What readers think of The Glass Castle, plus links to write your own review.

Jeanette Walls captivated me in the first chapter. Describing her early childhood and her life from then on made me appreciate my good fortune as girl. It made me cry and life, and all though the story and plot weren't pleasing, Walls told it in a way that made the novel a masterpiece. I am incredibly grateful for the way her, and her family's life turned out!

This book is about a family which is really 'poor white trash'. They abuse their children, they steal, have really no ethical compass, and the worst part is that they do not have to be like that, unlike most poor white trash which does not have the intelligence or ability to do better, Yes, it is 'OK' to do 'your thing' - but it is NOT OK to then have children and subject them to the abuse that this family did to theirs.
CPS really did not do their job. The fact that the children did as well as they did is due only to circumstance, and to the fact that they were intellectually gifted. Each chapter is about another 'family problem' due to their own lack of 'drive' and it is really quite boring after a while.......

I must say that I truly enjoyed the telling of this story even though it was as one reviewer described it, a 'train wreck that you can't get off'. It was touching and it was very telling about the state that a lot of young children in this country are in.

There are comments about the book saying it doesn't sound plausible, that it is impossible for her to remember the conversations she had at such young ages. My answer to that is that this woman apparently had a very trying childhood, one that isn't considered normal by any stretch of the imagination. In order to get that story into some sort of readable form she must fill in quite a bit with what she thinks 'may' have happened. She more than likely remembers snatches and bits and comments made and has either turned them into full conversations or looking back through her life she reviewed certain situations and conversations and still remembers the gist of them. If she hadn't done this, the book would have been such a disjointed mess that nobody could read it.

Give the woman her due, I whole-heartedly believe her story is true and I commend her and her siblings for breaking out of what could have been a vicious cycle of poverty and abuse. Someone commented on the lack of the mothers' believability, that mother acts JUST like my sister and we had a very normal childhood. The resentment of the children and the artistic bend, the lack of any interest in the home itself and the odd views towards the children esp when it comes to medical issues and such. So mothers like Jeannette's DO exist here in America in 2008!

This book was recommended to me by a friend. When I started reading it I couldn't stop. It is the kind of book, anyone who feels sorry for themselves should read. It makes you ashamed, for ever thinking you didn't have a good enough childhood. I heard it is being made into a movie. I hope so, and can't wait for it to come out.

Really enjoyed this book. Sometimes I questioned the reality of all that happened to Jeanette, but in a post-Frey memoir publishing world, I feel this memoir would have been researched thoroughly. Reading what she and her siblings went through certainly makes me appreciate my life and the life that my mother gave me. The "traumatic" childhood I thought I experienced seems a lot less traumatic in light of some of Jeanette's experiences!! I find inspiration in Jeanette that she could rise from that upbringing to be successful and could find the path in her life that led her to an acceptance of the life her parents chose for themselves and their children

This was one of the most incredible books I have read in almost a year. I was literally able to connect Jeanette's parents to real people I know of, all of whom have disabilities. It is also amazing considering that Jeanette and all of her siblings came from such a poor family, and that Jeanette and her siblings still prospered, not everyone can do that. Not to mention I just cannot believe some of the crazy ideas Jeanette's parents had (eg, When Jeanette's father started going over 100 miles per hour in a car with his wife and children). Also when Jeanette's mother who worked but permitted her husband to spend her paycheck on liquor. I would recommend this book to anyone (especially a psychologist or social worker). Also like one of the reviewers wrote I would like to see what a psychologist would have to say about the mother.

Admittedly, the story is interesting enough to hold my attention throughout, but seriously. Seriously? The writing itself is puerile, and I keep coming across both logical and grammatical errors.

Is this what publishing and authorship has fallen to? Scribner's, the company that published Hemingway and Fitzgerald? For shame.

In 5 years, I haven't read a book that disappointed me in the that way The Glass Castle has.

I recommended this book to everyone I talk to. It is by far, the best book I have read in ages. It is inspiring and triumphant to see an individual that has experienced such difficulties...yet, rise up and tell her story with such grace and honesty. What I admire most is her willingness to be true to herself and her dreams. While being respectful and accepting of the dreams of her parents. A wonderful read...I didn't want it to end!