I didn't read Jeannette Walls' best-selling memoir "The Glass Castle," but I'm rethinking that decision after reading this book. Walls is a fantastic storyteller, and I'd like to know more about her background.
Sallie Kincaid, the daughter of Duke Kincaid, the ruler of a small county in rural Virginia, is the apple of her father's eye. Her mother, Duke's second wife, is killed when Sallie is young, and Duke quickly remarries and has a son, Eddie. When eight-year-old Sallie puts her brother Eddie's life in danger, she is sent to live with her poor maiden aunt, and there she remains for nine hard-scrabble years until the death of Eddie's mother. Duke recalls Sallie and tasks her with teaching Eddie how to be more like his hard-charging father, but Sallie, truly her father's daughter, has bigger goals in mind: she wants to help run the family's bootlegging business. Only the Kincaid lines of succession and the view of a woman's place in society hold her back.
This moving family saga set in prohibition-era Virginia captured my imagination and had me rooting for feisty Sallie Kincaid from page one. It is a fast-paced novel filled with plot twists and family secrets. Walls' writing is exceptional, and the characters are true to life. I highly recommend this book.
5 stars.
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