's Venus," he said. Venus was only a planet, he went on, and pretty dinky compared to real stars. . . . "I like it anyway," I said. 1 had admired Venus even before that Christmas. You could see it in the early evening, glowing on the western horizon, and if you got up early, you could still see it in the morning, after all the stars had disappeared.
"What the hell," Dad said."It's Christmas. You can have a planet if you want."