Reviews

Half Broke Horses: A True-Life Novel by Jeannette Walls

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tamracielle's review

3.0

This book was just okay, in my opinion. I had high hopes for it as I've heard good things about The Glass Castle (which I have not yet read). The narrator seems like an admirable character at first, but as time goes on, we see her fired from every teaching job she has held, and her treatment of her children is negligent at best and sometimes abusive. Though I imagine the standards for negligence and abuse were different 100 years ago. It seemed disjointed, like a series of anecdotes strung together. I still plan to read The Glass Castle.

suicunejpg's review

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5.0

5 stars 270 pages a captivating and riveting retelling of the author’s grandmother’s life which was -holy shit- absolutely insane. this woman had tenacity, adaptability, endurance, intelligence, know-how, drive, cleverness, courage, and skill set of twenty five men put together. a force to be reckoned with in the american west in the 1900s that built her life from nothing as she goes from running an entire ranch herself as a literal child and saving her siblings from a flash flood to becoming a teacher, rancher, college graduate, mother, driver, airplane flier, politician, and MORE moving from one place to the next and always figuring out how to not only survive but thrive despite all the odds being against her. a trailblazer in an era where life was particularly hard, but even more challenging for women, especially strong willed ones like lily that knew what she wanted and didn’t care who tried to get in her way. although i don’t agree with Everything she thought and did, she is seriously an inspiration and her story was retold with a powerful and frank voice that made it feel like i was sitting right next to her. i flew through this novel and was absolutely engrossed the entire time. highly highly recommend if you like historical fiction/nonfiction, particularly stories of ranching and the transition from the traditions of the old west to the new era of industrialization

wendythegeekgoddess's review

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4.0

It's hard to write a review on books that are more or less memoirs but I'm gonna try. This book isn't necessarily a memoir or even a biography. It is the story of Lilly Casey Smith, Jeanette Walls grandmother but since she passed away while Jeanette was still young, she got most of her information from stories told by family and had to fill in the blanks on certain areas. The book was interesting and although sometimes it lacked consistency with some of the characters who suddenly disappeared out of nowhere it was really good. Lilly's childhood reminded me of The Laura Ingalls Wilder books and it makes you realize how short life is and it made me think of the meaning of it. I loved Lilly Casey Smith and I thought she was an amazing mother and a wonderful role model. I've taken a few parenting tips and she also has inspired me to enjoy life and to be brave in every situation. Jeanette did an amazing job at bringing her grandmother to life and although she only had bits and pieces of her story, it all came together strong and amazing. Not as good as The Glass Castle but certainly worth checking out. Also, if you haven't read the glass castle yet I definitely recommend reading it AFTER reading half broke horses, I wish I had, it would have gone together beautifully watching a long amazing story of generations unfold.

mcnallyswife's review

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funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

piercinq's review

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5.0

Jeannette Walls never misses! This book is incredible! A must read.

cats_22's review

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adventurous informative reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

stephaniesteen73's review

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4.0

Really liked this book, which is a fictional portrayal of the author's grandmother. Lily Casey Smith was quite a woman - feisty, hard-working, no-nonsense and a feminist ahead of her time. She's a woman I'd much rather my daughters emulate than a Disney princess. It makes me want to write a book about my own grandmother, who shared many of the same traits as Lily. I wish I'd read this book before reading The Glass Castle - it's hard to reconcile the sweet little girl of this book with the disinterested mother in that book but the early warning signs are there. I did feel that this book ended abruptly and sort of artificially, which was my only criticism.