The Glass Castle

What it's about

Jeannette Walls grew up moving from one desert town to another with her brilliant, charming, alcoholic father, who promised to build the family a solar-powered glass castle, and her free-spirited artist mother, who refused to take care of anyone. When the money ran out, the family landed in a falling-down house in a West Virginia mining town, and the children had to raise themselves, until one by one they escaped to New York.

Why it's worth reading

It's an astonishing story told without self-pity, full of love for parents who failed her again and again, and it's one of the most beloved memoirs of the century. You'll be appalled and moved in the same chapter.

You'll love it if you liked

Educated, Angela's Ashes or I'm Glad My Mom Died

Good to know

There's child neglect, hunger and abuse throughout, told matter-of-factly. It's a quick, gripping read.