Being in a middle class family, living in America, I have never really experienced poverty. I have never had to dig through discarded lunches at school just so I could eat. I never had to sleep in a cardboard box. I have never had to live in out of a car.

The Glass Castle is about the author, Jeannette Walls’ childhood and her family’s struggle through poverty. Their parents seem irresponsible and clueless. The Father Rex is a drunk who cannot hold down a job, constantly moves the family, and their mother Rosemary is an artist who seems to ignore their family’s obvious issues. While reading this story I was blown away by the parents. Their actions in the story make it seems impossible for the kids to get away and actually make something of themselves. Despite their parenting flaws, Rex and Rosemary teach their four children invaluable lessons, like how to be independent and, use their resources to the fullest extent and to learn as much as they can about the world they live. I think it’s these lessons combined with their resilience and intelligence, that despite the setbacks of their underprivileged lives that allowed the Walls children to escape to New York and become successful. The Glass Castle is a true rags to riches story.
The Glass Castle is for anyone who wants to see a firsthand account on how hard poverty can be on people, but also like a happy ending. Jeannette Walls expertly turns her painful childhood into a book that depicts poverty from the understanding and point of view as a child, a teenager and an adult. Anyone who wants a better understanding on how poverty can affect people should read this book, especially since right now unemployment is high, and even today this story is a reality for some people.

Personally, I thought this book was ok. I generally like the whole thing, but I constantly found myself very angry at the Parents. Their skewed image of everything really annoying and make you just think “what!” It also irritated me that the mother did absolutely nothing to help her family out. The few teaching jobs she did have, her children had force her to go to work every day and plan her lessons. The Father was very manipulative, and would never accept any help. I did enjoy most parts book though and think this a book everyone should read, because it helps you understand just how poverty can be.