A great read, thoroughly entertaining, well written, funny, heart wrenching at times, definitely worth a read. ( )

While I recommend this book, it is done so with a caveat that it deals with some heavy subjects, such as abandonment, abuse, sexual misconduct, bullying, and mental health issues.

In small town California in 1970, two sisters await their mother who once again decided to take off and leave them alone. Usually she returns in a timely manner, but not so for this most recent time. The girls are isolated and very poor. Their mother leaves enough money for them to buy some pot pies at a local grocery store.

The Holladay sisters are only twelve and fifteen. Somehow their mother believes they are old enough to consistently be left alone. Bean and her older sister live in poverty. Their mother deems herself a talented singer. She vows to find the man who will discover her, help her to be "found," and accept the daughters so they might all live a full life.

In order to live her life, mother Charlotte tells lies. Her most recent lie to her daughters is fraught with holes. Claiming a well to do man has discovered her and knows she has great talent, she writes letters that seem to be written by the mystery man. Only this time, Bean doesn't believe her. And, realizing the truth leads to great misery.

When their mother who doesn't come home after a long period of time , Liz, the older sister who can usually take care of both of them, knows the gig is up her younger sister sees police looking in the house windows, and the man who owns the grocery store has some straightforward questions that are not answered. Liz gets together enough money to enable the girls to travel to the town in Virginia where their mother's Uncle lives.

Deciding to just show up is the best way to go, Liz believes the Uncle Tinsley and his wife will take care of them, and hopefully love them enough to provide some semblance of stability.

Bean discovers the real story behind who her biological father is, as tales swirl regarding their mother and her behavior. There is no Aunt, but Uncle Tinsley is a kind older man who does the very best he can for the girls. Not wanting to be a burden, the girls decided to help by doing wash and babysitting for Jerry Maddox, a hard, difficult and nasty man who runs the town's major source of income for those who live there -- a mill.

Jerry Maddox is cruel to everyone who works for him, and anyone who comes under his radar. All to soon, Bean's older sister has a major personality shift. Usually the strong one, the one who always finds a way for them to survive is depressed and very withdrawn. Something has occurred to Liz, and it has to do with Jerry.

There are some shining moments of good times regarding living with Uncle Tinsley. He is a kind man who will do what he can to get to the bottom of what happened to Liz, and to bring justice to bully, inappropriate, nasty Jerry Maddox.

Four Stars for this book, but I struggled with the sheer unrelenting hard times the girls have to live with. Thankfully, Uncle Tinsley is the shining star that is needed. ( )

3.5 stars - Like other Jeannette Walls books, this one tells the story of a young girl struggling with a less-than-ideal family situation. This one, however, is completely fictional (her first two were memoir and "true-life novel"). The Silver Star just wasn't quite as engaging to me as her first two. Still good, but not can't-tear-my-eyes-away good. I listened to the audio version, and it didn't feel as natural as Walls' reading of _The Glass Castle_, her memoir. Also, I kept thinking my recording was skipping - some chapters seemed to end abruptly. I did love the closing line of the book. ( )

It is 1970 in a small town in California. “Bean” Holladay is twelve and her sister, Liz, is fifteen when their artistic mother, Charlotte, a woman who “found something wrong with every place she ever lived,” takes off to find herself, leaving her girls enough money to last a month or two. When Bean returns from school one day and sees a police car outside the house, she and Liz decide to take the bus to Virginia, where their Uncle Tinsley lives in the decaying mansion that’s been in Charlotte’s family for generations.

An impetuous optimist, Bean soon discovers who her father was, and hears many stories about why their mother left Virginia in the first place. Because money is tight, Liz and Bean start babysitting and doing office work for Jerry Maddox, foreman of the mill in town—a big man who bullies his workers, his tenants, his children, and his wife. Bean adores her whip-smart older sister—inventor of word games, reader of Edgar Allan Poe, nonconformist. But when school starts in the fall, it’s Bean who easily adjusts and makes friends, and Liz who becomes increasingly withdrawn. And then something happens to Liz.

A solid book, but short of the spectacular Glass Castle. ( )