The Silver Star by Jeannette Walls
Reviewed by Kate
Over the time it took me to finish Jeannette Walls’s newest novel, The Silver Star, I experienced that blissful craving to read the book at every possible moment. I became wrapped up in the lives of twelve-year-old Jean (called Bean) and fifteen-year-old Liz. Abandoned by their mother, the sisters make their way to the only other family they know, their Uncle Tinsley, who lives in the decaying family mansion in the small town of Byler, Virginia. The sisters have little knowledge of their family history, and in adjusting to rural life uncover truths about their past and about themselves.
One of my favorite aspects of the novel was the strong sister relationship, the heart of the story. With Bean and Liz, Walls captures the powerful bond that is unique to sisterhood. Despite their differences–Bean is scrappy and optimistic while Liz is intelligent, quirky, withdrawn–they support each other and act as a team, each receptive to the other’s strengths and weaknesses. Liz saved Bean’s life when Bean was just a baby, and when Liz gets in trouble Bean is the first to fight back. Through Bean’s concern for Liz, the novel echoes To Kill a Mockingbird, as she refuses to passively accept the victimization of her older sister by cruel peers and adults who abuse their power.
I haven’t read Walls’s work before, but I imagine she does here as she does best in her other works: weave beauty into painful, unjust situations. While she may be crafting a work of fiction, her novel clearly echoes with personal struggle and emotion, which enhances her writing and strengthens its emotional impact on the reader. I found myself feeling as the sisters must have felt; frustrated with horrible injustice, yet amazed by the support and friendship of the community. In the end, I think that the strong emotional connection that Walls establishes both among the characters and between the characters and reader are the foremost aspects of the novel that made it such a heartbreaking, yet supremely enjoyable read. I loved it, and I think you will, too.
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Jeannette Walls speaks about and signs copies of The Silver Star here at BookPeople on Tuesday, June 18 at 7pm. Tickets are required for the signing portion of the event and available only with the purchase of a copy of The Silver Star from BookPeople. Books and tickets are available in-store and via bookpeople.com. The speaking portion of the event is free and open to the public.
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