The silver star

by Jeannette Walls

Large Print, 2013

Publication

Waterville, Maine : Thorndike Press, 2013.

Collection

Eiland Center

Call number

LARGE PRINT FICTION W

Physical description

395 p.; 23 cm

Status

Available

Call number

LARGE PRINT FICTION W

Description

Two motherless sisters--Bean and Liz--are shuttled to Virginia, where their Uncle Tinsley lives in the decaying mansion that's been in their family for generations. When school starts in the fall, Bean easily adjusts and makes friends, and Liz becomes increasingly withdrawn. Then something happens to Liz and Bean is left to challenge the injustice of the adult world.

Subjects

Self-actualization (Psychology) in adolescence Fiction

Sisters Fiction

large type books

Genres

General Fiction

All Topics

Fiction

User reviews

LibraryThing member TheLostEntwife

Jeannette Walls is, for me, one of those authors who writes such quiet, powerful stories that I always have to mentally steel myself by before picking up her newest books. It was no different with The Silver Star. I thought I was prepared, I really did, but then... as Walls has done in her previous

books, I was completely undone by Liz and Bean's story.

From the beginning I was hooked, the story of Liz and Bean and the neglect of their mother and those frozen pot pies - I could taste them as they were eaten time and time again. Each twist and turn that lead to the movement of the girls to their uncle's house and the unfolding story there had me completely hooked.

There are times when I pick up a book described like this one and wonder what I'll be getting. I knew from past experience that Walls wouldn't disappoint, but what I didn't know was that this book would stick with me long after I finished reading it. It's been over two weeks and still I remember and think about certain details and twists that were in the story and I consider them for what lessons they can teach me about my own life.

I highly recommend this read if you are in the mood for a pensive, melancholy story.

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LibraryThing member nightprose

This is the novel of two sisters, 15 year old Liz and 12 year old Bean. They are trying to grow up in spite of their immature, irresponsible mother Charlotte. Though she tries to keep her daughters together she is often absent, leaving them to raise themselves.

When she yet again takes off to

“find herself”, the sisters head for the hometown of their mother, looking for help and answers. It is there that they actually find both, with the help of their mother’s brother.

Childless and widowed, Uncle Tinsley gives the girls the love and stability that they have never had. It is also here that the girls learn the truth of their past, as well as their mother’s past, and develop family ties.

However, in spite of the positive lifestyle that Uncle Tinsley provides, there are dark issues that the girls are confronted with. They have grown up too fast, and consequently learned to keep secrets. When truths come out, the darkness and secrets must be dealt with.

Jeannette Walls has again written a very emotional book of real situations, life lessons, and characters that you will love and cheer for. The story is very moving, filled with love, redemption, and unexpected heroes.

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LibraryThing member Twink

Oh, I have to say right up front that I loved Jeanette Walls's latest book The Silver Star. Walls is a consummate raconteur, as evidenced by her best selling memoirs The Glass Castle and Half Broke Horses.

Although The Silver Star is fiction, I could see pieces that may have been gleaned from

Walls' past as well.

1970. California. Twelve year old Bean Holladay and her fifteen year old sister Liz are used to their mother Charlotte leaving them on them on their own for a few days. She always stocks up on chicken pot pies - enough to last them 'til she returns. But this time is different - she leaves them with money to last a month - or two if they're careful. When the money runs out and she still hasn't returned, the girls decide to make their way to their mother's hometown - to a place they don't know and to relatives they've never met.

I fell in love with Bean right from the get go. Her curiosity, her forthrightness, her loyalty to those she loves, her devotion to her sister Liz and her resilience all endeared her to me. To Kill a Mockingbird is referenced in the book and Scout was brought to mind when I thought of Bean. Liz is just as well drawn, but on a quieter scale. She's the one who ensures they go to school, that they have meals together, that protects Bean from realizing their plight is more desperate than she lets on.

I had been racing through the book, I was so caught up in the girls' story. But, their arrival in Virginia had me putting the book down and stepping away. I just knew 'something' was going to happen and I wasn't sure if I wanted to know what that was yet, although I had a pretty good idea.

I waited a few days and picked up the book again, when I knew I had time to read right through to the end. (Although I must admit - I had to sneak a peek a few chapters ahead, then go back) And yes, something does happen and it shapes and redefines Liz and Bean's lives as well as those of their new found family. Childhood is left behind in this coming of age story. But much is gained as well....

There isn't a problem distinguishing who is 'bad' and who is 'good' in this book. The extended family that Liz and Bean find are wonderfully warm and eccentric. While I was thinking good and bad, I sat and thought about Charlotte. I'm not sure she can be defined as one or the other. My opinion on her sits firmly in the middle. I'm curious as to what others thought about her.

Walls touches on many familiar issues and themes in The Silver Star - mental illness, dysfunctional relationships, racial integration, bullying, poverty and so much more. And has woven them into yet another riveting read.

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LibraryThing member erinclark

Jeannette Walls just has a wonderful way of story telling. Her voice is so fresh and pleasing even when she writes about difficult subject matter. I raced through this boook and had a hard time putting it down. Highly recommended.

LibraryThing member khiemstra631

Author of The Glass House, Jeannette Wells here reprises that tale in a fictional setting. This time around she gives us two daughters and their flighty, somewhat crazy mother. The mother basically abandons the girls in a small California town while she goes off to pursue a career as a musician.

After the towns people start getting suspicious, the girls take their remaining money and buy two bus tickets to the small Virginia town of Byler where their uncle Tinsley lives in the falling-down ancestral home that belonged to their mother's parents. After a rocky start when he makes them sleep in a barn, they pretty much take to each other and start building new lives. Money is tight, and the girls look for work. The sleazy Mr. Maddox hires them, and the reader pretty well knows that trouble is on the way. The younger girl, Bean, is a great lead character and makes the story a joy to read. I thoroughly enjoyed the book and look forward to more works from Wells.

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LibraryThing member CheryleFisher

Another book I did not want to see end. I read a quote recently that says "You know you've read a good book when you turn the last page and feel a little as if you have lost a friend" by Paul Sweeney. This is how I felt with this excellent book.

LibraryThing member Lindsay_W

As parents, we are supposed to give our children roots and wings. The mother in this story takes the wings for herself, and leaves her two daughters to establish roots on their own. There are certainly familiar characters and themes from Walls’ Glass Castle memoir, likely because she used her own

life experiences for inspiration in this work of fiction. The difference for me though, was that the tone of The Silver Star felt much more hopeful than The Glass Castle. The emu’s homecoming at the end of the book beautifully exemplified a number of the themes in the story; the importance of having roots and a sense of place; the challenge of taming and caring for something without holding on to it; and the liberating effect of knowing when it is time to give up the fight, heal, and move on with your life.

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LibraryThing member TFS93

This was not as good as Half Broke Horses, but worth a read none the less. Bean is such an interesting character. You will be amazed at her bravery and maturity, for the ripe old age of 12. I wasn't impressed with the ending, and I would have liked to know more about Uncle Tinsley and the girls

mother. I would certainly read the next book by Walls, but this is not as good as her previous efforts.

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LibraryThing member akrae

This book is very similar to her previous books, but it's different enough and very engaging. You fall in love with the characters! I recommend!

LibraryThing member smartchiksread

loved this book. But then, I knew I would. I loved The Glass Castle. After reading the description, I couldn't wait to read this book, It didn't disappoint. Liz and Bean are two sisters basically left to raise themselves. Their mother, a spoiled, self-absorbed brat in an adult body deals with life

by simply running away from all difficulty. After she abandons them for yet another attempt at furthering her musical career, they take a bus to her family farm in West Virginia. It is here that they finally find roots, family, and a home. Bean captures the heart with her headstrong, forthright ways. This was a heart warming story. I read it in two days because I couldn't bear to put it down. This is a wonderful book. I highly recommend it.

Read this book if:
*you love southern fiction
*you love novels set in Appalachia
*you love novels set in small towns
*you love novels about family

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LibraryThing member holloar

I liked this book, but not as much as her first two. I would recommend it though.

LibraryThing member LissaJ

I read this enjoyable book fairly quickly and enjoyed the story of two sisters who move to a small town in the South. Bean and Liz have a troubled mother who abandons them in order to pursue an acting career. The sisters travel by themselves to Virginia to live with an uncle they have never met.

Over the course of the novel, they deal with many facets of being outsiders in a small, Southern town in the early 70's (that is my guess of the time period, I am not sure it was ever mentioned).

I liked this book and the characters but it really seemed as if it was written for a young adult audience and I don't think it was marketed that way. The narrator is a thirteen year old girl and the writing is very simple and straightforward. Overall, it was a good book but a little disappointing considering the author's other works. (less)

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LibraryThing member richard.thurman

Jeannette Walls, author of the fantastic memoir The Glass Castle, believes in the old saw that an author should write what she knows. Just as The Glass Castle told of Walls' unconventional childhood (to put it charitably), her new novel The Silver Star tells of two sisters essentially raising each

other. Bean, who is 12, and Liz, 15, are left on their own for a few weeks, when their Mom, Charlotte goes off to find herself. Fearful that the authorities are about to discover their situation, and that the discovery could lead to them being split up, Bean and Liz take a bus cross-country to drop in on their only known relative, Uncle Tinsley. The book is set in 1970, and contains themes of racial tension, class inequities, and abuse of power. The Silver Star reads a little like a young adult book, but I couldn't help but love Bean, the optimist, and her brilliant sister Liz. I'm glad I read The Silver Star, and I recommend it.

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LibraryThing member baystateRA

Writing a novel rather than a memoir, the author has more freedom to embellish, change events around, and add an entire plot line to build the story on. But knowing the author’s background from The Glass Castle, I felt like I was constantly filling in blanks when imagining the characters of Bean,

Liz, and Charlotte. It’s hard for me to decide how successfully the author has made the transition to novelist because of that. I don’t know how well this novel would have done if it had been published first, as a work of fiction. I highly recommend the audiobook edition. I think the author’s narration helped a lot to sell me on the story and the characters as seen through the eyes of Bean.
The Silver Star will be a good choice for many book clubs because of its themes of family dysfunction, coming of age, and socioeconomic inequality. Also because (despite the disappointing failings of many of the main characters) there is a clear villain of the story (Jerry Maddox, evil mill foreman) and a true heroine (Bean herself.)

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LibraryThing member shazjhb

Good book. Difficult to pick out the time period - late 60's and then maybe early 60's.

LibraryThing member bearette24

I really enjoyed this book. It was about 2 sisters with an unreliable mother. They end up in 1970s rural Virginia. It was an interesting portrayal of a part of the country I am not very familiar with. The characters of the sisters were very compelling. It also had faint echoes of To Kill a

Mockingbird.

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LibraryThing member 68papyrus

After reading Jeannette Walls' memoir the Glass Castle I was excited to read her novel, The Silver Star. Walls' novel details the story of sisters, Bean and Liz and their flaky and sometimes neglectful mother, Charlotte. When Charlotte takes off to "find herself" and the girls find the cops at

their door they head east to Byler, Virginia which is their mother's hometown. The girls settle in and feel at home until a violent incident breaks their world apart and they are forced to take a stand. I felt the book was just okay. The characters were one dimensional and the writing seemed choppy and repetitive at times. I thought the premise of the book was interesting but unfortunately the execution fell flat. 2 stars

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LibraryThing member bami210

I didn't like it as well as Half Broke Horse and The Glass Castle, both of which I loved!!, It was in the same vein though-- dysfunctional family members. Also, I wasn't crazy about the ending, however, maybe it left me hanging so there can be a sequel??

LibraryThing member Kimaoverstreet

Teenage narrator Jean "Bean" Holladay and her sister Liz are being raised by an unstable single mother in California in 1970. When their mother leaves them alone for too long and authorities start to nose around, the girls flee to their ancestral family seat in Virginia. There the spunky sisters

encounter a set of quirky characters and some pretty daunting challenges.

I can't pinpoint exactly what it is about Walls' writing style that I like so much. It is easy to read, evokes wonderful mental images, and offers insights that seem quite profound (The sort you read and think the author must have seen inside your brain to be able to put your thoughts down so elegantly on paper). I finished the novel in two sittings. I would agree with other reviewers that The Silver Star isn't as exceptional as The Glass Castle, but it is a very good book. Recommended for fans of Jeanette Walls (of course)and for readers who enjoy coming of age stories and Southern fiction with spirited female protagonists.

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LibraryThing member reb922

When their less than stable mother leaves them home alone for an extended period of time Bean and Liz decided to go visit their uncle across the country. Similar in tone and style and to an extent subject matter to her previous true life novel Half Broke Horses this is a quick and enjoyable read. I

liked the Bean who narrated this novel and most of the other characters as well. My main complaint was that it seemed to end a little too quickly and abruptly. Aside from this those who are already fans of Walls writing will enjoy The Silver Star.

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LibraryThing member Beamis12

If ever an author is able to write a wonderfully poignant novel about two young girls and an unstable mother, Wallis is the one. She has a such a fluent way of storytelling and a compassionate treatment of her characters. Bean is twelve, her sister fifteen and though it is usually her older sister

who takes care of her, circumstances will later dictate that it is Bean who will become the fighter. Bean has a big mouth, she believe in justice and she does not believe in letting things go. She reminds me so much of myself at that age. Unfortunately for many of us family or life circumstances make one grow up much faster than their chronological age can show. Bean is our narrator and I do not believe she is an unreliable one. Although they grew up faster as far as responsibility, the girls are still naive in many things to do with the world.

Family, and family loyalty are also themes. The pros and cons of living in a small town. Segregation and the repercussions of schools being forced to segregate. I also liked the almost tender way Wallis treats the mental illness of their mother, who does manage to hold it together long enough when her daughter really needed her. Bean wormed her way into my heart, just as a young Jeanette did in her memoir, "Glass Castle." She understands young girls and I hope she writes many more stories such a this one. She really gets it. ARC from Publisher.

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LibraryThing member jmchshannon

Jeannette Walls is back with another story utilizing her background with abusive adults. In The Silver Star, Liz and Bean Holladay find themselves at the mercy of their loving but whimsical mother. After a longer-than-normal absence by their mother, the girls find it prudent to decamp to their

uncle’s house across the country in bucolic Virginia. As they settle into this new lifestyle, so very different from the gypsy existence with their mother, they learn more about their family and about themselves. Unfortunately, their well-meaning attempt to earn some spending money has tragic consequences that forces the girls to grow up in ways they never had to do before with their flighty mother.

While the tragedy that befalls Liz is heartbreaking, it is Bean who is the true heart of the novel. For being twelve years old, she has a surprisingly strong sense of self that protects her when things in Virginia gets tough. She also has an immensely well-defined moral code that allows her to see through any situation and recognize it for what it is. While she remains one of the most pleasant girls in the novel, her total embrace of her extended family is an agonizing reminder that for all her optimism, she is still a little girl desperately seeking stability and love. She both amuses and engenders a mothering instinct as her entire attitude is refreshingly innocent in spite of everything she experiences.

There are no major surprises in The Silver Star. Everything that befalls Liz is obvious from the moment Jerry Maddox enters the scene. That does not prevent the story from providing chills and other roiling emotions. Even more upsetting is the suggestion that although the novel is set in the 1970s, things have not changed enough in the legal system and in a small-town Southern mentality to make this a truly historical novel.

Ms. Walls successfully captures the fear, the apathy, and the unwillingness to get involved that usually occur in such situations, and a reader cannot help but feel indignant at such behavior or lack thereof. Even though the entire story is somewhat timeworn, the message remains important, and a reader’s reactions even more so. Bean’s charm softens the repetitiveness and unoriginality of the story, as she ambles through life making friends, loving family, and listening to her moral compass. We all need to learn some lessons from Miss Bean Holladay.

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LibraryThing member Romonko

This is another coming-of-age book and I did hold high hopes for it. It fell short somehow. Maybe becaue this type of book has been done so well before, and this one just fell short. I am a huge fan of Martha Grimes' Emma Graham series and wish there were more books about darling Emma. I also love

the Flavia de Luce series by Alan Bradley. There are lots of others in this genre that are memorable. But in this noteworthy group, I'm sorry, Ms. Walls just didn't quite measure up. With the exception of wonderful, precocious twelve-year-old Bean (Jean) Holladay and her eccentric Uncle Tinsely, I found that the rest of the characters were flat and and typecast. Bean's 15 year old sister Liz shows some promise, but she kind of disappears about 1/4 of the way through the book. And Bean's mom Charlotte, well the less said about this flighty superficial character, the better. The book is set in Virginia in the spring and summer of 1970. Liz and Bean have found their way to their Mom's family home in Virgina after their gaddabout mother has left them alone in their home in California for weeks. There they meet their mother's brother Uncle Tinsley who sees the girls' plight and takes them in while they wait for their mother to make a reappearance. The story is about Liz and Bean's efforts to make a home for themselves with a kindly uncle. They take jobs with a local bigwig and a whole series of occurences arise from this that forever changes the two girls. This book is OK, but I just didn't find that it really went anywhere, and I didnt' care enough about the characters, with the exception of Bean, to really want to read what happened to them.

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LibraryThing member jo-jo

This is not my first experience with Walls' work, as I read both The Glass Castle and Half-Broke Horses and loved both of these non-fiction works. I wasn't sure how her fictional story would go with me, but I had positive thoughts knowing that Walls narrated the story herself. Any previous books I

listened to narrated by the author I just loved! Unfortunately, this wasn't the case with The Silver Star.

If you have read Walls previous books it is obvious she comes from a highly dysfunctional family. She draws on her personal experiences once again to create Bean and Liz's story. Although Bean is our main character, I felt the story belonged as much to Liz as she is the one who faces the crisis head on.

Liz and Bean live with their single mother in California, never in one place too long. It isn't uncommon for their mother to not show up at home for long periods of time, but this time the girls are worried. Since the girls don't have jobs, they can't pay bills or buy food so they have to come up with a plan for survival. Recalling that their mother comes from Virginia and still has family there, they decide to embark on a journey across the country to stay with their family until their mother gets her life in order. So they leave a note for their mother, hoping she finds it when she returns, scrape enough money together to purchase two one-way tickets to Virginia.

The girls are surprised upon meeting their family in Virginia, to learn that her mother comes from a seemingly wealthy heritage. Since all that is left of the family fortune seems to be the original Holladay home, the girls decide to take jobs to help pay for their school clothes and personal expenses. Against their Uncle Tinsley's wishes, they gain employment with long-time family nemesis, Jerry Maddox. This decision sets a whole new set of events in motion.

I did enjoy Liz and Bean's story of perseverance. They didn't have a family life until they took control of the situation and moved to Virginia. This finally gave them the opportunity to be part of a family that takes care of each other. This novel could be an instance where I may have enjoyed it more had I actually read it rather than listening to it. I just feel that Walls could have put more emotion and passion into her narration, I mean she created the characters! With themes of family, secrets, and perseverance, you may enjoy this story more than I did. Although I didn't love listening to the book I feel that it would make an interesting book club selection.

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LibraryThing member ennie

In her memoir The Glass Castle, Walls describes her harrowing childhood of poverty and parental neglect. In this novel, physical conditions for teens Liz and Bean are a little better, but their mother is somewhat flighty and their fathers deceased. When Mom takes a break from her responsibilities,

the girls find their way to their uncle back east. Life in the mill town formerly run by the family has its ups and downs, and heroes and villains. The plot moves at a leisurely pace, but I was never bored and would love to meet these characters again.

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