The Silver Star

The Silver Star (2013) by Jeannette Walls. Walls, author of the memoir The Glass Castle, has here written a fictional tale that holds echoes of the earlier book. In this case, two young girls are separated from their neglectful mother when she leaves them to try and further her career and is late coming back. The two girls decide to take a cross-country bus trip to visit their relatives in Virginia, and the results are very interesting to read. Bean, 12, and Liz, 15, settle in with their Uncle Tinsley, who is at first not glad to see them but later warms to them. He tells them not to seek jobs in town, but they are desperate for cash and get hired by Jerry Maddox, foreman of the mill in town and a notorious bully. Maddox gets fresh with Bean and Liz, and when he tries to have sex with Liz, she goes to the authorities. The ensuing trial and its results form the nut of the book, and then it kind of loses focus after that. But it is always an engaging read, and I definitely recommend it to fans of The Glass Castle. Grade: B+