I recently received the book The Glass Castle by Trisha White Priebe and Jerry B. Jenkins from Shiloh Run Press for my 15 year old son to read and review. The Glass Castle is an adventure story written for ages 10-15. Girls and boys will enjoy reading this book. This age range is perfect for this book. I think The Glass Castle would make a great family read a loud, too.
The Glass Castle is a hardcover book 251 pages long. It has 41 chapters with most ranging from 2 to 10 pages long. It’s an easy read. My son, an avid reader, finished it in one day. You can read a 35 page sample of The Glass Castle on the website. The book is billed as having the setting of The Chronicles of Naria meets the action from Alice in Wonderland.
As soon as you start reading The Glass Castle you are thrown into the adventure. The first chapter opens with Avery, the main character, and her younger brother Henry being chased through the woods. This day happens to be Avery’s 13th birthday. She doesn’t make it home for her birthday dinner………. Avery and her brother were kidnapped!
In The Glass Castle, the king is worried about who will take over his throne when he dies. His new wife wants to produce an heir. The king’s first wife had a son, but no one, not even the king, knows where he is. His solution? Get rid of all the orphans.
Someone, though, has taken all the orphans and has hidden them from the king so he can’t kill them. Right under his nose in his castle. Where they are living and doing the work of the castle, while being held as prisoners.
Avery was surprised that new, pretty clothes were left for her to wear, just like all the other kids there wore. She had never seen so many well-dressed kids in one place before. They had plenty of food at every meal, fruit, meats, and milk to drink. It looked like a big feast to Avery. She was used to eating whatever they grew or caught at her house.
Avery was separated from her brother, as all the other 13 year old kids were separated from their siblings. Their siblings were being held somewhere else. If the 13 year olds escaped, they would never see their siblings again. The kids were marked with a black star, so if they escaped they would be returned. Or sent to the Forbidden City.
Here’s what Zach had to say about The Glass Castle: The kids are hiding from the adults, someone was hunting them. It’s set in a castle most of the time & in a forest. One of the kids is the heir. No one knows who it is, not even the kid. I liked the part where one kid left the others and didn’t come back. The book didn’t resolve the story, it left you wondering. I recommend this book.
The Glass Castle ends with Avery reading her mother’s travel journal. She is surprised to find a key hidden in the back of it. You can imagine how shocked Avery is to discover that the key she found actually fits the door to the tunnels below the castle. She doesn’t open the doors, though. Which leaves the reader anticipating book two of the series!
To see what other crew members have to say about The Glass Castle, click below!
