The Silver Star, by Jeannette Walls

Jeannette Walls. The Silver Star. New York: Scribner, 2013. 269 pages. ISBN 9781451661545.

In The Silver Star, two young girls are abandoned by their mother, and have to fend for themselves. Bean is 12 years old, and her sister Liz is 15. Used to being left alone for a day or two, they aren't sure what to do when their mother fails to return after two weeks. Eventually a neighbor becomes suspicious and calls the police. Seeing a policeman at their front door after school one day leads the two girls to take a bus to Virginia to visit an uncle on the family estate.

Once they're in their hometown, they begin to learn what it's like to live in a small town where everyone knows everything about you and your family. Bean learns about her father and his failed romance with her mother. They decide to get summer jobs for spending money, but the man who hires them, Jerry Maddox, turns out to be a manipulative predator. After he attacks Liz in the back seat of a taxi, the girls are faced with a choice: brush everything under the rug like it never happened, or press charges against him. Taking the latter path turns out to have many consequences, both good and bad, and both girls learn many life lessons from the experience.

Having read Ms. Walls' memoir about growing up with unstable parents, The Glass Castle, I found it hard at first to separate her true life story from this fictional account of a young girl with a similarly unstable mother. Over time, however, I was able to set aside what I know of Ms. Walls' history and focus on this fictional narrative. I enjoyed reading this book, and found the characters intriguing and believable. The only criticism that I have is that some of the plot points seem to be a little too easy or coincidental. The resolution of the Jerry Maddox problem was perhaps too simple. Nevertheless, I would recommend this book to anyone who enjoyed The Glass Castle, or who appreciates family dramas.