The Silver Star: Jeannette Walls

From the beginning, I was rooting for sisters Liz and Bean to get away from their mother. The first two pages quickly had me questioning the situation they were in and why. It doesn’t take long to find out Charlotte is a flake with emotional and mental issues. She abandons her daughters several times throughout their lives; but the final shoe drops when she is gone for over a week and Bean (12) comes home from school to the police peering through their windows. It is 1970 and Liz (15) decides to use the remaining money Charlotte left them to buy bus tickets to Virginia, where their Uncle Tinsley lives.

Once in Byler Virginia, they stay in a decaying Antebellum mansion, the very house their mother grew up in. Throughout the summer, Bean discovers her dad’s family (the Wyatts) and the girls get jobs, against Uncle Tinsleys wishes. As the summer ends and school begins, Bean finds it easy to fit in and adjust but Liz becomes rebellious and withdrawn. Just when the girls start to feel “at home” with Uncle Tinsley and the Wyatt family, a truly heartbreaking event turns their entire world upside down.  

Charlotte comes back to town to lend support, but soon they find the whole town against them and they quickly lose hope. Who can you truly depend on when life throws you lemons? Family and perhaps a few overly large birds. Once things settle back down and people are put properly in there place, Charlotte decides she can not stand Byler after all, she is ready to move on, and in true Charlotte fashion, she leaves the girls behind.

I loved this story. Growing up in a small community I know all too well how small towns operate. I rooted for those girls all the way to the end. I was sad when they were sad and happy right along with them. Walls has a way of writing that puts the reader right into the book, and puts them in the characters shoes. I felt like I was there with LIz and Bean throughout the whole story. I actually gasped and laughed at the same time when I found out about Uncle Clarence and the bear. At the beginning of the book I just wanted Charlotte to get her crap together and take care of her girls, but by the end of the book, I wanted her no where near them. This is the second Jeannette Walls book I have read and I loved them both, maybe its time to add her 3rd to my collection!