The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls is a memoir that recollects the brutal challenges on the author’s journey to success. Its historical context is in the late 20th century when the United States was shifting from an industrial economy to a service one. It describes the nomadic life the author experienced with her dysfunctional family, constantly avoiding debt collectors and living in the foulest parts of America. Her father is an alcoholic who, when sober, enlightens his children with lessons on a variety of subjects like math, physics, astronomy etc. When he is drunk, he is disgusting and hurts his family. Furthermore, her mother has the attributes of a child and hates responsibility. This adverse upbringing taught the narrator and her siblings to be independent. The narrator and her siblings eventually found success in New York while their parents lived in squalor. 

Although memoirs are typically thought to be boring, this book is different. The life of Jeannette Walls is packed full of thrilling events that evoke the emotions of the reader. Jeannette Walls has an ability to to bring out certains mood within readers. Her use of vivid imagery and detailed dialogue will get you cheering for the author and also infuriated at some of the injustices she faced. The detailed dialogue Walls employs excellently reveals the internal struggles of each character and creates amazing character development. Another noteworthy trait of this book is Walls’ ability to create symbolism. Memoirs are not typically associated with symbolism due to their foundation being placed on nonfiction roots, but Walls succeeds. She selects specific details in her life that introduce symbols that can be tied to several events depicted within the story. However, there are also themes of racism and sexual assault in the book that may not be suited for all readers.

Something I really liked about the book was the variety of settings in the story and the detail put forth in describing each one. Due to the nomadic nature of the author's life, the story takes place in a variety of areas in America with most of them being the extremely poor. Walls’ excellent use of diction gave me great insight on what life was like in these squalid area.

Overall, this book is a work of inspiration. It teaches perseverance as the author depicts broke broke free from her rough past and eventually found success. It also teaches about growing up due to the early introduction of responsibility into the narrator's life as a result of neglectful parenting and adverse living conditions. The book also includes themes of forgiveness as the author never shows resentment for the horrible childhood her parents gave her. Despite these hardships, she was still willing to help her family financially and showed concern for their wellbeing. The Glass Castle is definitely a 10/10 book. If you have never read nonfiction or have considered the genre boring, give this book a chance. The exhilarating events depicted in this story make it anything but boring. The fact that this book was based on real life experiences only makes it more incredible.