I am, obviously, on a Jeannette Walls kick. Last month I bought her memoir The Glass Castle, and read it just recently. As you can see in my review of it, I loved it. 
 After having read her memoir, I was able to pick up certain themes that followed through in this novel. There are definitely some characters and instances that were influenced by her life. Indeed, I believe most authors are influenced greatly by their lives and their writing shows it. With most authors, however, we don't have the story of their life alongside their novels. 
 This book was both sad and funny. It was humorous, it was angering, and it was interesting. Bean (Jean) Holladay and her sister, Liz, are abandoned (kind of) by their artistic mother who prefers running around New York singing then she does looking after her own two girls. By a turn of events, they end up at their Uncle's place in West Virginia. Needless to say, things happen. Some good, some bad. 
 As far as plot goes, this novel was fairly predictable. You could see everything coming a mile away. While that's not bad necessarily, I do like twists in the books I read. This had none of those. 
 The setting was rich, and well described. And the characters. I'm beginning to think that that's what Ms. Walls does best. Her characters, while not extremely deep, have a certain feel that I enjoy reading about. There's a charm about them. 
 Honestly, when I try to dig into this book and review it, I find it impossibly difficult. I enjoyed reading it and couldn't put it down, but it wasn't particularly exciting. It was particular at all. It was just... there. And I read it. And I liked it. 
 The end.