“The Silver Star” by Jeannette Walls – The Ever-Dysfunctional World

Though most of us have a happy childhood, we slowly but surely figure out that the world isn’t nearly as pretty as it’s made out to be. Many of us living in peaceful countries do not even realize how lucky we are to be relatively sheltered from the cruelties Man can inflict on Man. 

There are others, however, who make this discovery very early and in a brutal fashion, and that’s the theme, or at least one of the main ones, in Jeannette Walls’ The Silver Star. 

It follows the life of two sisters, Bean, twelve years old, and Liz, fifteen years old. One day, their quirky and irresponsible mother leaves on a soul-searching trip, leaving the girls with about a month or two worth of money and supplies.

Naturally, the girls aren’t crazy about the arrangement, but they make the best of it, until one day they see a police car in front of their home, and simply decide to take off for Virginia in search of their mother. 

Upon arriving there, they make the acquaintance of their uncle Tinsley who lives in a crumbling mansion that belonged to the family for generations, they learn about Bean’s father, the reasons as to why their mother left, and more importantly, they start working for the abusive Jerry Maddox, the foreman of the town mill.

Having read The Glass Castle by Jeannette, I have to say that my expectations may have been set a bit too high, but that is not to say this book doesn’t have its own merits to speak of. 

The Silver Star by Jeannette Walls (Book cover)
Though the storyline itself won’t keep you flipping the pages, the characters themselves will. Throughout their adventure Bean and Liz meet plenty of young and old people, each one having a story to tell, many of them being centered on overcoming suffering and finding redemption. 

On the whole, this is a coming-of-age book that isn’t only about the nastiness of this world, but also about how you should overcome it, how you can learn to love life despite all of its flaws, how you can rise up in the face of injustice and abuse. 

I had the feeling that the book wasn't about a story, but rather a vehicle to explore concepts, ideas and share them with the world. If you read books for reasons other than the entertainment factor and find stories about dysfunctional families interesting, then I’m sure you’ll have a good time reading this one.

Jeannette Walls (Author)

Jeannette Walls


Jeannette Walls is a former gossip columnist for MSNBC.com and a reputed American author whose magnum opus (so far at least) turned out to be The Glass Castle, a memoir of her own childhood. It sold over 2.7 million copies and has received the Christopher Award, the American Library Association's Alex Award, as well as the Books for Better Living Award.

Her fascination with reminiscing of the past didn't end there, as she came back in 2009 in full force to publish Half Broken Horses, based on her grandmother's life.



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