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nooweljayy's review against another edition
4.0
if there was one story i would choose to be the best one about the importance of family (especially with the mature subject matter), it would be this one.
Jeannette and her family - from beginning to end - were truly worth rooting for, as a well-realized brave journey of perseverance. the balance between beautiful nostalgia and shocking sadness, its emotional peaks hitting in the right tones, and how the motives (mainly regarding the parents and realizing the impact of their ways of familial life) string together were all intriguing (not to mention, the writing style reminds me of [b:To Kill a Mockingbird|2657|To Kill a Mockingbird|Harper Lee|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1553383690l/2657._SY75_.jpg|3275794] for some reason, hehe).
i do really wish, though, that Jeannette dove further into her own emotions as a result of the things and influences that occurred in her life. and, having this as the first actual memoir i've read, some parts were a tad bit of a drag to be considered a page-turner for me, due to how those parts felt just like "memory dumps" (but i have to respect that's the nature of memoirs).
all in all, this was personally a really good first gateway memoir to check out. :)
Jeannette and her family - from beginning to end - were truly worth rooting for, as a well-realized brave journey of perseverance. the balance between beautiful nostalgia and shocking sadness, its emotional peaks hitting in the right tones, and how the motives (mainly regarding the parents and realizing the impact of their ways of familial life) string together were all intriguing (not to mention, the writing style reminds me of [b:To Kill a Mockingbird|2657|To Kill a Mockingbird|Harper Lee|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1553383690l/2657._SY75_.jpg|3275794] for some reason, hehe).
i do really wish, though, that Jeannette dove further into her own emotions as a result of the things and influences that occurred in her life. and, having this as the first actual memoir i've read, some parts were a tad bit of a drag to be considered a page-turner for me, due to how those parts felt just like "memory dumps" (but i have to respect that's the nature of memoirs).
all in all, this was personally a really good first gateway memoir to check out. :)
emjomcd's review against another edition
4.0
I've been reading this book on and off since March of 2015. It took WAY TOO LONG, I know. I finally finished it about a week ago and I closed the book feeling kind of heartbroken. Very sad the way the book ended but it was a really good read. Must read!
emmaboldi's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
fast-paced
5.0
arifairy's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
4.5
some people should really never be parents.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual violence, Racial slurs, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Racism, and Child abuse
kibird's review against another edition
5.0
i loved this book. so sad when it ended, but definitely felt my life was bigger after reading it. as my sister would say, jeannette walls is a "generous" writer.
lindakane's review against another edition
5.0
This memoir is a must read! I love the way that Jeanette presented her story without anger towards her parents or the events that shaped her past. I certainly felt anger towards them while reading some of the horrible things that the Walls kids endured because of their neglect and selfishness, but the fact that she was able to present what happened without much judgement made this read so differently than if she had written it with bitterness (which would have been completely understandable). She still loved and trusted her parents as a child, but as she grew older she began to understand that they couldn’t be relied on and would never change. It was up to her and her siblings to do what needed to be done and to build a life for themselves. It was sad to think about how many people can probably relate to at least some aspects of Jeanette’s life, but equally inspiring to see how much she overcame to get to where she is now.
Another thing that really stood out to me that is so different from many stories of living in poverty/homelessness is that her mother HAD resources. She had the house in Phoenix that she owned outright and the million dollars worth of land in Texas. Yet, she chose homelessness (and a very rough childhood for her kids) over selling the land or staying put in the Phoenix home and taking care of it. You never really think about someone being in a situation like that because they chose to be, but to find out that so much of the kids’ suffering could have been avoided had Rose Mary used the resources she inherited was so frustrating.
Another thing that really stood out to me that is so different from many stories of living in poverty/homelessness is that her mother HAD resources. She had the house in Phoenix that she owned outright and the million dollars worth of land in Texas. Yet, she chose homelessness (and a very rough childhood for her kids) over selling the land or staying put in the Phoenix home and taking care of it. You never really think about someone being in a situation like that because they chose to be, but to find out that so much of the kids’ suffering could have been avoided had Rose Mary used the resources she inherited was so frustrating.
djcooks's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
4.5