Half Broke Horses, By Jeannette Walls
Jeannette Walls captured my heart with her first story, The Glass Castle. I need not be reminded that I live in a bubble, a safe and protected bubble. But both The Glass Castle andHalf Broke Horses really opened my eyes to how sheltered my life has truly been. The author’s grandmother Lilly is the main character and led a spectacular life. Some chapters I would find myself idolizing her and telling myself, “Yes! That is the way a woman should be!” Other times I want to yell at her and tell her to take care of her kids and love her husband. By the end of the book I was thoroughly confused as to whether or not Lilly was happy. We know from The Glass Castle that Lilly’s daughter was a little unhinged but I never could nail down exactly how I felt about Lilly.
Books of trial and hardship always lead me to wonder how I would handle a really challenging lifestyle. I definitely don’t believe that anyone makes it through life without troubles, I have had a few for sure, but many of my troubles have come from my love and concern for friends and family who are going through difficult times. Comparatively speaking my life has been a cake walk. Is this because I’m too weak to handle real diversity? Or has my card simply not been laid yet? I suppose only time will tell, but until then I will be happy with my current deck of cards.
Historical Value- 3
Emotional Value- 4
Entertainment Value- 5
Personal Character Value- 4
Age recommendation- 16+
“Most important thing in life is learning how to fall.”
“Nobody’s perfect. We’re all just one step up from the beasts and one step down from the angels.”
“People are like animals. Some are happiest penned in, some need to roam free. You got to recognize what’s in her nature and accept it.”
“Teaching is a calling too. And I’ve always thought that teachers in their way are holy – angels leading their flocks out of the darkness.”
“Horses were never wrong. They always did what they did for a reason, and it was up to you to figure it out.”
“But no matter how much planning you do, one tiny miscalculation, one moment of distraction, can end it all in an instant.”
“God deals us all different hands. How we play ’em is up to us.”
“If I owned hell and west Texas, he said, I do believe I’d sell west Texas and live in hell.”
“It (the sun) didn’t really care how I felt, it was going to rise and set regardless of whether I noticed it, and if I was going to enjoy it, that was up to me.”
“What Dad didn’t understand was that no matter how much he hated or feared the future, it was coming, and there was only one way to deal with it: by climbing aboard.”