Kindle Book: The Silver Star

The Silver Star

by Jeannette Walls

Length: 304 pages

Format: Kindle
Price: $9.99

How I heard about it: Lindsey

Basic Premise: When their drifter-mother leaves teenage sisters Jean and Liz Holladay on their own, the girls journey to their mother's birthplace and discover a family history that makes them wonder why their mother swore to never return.

My Take: 7 out of 10 (scale here)

This was a pretty good book. I liked that it was set in the 60s and the South. I liked the main character because 1) her first name is my daughter's middle name and 2) she had guts. I thought the villain was a bit unbelievable. I realize the 60s were a different time, but it's hard for me to believe a man like that would have gotten away with that sort of crap. There were parts of the plot I wish the author would have chased, like the integration issue. In fact, I thought that's where the book was going when it was first introduced. But just as there were things I wanted to know more about, there were facets on which I wish she wouldn't have lingered because they were, well, boring. But over all I liked the book and will recommend it to students. 

List progress:
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson
The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot
Parenting with Love & Logic by Jim Fey
Silver Star Jeannette Walls
Catcher in the Rye by JD Salinger
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck
Shepherding a Child's Heart by Tedd Tripp
Those Who Save Us by Jenna Blum
Mocking Jay by Suzanne Collins