Laura Hutton
Co-Editor in Chief
Each year a book is selected for the incoming freshman class to read. This year, The Glass Castle, a memoir by Jeannette Walls was chosen.
In The Glass Castle, Walls recalls her childhood in an unstable environment with an extremely dysfunctional family. The Walls family is constantly on the move, always doing what Walls referred to as the “skedaddle” to avoid legal troubles. The children have to learn how to grow up quickly and fend for themselves in order to survive.
Near the beginning of the book, Walls describes one of her earliest memories. She was three years old and cooking hotdogs on the stove when her dress caught on fire as she bent over to give one to her dog. After spending six weeks in the hospital, her father picked her up and ran out, checking out “Rex Walls style.” This is just first of many incidents that would shape her childhood.
“When I read it, I found it to be a compelling book that that had the depth that allowed analysis at multiple levels. Naturally, the book needs to be engaging, since we are asking a group of vibrant young people to take part of their summer vacation to begin their academic life at McDaniel,” states Paul Mazeroff, a professor who was involved in picking the book.
To select the book, a committee of three professors, one librarian, and one student, Gretchen McKay, Paul Mazeroff, and Ralene Mitschler, Jane Sharpe, and Eric Danforth respectively, read and discussed The Glass Castle and many other books.
While making the decision,”we always try to think about a book that is readable, that will teach students something new, and that can be applicable to a variety of disciplines” explains McKay. I found it hard to put down, each new family problem making me more interested in how Walls would overcome the odds.
McKay also explained, “we felt that it would demonstrate to students problems that some Americans face, even with education.” The Walls parents were smart and could have had an easier life. But, they chose an unconventional lifestyle for themselves and their children.
“We also thought this was story of triumph over odds, of human resilience, and touched on sociology, science, art, and psychology among other disciplines,” adds McKay.
While peer mentoring last year, Danforth became the first student ever involved in the book selection process. Since he was not a fan of the book chosen for last year’s class, he wanted to offer input for this year’s book.
Danforth was drawn to The Glass Castle because, “The chapters were short enough that people could read small sections at a time, but the story was so engaging that you wanted to keep going. I also loved how it largely took place in West Virginia, which is so close to Maryland geographically, and that the book would allow people to really examine rural poverty in America.”
This is the fourth year that a book has been assigned to the incoming freshman. The previous titles include: The Kite Runner (2005), Persepolis (2006), and The Stolen Child (2007).