mandler_'s review against another edition
4.0
I loved how even though there were many hardships in this family's life, there were also times of happiness and joy. I loved that the kids stuck together against the hardships of life and their parents.
yalderly's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
inspiring
reflective
tense
fast-paced
5.0
ebyle's review against another edition
4.0
Originally, I had this book on my TBR but then it was assigned for school. I immediately lost most of my interest. However, this book was easy and enjoyable to read. Walls did a great job with telling her story and never allowing the reader to settle on distinct emotions for each member of her family. It was amazing to read about the trials she endured during her childhood. It was captivating to watch Walls’ rags to riches story and see her complicated relationship with her parents.
afutt92's review against another edition
3.0
Ok, so I think I’ve figured something out… I don’t like “tragedy porn memoirs.” I know a lot of people love them, as would be evidenced by the high reviews these always inevitably get. I thought it about Hillbilly Elegy, I thought it about Educated, I thought it about The Glass Castle. These books almost always take the exact same structure: here’s my poor, dysfunctional, extremely messed up family. Here’s how terrible my childhood was. Think things can’t get worse? Well they just did! Think things can’t get worse after that? Think again, because here comes another massive tragedy dump? There’s also a checklist of traumatic events that the protagonist has inevitably been through: poverty, abuse (physical, sexual, emotional, usually all 3), a parent experiencing alcoholism or drug addiction. After a horrifically awful childhood and young adulthood often marred by addictions of their own, the protagonist pulls themselves up by their bootstraps, manages to somehow get into an Ivy League school despite little formal education, and becomes successful. I think my dislike of this type of memoir is that I’ve worked with families in similar situations and this type of thing almost NEVER happens. You’d like to think it does, but it doesn’t. Instead it’s just a vicious cycle of continued poverty, addiction, and trauma, generation after generation.
I did think it was well-written, and I noticed the massive shift in tone between childhood Jeanette, who idolized her parents (particularly her father) and wasn’t really aware of how terrible things were, to older Jeanette starting to see her parents for who and what they were, and becoming angry at their failures and the reality of her life, and desperate trying to claw herself out of that life.
I did think it was well-written, and I noticed the massive shift in tone between childhood Jeanette, who idolized her parents (particularly her father) and wasn’t really aware of how terrible things were, to older Jeanette starting to see her parents for who and what they were, and becoming angry at their failures and the reality of her life, and desperate trying to claw herself out of that life.
lphok's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
fast-paced
4.0
leavingsealevel's review against another edition
1.0
I flipped through this at the bookstore and didn't really like it, so I don't know why I checked it out to read... I still didn't like it much - I just wanted to know what happened to Walls and her family, but didn't enjoy reading it. And so I didn't so much end up "reading" it as just skimming it and reading the end.
seahomie's review against another edition
A lot of the childhood stories are told with the benefit of hindsight. Not as immersive as it could be if she stuck more to her perspective as a child. And it doesn't feel as honest.
Doesn't trust the audience. She has to constantly point out or give examples about how her father and her family are actually very clever and capable. Almost as if she feels to need to distinguish them from other poor people. We don't need to know about ability to make us care about the characters. Just make us care.
Specifically the story about doing her homework in binary annoyed me. Okay whatever, but then she talks about recopying it into Arabic numbers to turn in to her teacher. Which made me scream internally. Because if you are going to try to impress us about your math skills, at least get the terminology correct.
Doesn't trust the audience. She has to constantly point out or give examples about how her father and her family are actually very clever and capable. Almost as if she feels to need to distinguish them from other poor people. We don't need to know about ability to make us care about the characters. Just make us care.
Specifically the story about doing her homework in binary annoyed me. Okay whatever, but then she talks about recopying it into Arabic numbers to turn in to her teacher. Which made me scream internally. Because if you are going to try to impress us about your math skills, at least get the terminology correct.