I join the millions of  readers who are fans of author Jeannette Walls.  Amazingly, her memoir The Glass Castle , first published in 2005 remains on the New York Times Best Seller List  eight years after its initial publication!  Walls also authored best selling Half Broke Horses, a memoir of  her grandmother Lily Casey Smith.

Her new book, The Silver Star, will likely not reach the status of either The Glass Castle or Half Broke Horses but it certainly qualifies as a good read, easily accomplished in two or three sittings.

In some ways, similar to The Glass Castle, Walls  weaves a story of a dysfunctional mother, acting more like a sibling as opposed to an adult role model. The main characters, two sisters  ages 12 and 15 are essentially left on their own as their mother pursues a constant parade of  greener pastures and  purported life changing opportunities.  When mom is present, the lifestyle is  at best nomadic and always chaotic.

The silver lining in this story comes at the hands of a distant uncle who despite his “old fashion” views creates a safety net for the girls and brings a sense of stability for the first time in their lives.  The book’s title Silver Star beckons the discovery of an unanswered question.

While The Silver Star is not a memoir, Jeannette Walls fills these pages with her life experience of making the best of an imperfect world.