In this memoir by Jeanette Walls, the author and her family constantly move during her childhood across the West. Both her father and mother are free-spirited souls who seem unable to completely settle in one place, partly because they were constantly accumulating debts. Her mother is an artist and her father works odd jobs to make money. Jeanette was forced to grow up fast as a child, learning to take on responsibilities such as managing money and getting food for the family. However, she still loves her parents despite their irresponsibility. Currently, the family is staying at Battle Mountain, their longest place of residence.
Throughout the story, Walls uses imagery and metaphors to vividly describe her experiences. She writes, "Brian and I loved to go to the dump. We looked for treasures among the discarded stoves and refrigerators, the broken furniture and stacks of bald tires. We chased after the desert rats that lived in the wrecked cars, or caught tadpoles and frogs in the scum-filled pond." This detailed imagery gives the memoir an almost fantastical quality, adding to the story-telling element of it. Walls recounts her life as the adventure it truly was, full of constant action. Even though her story itself is interesting, these devices make it easy to imagine her as a child, searching as all kids do for treasure, only in the middle of a small desert town while constantly on the move.
Jeanette Wall's purpose is probably to tell her story and share her unique childhood with her readers. She achieves this marvelously, partially through her undoubtedly interesting experiences but also through her vivid descriptions. This also makes her memoir suitable for all audiences because it is very readable and suspenseful. Ms. Walls is a regular contributer to MSNBC and won the 2006 American Library Association Alex Award with The Glass Castle.
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