The Glass Castle

The Glass Castle in my opinion was a great book. The entire time I read it, I thought "Wow, they really lived like this?". It made me feel bad for her family, though toward the end I was happy that all the kids turned out great. I think it really taught them all to cherish life more then most kids. Their experiences in Welch really kept me hoping they would just move out of there. The uncle and grandma trying to do things to Jeannette and Brian were just horrible. They are people that, in most kid's lives, that they should feel they can turn to and trust to be there for them. In this case they didn't want to be in the same room alone with them. It kind of made me mad reading about those incidents and knowing nothing got done about it. I couldn't believe that her mom would just say "poor Stanley". The house they lived in started getting a coating of mold growing throughout it and Brian had to put a tarp over himself on the nights it rained because the roof over his bed had collapsed. I couldn't even imagine having to do that. After reading it you realize that Rex and Rose Mary loved their kids as much or more then most parents love their children. They certainly had a weird way of showing it, but they too weren't raised in the greatest of ways and I think a lot of what they did really reflected that. The kids went through more then most kids will ever have to. I would strongly recommend that every child or teenager read this book. At least for me, I think it gives me a whole different outlook on life and in a positive way. There was a lot in this book that I could really relate to, and through everything that my family has been through, a lot of people are astonished because they say they have never seen a family as close as my parents and us five kids. I think the Walls family was the same way. This book really reflects on why you should never give up on someone, no matter what they are going through. I think more people need to realize that everything in life happens for a reason. Everything and everyone is put in our lives for a reason. This book is a prime example of that.  Jeannette said in the beginning of the book "everyone who is interesting has a past". That phrase carried with me through the entire book. I love it!