The Glass Castle

My friend Megan recommended this book and am I ever glad I picked up a copy. This was the best book by far that I read this summer. It's Jeannette Walls' memoir of her childhood (she's a contributor on MSNBC) and I couldn't put it down. The book basically starts when Jeannette's 3 and badly burns herself while cooking herself hot dogs, and from there it follows the dysfunctional Walls family as they try to survive. Her father's an alcoholic and her mother suffers from mental illness, and the children, for the most part, had to look out for themselves and one another. It's an astonishing, touching, and tragic story, and ultimately, it's about redemption. I highly recommend this book, and if you read it, you'll be glad you did.