The Glass Castle by Jeannette Walls

The book, The Glass Castle, by Jeannette Walls is a well-written memoir about the author’s childhood to adulthood. Having little cash and food all the time, the Walls family frequently moves from place to place and tries to settle down. This story reveals the obstacles and hardships Walls has overcome in the course of her life time and tells how she is able to become a successful writer.

Walls is an optimistic, hardworking girl who is always helping around the family. She has two sisters, named Lori and Maureen, and a brother named Brian. Lori, the oldest sister, is a smart girl who is into drawing and painting, Brian, Walls’s younger brother, is a protective boy who is particularly close with Walls, and Maureen, the youngest sibling, is a dependent girl, who is always relying on someone to take care of her, including her friends. Rex is the intelligent, loving father except when he is drinking, constantly losing jobs and takes everyone’s precious money for alcohol, and last but not least, Rose Mary is the lazy, irresponsible mother and also an unsuccessful artist, who values self-sufficiency although she does not like to provide for the family herself.

There are several scenes in the book that made me very sympathetic, astonished and shocked.  First, Walls explains that she sleeps in a cardboard box because she is too poor to own a bed. If the readers are in the same situation, they would be uncomfortable, freezing and complaining, but Walls “liked [her] boxes. They made going to bed seem like an adventure” (52), which reveals her positivity as well as maturity at such young age. Then, she describes her new house, “The toilet wasn’t hooked up to any sewer or septic system. It just sat atop a hole about six feet deep. There was no running water indoors…While the house was wired for electricity, Dad confessed that we could not at the moment afford to have it turned on” (151). From this description, readers can see the harsh struggles Walls went through in her childhood.  Finally, the author reveals that because she had no food at her house, she had to look for lunch in the garbage after everyone threw away his or her food in school. Again, it is very difficult to picture a girl, searching through trash for something to eat and consuming the leftovers that had been in the garbage. Especially because these are true events that actually happened to the author, it is very unimaginable to think about.

As a result of continuous poverty and Walls’s alcoholic father and unconcerned mother, the children could not take it anymore and want to get away from their parents. When Walls is asked to go to Iowa for the summer to babysit and is offered $200 plus a bus ticket back to Welch, West Virginia, where she currently lived, Walls suggests that Lori take the job and give her a ticket to New York instead of Welch. Thus, Lori leaves Rex and Rose Mary, eventually followed by Walls, Brian and Maureen. Walls’s decision to go to New York like her sister is an important choice that greatly impacts her life because it leads to not only a successful writing career but also a stable life she has never experienced before. She finally achieves her goal by getting her dream job and  having enough money to support herself with food, clothing and shelter on her own.

I thought that this memoir was remarkable, and I enjoyed reading about Walls’s life. It was very interesting to learn what the author went through as a child and how she became a successful writer.  Although I am usually not into this kind of book, I really liked it, and I think everyone should try reading it too. The Glass Castle was a phenomenal book that all people, including adults, can enjoy.

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

           The novel, The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins is a thrilling book that touches on the concepts of survival and love. It takes place in a country called Panem, and each of the 12 districts has to send one boy and one girl from ages twelve to eighteen for the annual Hunger Games, a death fight on live TV. The traditional rule is that the game goes on until there is only one person left, and the district he or she belongs to gets rewards for his or her victory.

           Overall, Collins does a good job on including details that reveal the characters’ personalities. From District 12, Primrose Everdeen and Peeta Mellark are originally chosen to be tributes. However, Prim’s older sister, Katniss, takes place of her dearly beloved sister and joins Peeta. Katniss’s action reveals her bravery, care and love towards Prim and how strong she is as a person. Her decision to participate in the Hunger Games changes her fate of coming back alive or dead.

            There are many remarkable scenes in the novel. The one that came to my mind immediately was when Katniss and Peeta decide to eat poisonous berries after the rule change. When they are the last ones left, Claudius Templesmith, the announcer of the Hunger Games, announces that there can only be one winner instead of two, which was the previous rule. However, Katniss and Peeta do not follow it because their love towards each other is stronger than their desire to win and bring back goods for the district.

            The Hunger Games is truly a well-written story, and I enjoyed it more than I thought I would. I am usually into chick flick books, and to be honest, I did not know if I would be interested enough to finish the book; all I heard was that it is amazing. After finishing the novel, I understood why it was so popular, and it made me want to read the second and third book. I think all people can enjoy this novel, and I recommend watching the movie as well.

The Lucky One by Nicholas Sparks

               The novel, The Lucky One, by Nicholas Sparks is a romantic yet suspenseful book that keeps the readers’ attention throughout the story. The main character is Logan Thibault, who is a U.S. marine, and he journeys across the country to find the woman in a photograph he found during his duty in Iraq. He feels the need to owe her something because when he carried around the picture, series of lucky events occurred like saving his life. Soon, he realizes that it is a lucky charm, and this realization leads to the search for the woman.

         There are many memorable scenes throughout the novel. One of them is the miraculous moment when Thibault finally comes across Beth, the woman in the picture. The photograph is his only reference, but luckily, he is able to find her based on the clues in the picture. This scene is obviously a significant part of the book because the encounter is the start of Thibault and Beth’s relationship.

            Another unforgettable moment is when Thibault’s secret about the photograph is revealed, leading to severe consequences. The news threatens to tear Thibault and Beth apart, causing Ben, Beth’s young son, to run away into the storm. When everyone goes after him, he/she finds him “grasping the fraying edge of the rope bridge” (375) in the massive flood. Clayton, Beth’s selfish ex-husband, jumps in and tries to save Ben’s life. Sparks describes Clayton’s situation, “His broken ribs exploded in pain, making everything go black for an instant. In panic, he reached for the rope with the other hand, fighting against the current” (376). Throughout the novel, only Clayton’s negative side has been shown, but this action shows that he is really caring deep down inside and desperate to save his son's life. It may have been the first time he is being selfless because he used to have an egoistic desire about his son being into sports although Ben is only interested in chess and violin, causing Clayton to treat him harshly. He has even given Ben a black eye with a baseball while playing catch. Clayton may have been tough on his son, but the rescue also proves that part of him still cares about Ben even though he is not how Clayton wanted him to be like.  

            After completing the novel, I personally enjoyed reading it; I could not put it down because the plot and the way Sparks wrote made me want to read more and find out what happens next. The author did a nice job on not boring the readers until the end and keeping them informed by writing from different perspectives of the characters in each chapter. I recommend this book to those who like romantic stories with a little bit of suspense in them and of course, to those who are Nicholas Sparks fans!