The Silver Star: A Novel by Jeannette Walls

Ellen was our hostess for the month of September as we met for the first time on a Saturday morning.  Although she had originally planned for us to eat outdoors, the weather was still just a bit nippy at that time of day. We enjoyed a delicious brunch indoors at her kitchen table and marveled at the size and color of the emu egg which Ellen had cleverly used as the table's centerpiece.

Synopsis:
Liz and Bean (Jean) are sisters who rely on one another to survive and thrive in a world where they have no father and their mother shirks her maternal responsibilities in order to selfishly pursue her own unrealistic dreams. In order to avoid the risk of being put in foster care, the girls escape to Virginia to live with their estranged Uncle Tinsely.  Living in the small town of Byler will bring challenges, learning opportunities, answers to familial questions, and a painful incident which will test the mettle of not only the girls but those who love them.

Comments:
This novel was Ms. Walls' first publicly printed foray into the world of fiction writing.  Having read her two best selling non-fiction novels, we immediately picked up on the strong similarities of this storyline and characters with the author's own true life experiences.  In particular, the sisters' mother was a believable character having known how Ms. Walls' own parents were portrayed in her autobiography.  Maddox's character was a bit unbelievable - just too ruthless, evil, and above the law while maintaining a position of authority in the factory.

Bean's character blossomed in their new town as she found her father's family loving and accepting of her. They filled in the gaps for her in her life story.  The awful incident which brought out the fighting spirit in Bean appeared to highlight the true fragility of Liz.  Bean had always heavily relied on Liz to direct her, but during their time in Byler, Bean became the leader and her strength and wisdom was beyond that of a typical twelve year old.

Liz found her sanity restored when she was given responsibility of two emus.  She was able to care for creatures who were as scared as she was at that time and who needed patient, loving care in order to trust humans - just like Liz.  The spoonerisms which Liz created were fascinating and entertaining.  On page 203 (Nook) she begins a long list of spoonerisms.  "Pack of lies.  Lack of pies.  Plaque of eyes, arranged by size.  Or black-eyed lies?"..."Plucked-out eyes.  Lucked-out lies.  Synthesize.  Between my thighs."..."To no surprise, to our demise."..."All the liars told their lies."..."Who denies the lies?  Who will scrutinize the lies? The size of lies? Who will pluck the liars' eyes? Who cries, who spies, who sighs, who dies?"  We were all amazed at the author's ability to creatively use words in that manner.  As fun as they were to read silently, it was even more fun to read them aloud!

Memorable Quote:
Interestingly enough, for someone whose presence was minimal in the storyline, the girls' mom had the most interesting and though provoking quotes.  Perhaps it is indicative of how much her words meant to her daughters who were deprived of typical maternal care and guidance.
"Don't be afraid of your dark places," Mom told her.  "If you can shine a light on them, you'll find treasure there." (p. 186 Nook)
"Find the magic," Mom always said.  "And if you can't find the magic," she added, "then make the magic." (p. 11 Nook)

FAB Rating: ***1/2 (3-1/2 out of 5 stars)
The story did start out in a way which captured our attention, but lost momentum and appeared to wind down instead of up.  It became predictable and then somewhat unbelievable when Maddox entered the picture.  The most unbelievable part was where the author had Bean's grandfather kill Maddox and the police not question the lame story he gave as his alibi.  Despite those negative traits, this story had enough meat to keep our attention and made for an easy read.