HALF BROKE HORSES

Following up her previous book, the hugely successful memoir THE GLASS CASTLE, Jeannette Walls is back with another family saga, this time a novel that features her grandmother Lily. Walls delivers a compelling, plainspoken performance that conveys every emotion of the novel. It's easy to imagine the family stories being told and retold, polished and shaped, as Lily gave them their own cadence, clearly defined emphasis, and tempo. The story starts off with a bang as Lily rescues herself and her siblings from a flash flood in Texas and goes on to recount her fierce determination to get an education and become a teacher, along the way facing down tornadoes, drought, and the Great Depression. Walls brings her grandmother’s indomitable character vividly to life. D.G. 2010 Audies Finalist © AudioFile 2009, Portland, Maine [Published: OCTOBER 2009]