Lily Casey Smith is the grandmother of Jeannette Walls, the author of The Glass Castle. This is an autobiographical novel of Lily from the time she and her siblings escape a tornado in Arizona until her daughter’s (Rosemary) wedding to Rex Walls.
She portrays herself as a fiercely independent, opinionated, ornery, hard working, no nonsense woman with a strong work ethic and good ideas on how to survive. That’s fine but as a teacher she’s a racist, violent bully which by today’s standards would not be tolerated.
Mildly interesting and entertaining ( )

I'm sure three-quarters of you have already read this book. I read Glass Castle when it came out and absolutely loved it. Why it took me so long to get to Half Broke Horses, I don't know. It just didn't sound all that intriguing to me. Boy, was I wrong.

This story of Jeannette's grandmother has it all going on. I fell in love with Lily and her family as they struggled to make it on a ranch. Lily is a terrific protagonist - - a strong woman who definitely does some crazy things (some good, some bad). The book is a really fast and easy read as each chapter is more of an anecdote from Lily's life. When considered together, these anecdotes create a fascinating character study . . .I just ate it up. Lily's mothering style is so different then my own, but very entertaining to read. The fact that this novel is based in truth just made it all the more interesting. ( )

Three and a half stars. Jeannette Walls again tells a story (this time only based in real life) that entertains and amuses. Her grandmother seems like a real character, and it was interesting to think about Jeannette's story (as told in The Glass Castle) as I was reading the story of her grandmother and mother. ( )

I listened to the audio book which was narrated by Walls, and loved this just as much as the Glass Castle. Her telling as both an author and narrator offers a nice aspect into the family’s lives. It was engaging and I couldn't wait to actually drive home or to work just to hear the next pages. It's been compared to an adult type of Little House on the Prairie, and I would agree. I thought she wrote about her grandmother in a wonderful manner without sugar coating her flaws and I found it to be a great tribute to her. I also liked in the end how she explained some of her thoughts about her daughter Rosemary as it answered some questions for me. ( )

I loved the writing and the strong women. Great book. ( )