Part 1
Who does Jeanette see, digging through a dumpster, while she was on her way to a party?
Her Mother Rose Mary
What happened to Jeanette when she was 3?
She burnt herself badly, cooking hotdogs.
Who is Rex always running away from and why?
The "FBI", gestapo, bill collectors....
What was the Walls' house, in Battle Mountain, originally?
The lived in an old train depot at the edge of town.
What does Jeanette ask her Dad for, for her 10th birthday?
For her Dad to stop drinking. He tries to get sober, and he goes through terrible days of withdrawal. To escape temptation, they try to take a trip to the Grand Canyon, but they don't make it...have to hitchhike back home, and ultimately, he relapses.
Where does Jeanette currently live when the book begins?
New York City in an apartment
What is Rex's invention The Prospector?
A tool to help find gold. It has a big, flat surface, about 4 feet high and 6 feet wide, and rises up in the air at an angle. It scoops up dirt, sifts through, and finds the real gold.
What did the kids get one Christmas when they were living in the desert?
Rex gets them all their "own" stars.
What did Jeannette and Lori eat one day after school when there was nothing else to eat in the house?
Margarine (mixed with sugar)
How did Rex ruin Christmas the year they were in Phoenix?
He set the Christmas tree on fire when he was drunk.
Who does Jeanette contact about seeing her mother?
A friend of the family
How does Jeanette leave the hospital? Explain in detail.
Her dad picked her up and ran out of the hospital, so they wouldn't have to pay the 6-week hospital bill.
What is the Glass Castle?
An all glass house, with solar cells on the top that would catch sun rays and turn it into electricity. It would also have it's own water-purification system.
In Blythe, Jeanette has one of her first school experiences. How does it go?
Her teacher always calls on her to read aloud, and it seems she is like a "teacher's pet", so some Mexican girls start jumping her on the way home.
Why does Rose Mary try to hide her money, and how does she hide it?
So she can use it for art supplies, and so that Rex doesn't take it, she puts it in a sock and gives it to Jeanette.
What type of tree did the playground have at the Walls' school in Phoenix?
a banana tree
Where do Jeanette and her mother meet?
At a Chinese restaurant
What toy did Jeanette light on fire and ruin?
Her Tinkerbell figurine.
What happens to Jeannette as they are leaving a bar on their way to Las Vegas?
Jeanette rolls out of the Green Caboose, and waits for a while until her parents come back to get her.
How do they get from Blythe to Battle Mountain?
They went in a UHall and the kids rode in the back.
Who is Billy Deel? What is the relationship between Billy and Jeannette?
Billy is a neighborhood kid. Billy wanted to be Jeanette's boyfriend.
Where does Rex take the kids for a day so they can "explore science- understanding why you can't kill something just because it's wild"? Describe what happens.
Takes them to a zoo. Rex and the kids jump the fence and pet the cheetah and they get kicked out for being crazy.
How does Jeanette's mother respond, when she offers to help her out of her homeless situation?
Offended. She doesn't want help. She likes the way she lives.
What/who does Dad throw out the car window and why?
Quixote the cat. Because it was growling and making noise.
After their short time in Las Vegas, where do they go and what happens to the place that they are staying?
They went to San Francisco, and their motel burned down.
In Blythe, what happened to their car?
Rex was in a car chase with the cops, and he abandoned it in an open garage.
Explain the event that causes the Walls to have to leave Battle Mountain in a hurry.
The kids have a shootout with Billy Deel. Lori and Jeannette shot at Billy with a pistol after he shot at them with a BB gun. They escape BM so they don't have to go to court to see the magistrate.
Where are the Walls headed next at the end of part 2? Who are they going to live with when they get there?
West Virginia. They will live with Rex's parents.