We can find our fair share of crazy families in real life, and equally as many in books and films.  A  novel turned film, The Glass Castle, details author Jeannette Walls’ childhood as she constantly moved around and had very little food or money.
North Harford English classes are quite familiar with this New York Times Bestseller. As a book more commonly taught in ninth grade, English teacher Meagan Varga expresses that “I like that it’s constantly full of struggles for different characters. There is never really a dull moment or a moment of peace. Just when you start to like what someone does, like the mother or father, there is someone who ruins it all.”
On August 11, The Glass Castle premiered on the big screen.
Movie critics are divided in their reaction to the film adaptation. The Daily Times criticizes how the movie “tries too hard to dramatize the wrong aspects of her [Jeanette’s] life,” while the National Post praises how the film “expertly cuts between the two time periods.”
The reviews for The Glass Castle are also split among North Harford’s teachers and students. Christine Allred, English teacher, stated that she “loved the movie. Of course, with any adaptation, the book is usually better. In this case I still think the book was better but I did enjoy the movie.”
Allred found that the “really important components [that we enjoyed] in the book…were completely left out of the movie and things that were important, for instance, the development of the mother’s character…you get a very different portrayal of her in the movie then you do the book. In the book it is quite a bit more negative so when you take that out, it gives a different vibe.”
Sophomore Katrina Burbey, states that she “liked how they really portrayed it [the book] how it was but disliked how they did remove a few scenes from the book that I felt were important.”
Opposing reviews aside, The Glass Castle has earned almost 17 million dollars at the box. While the movie varies slightly from the book, this film is definitely a must see for book and movie lovers alike.