In the genre of memoir, a common sub-genre is that of the abuse memoir, recounting a child in which the author was abused by caretakers and how that person escaped. All of these abuse memoirs are tragic and inspiring; many are interesting and well-written too. Within the abuse memoir, there exists a sub-sub-genre, in which the abuser is remembered for the horrible things he or she did to the child, but also for the way he or she brought excitement and enthusiasm to life, how he or she had a never ending sense of adventure, and how the child's life was so much richer for having him (for it's usually a him) in her life. Reading out to these books, it's obviously that the author is still in the abuser's grasp. Jennette Wells' The Glass Castle is one of these books.
This is not to say that The Glass Castle is not a completely enthralling book. While not a YA book, this memoir will fascinate mature high school students and adults. The accounts of her parents' horrific neglect, including refusal of medical attention, almost allowing them to starve and freeze, and simple lack of affection, and how the children dealt with them are fascinating. I found it an interesting psychological study between Jeannette Wells and her older sister, in how they reacted to their parents' neglect.
Yet the main reaction I had to this book was anger. Anger at Wells' parents for their horrible treatment of their children, anger at the witnesses who ignored it and made it worse (they were callous even for the time period), and even a little anger at Wells for her lack of anger at her selfish parents. This is not a book that will leave me soon. Whether that's good or bad, I'm not yet sure.
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