Jeannette Walls
Jeannette Walls has published 5 books across 2 series. The recommended reading order starts with Dish (2001).
Jeannette Walls is an American author and journalist. She grew up in the American Southwest and Welch, West Virginia, experiencing periods of both stability and homelessness. After moving to New York City, she finished high school and worked at a Wall Street law firm before graduating with honors from Barnard College. Walls then worked as a journalist for twenty-five years, contributing to publications like New York Magazine, Esquire, and MSNBC, where she also worked as a gossip columnist.
Walls made her debut as an author in 2000 with the non-fiction book Dish. Her memoir, The Glass Castle, published in 2005, spent more than eight years on The New York Times bestseller list and has been translated into over thirty languages. It was later adapted into a film starring Brie Larson. She is also the author of the novels The Silver Star and Half Broke Horses, the latter of which was named one of the ten best books of 2009 by The New York Times Book Review. Her most recent novel, Hang the Moon, was published in March 2023.
Walls lives on a 205-acre farm in central Virginia with her husband, the writer John Taylor, and her mother, and her mother.
Shelf & Shadows
Order of Non-Fiction Books
- Tagsnon-fictionmysteryhistorical-fictionDescriptionJeannette Walls turns her unflinching eye toward a subject that has shaped American culture far more than we care to admit: the machinery of gossip itself, from the tabloid trenches to the glossy pages of mainstream media. In Dish, she doesn't just chronicle scandal—she excavates the entire ecosystem that feeds our insatiable appetite for other people's secrets, tracing the evolution of gossip from whispered rumor to billion-dollar industry. This is a sprawling cultural history that moves from the hard-hitting interrogations of Mike Wallace's Night Beat in the 1950s to the rise of Confidential magazine's explosive exposés, from the National Enquirer's supermarket ubiquity to People magazine's sanitized celebrity worship. Walls dissects the power dynamics at play, revealing how publicists manipulate narratives, how rumors can topple reputations, and how presidential indiscretions become public spectacle. She brings us face-to-face with the architects of modern gossip culture, including the internet-age provocateur Matt Drudge, whose digital disruption changed the game entirely. What makes Dish essential is Walls's refusal to moralize while still holding up a mirror to our collective complicity. She understands that gossip is never just entertainment—it's a reflection of power, desire, and the stories we tell ourselves about who deserves scrutiny and who gets a pass. This is smart, incisive cultural criticism that reads like the best kind of guilty pleasure.Publication dateJanuary 23, 2001Amazon rating3.8/5Print length384LanguageEnglishPublisherWilliam Morrow Paperbacks
- Tagsnon-fictionbiographymemoirchildrensci-filiterary-fictionDescriptionJeannette Walls is always on the move, chasing her parents' restless dreams across a landscape of broken-down towns and makeshift shelters, where hunger is a constant companion and stability is a luxury she can barely imagine. This is a childhood lived on the margins, where the rules of ordinary life dissolve into something raw and unforgiving, and where a young girl must learn to navigate the chaos her family creates with every impulsive decision and unfulfilled promise. The Glass Castle is a memoir that refuses to look away from the hard truths of poverty, neglect, and the complicated love that binds families together even when they're falling apart. Walls writes with unflinching honesty about growing up homeless, about parents who chose their own freedom over their children's safety, and about the resilience required to survive when the world offers you nothing but uncertainty. Her story moves through the American landscape like a fever dream, each new town bringing fresh struggles and small moments of unexpected beauty amid the wreckage. What makes this memoir so compelling is Walls' refusal to sentimentalize or condemn—she simply shows us what it was like to be that girl, searching desperately for normalcy while her world kept shifting beneath her feet. It's a story about survival, about the strange alchemy of dysfunction and love, and about the long, difficult journey toward building a life of your own when the foundation you were given was nothing but sand and broken glass.Publication dateJanuary 2, 2007Amazon rating4.6/5Print length368LanguageEnglishPublisherScribner
Order of Standalone Novels
- Tagsliterary-fictionchildrenDescription1970. A small California town. Two sisters, Bean and Liz Holladay, wake up one day to find their mother gone—vanished to "find herself," leaving behind just enough cash for a month, maybe two. When a police car appears outside their house, twelve-year-old Bean and fifteen-year-old Liz don't wait for questions. They board a bus to Virginia, to the crumbling family mansion where their Uncle Tinsley lives alone with ghosts and old secrets. It's a gamble. But Bean is an optimist by nature, and she's determined to make it work. What unfolds is a story about survival, sisterhood, and the weight of family history. Bean thrives in their new life, piecing together the mystery of her father and the reasons their mother fled Virginia years ago. Liz, brilliant and strange—a lover of Poe, an inventor of word games—begins to unravel. The sisters take jobs with Jerry Maddox, the town mill foreman, a man whose cruelty seeps into every corner of his world. He bullies his workers, his tenants, his family. And then something happens to Liz in Maddox's car. Jeannette Walls writes with unflinching clarity about girlhood, resilience, and the moments that fracture us. This is a novel about what we inherit and what we survive.Publication dateSeptember 7, 2010Amazon rating4.5/5Print length272LanguageEnglishPublisherScribner
- Tagsliterary-fictionchildrencrimemysterysuspensethrillerDescriptionThe adult world has its own crooked logic. It protects the wrong people. It silences the ones who need to speak. Bean and Liz are sisters without a mother, sent to live with Uncle Tinsley in Virginia. The family mansion is grand in name only. It's crumbling, faded, a relic of something that used to matter. The girls arrive with little more than each other. When fall comes, Bean finds her footing. She makes friends. She adapts. Liz does the opposite. She retreats inward, growing quieter, more distant. Then something happens to Liz. Something that shouldn't happen. Something the adults around them would rather ignore. Bean is left to do what no child should have to do: fight back. She must confront a system built to protect itself, not her sister. Jeannette Walls writes with unflinching clarity about the moment childhood ends—not with a ceremony, but with a betrayal. The Silver Star is a story about loyalty, about the fierce love between sisters, and about the courage it takes to stand up when everyone else looks away. It's a novel that asks hard questions and refuses easy answers.Publication dateJune 3, 2014Amazon rating4.3/5Print length304LanguageEnglishPublisherScribner
- Tags---DescriptionSallie Kincaid gets cast out of her own family when she's just a child. Her father, Duke Kincaid, runs the Virginia mountains like his personal kingdom—bootlegging, politicking, ruling with an iron fist. But Sallie's stepmother wants her gone, and Duke doesn't fight it. So she's sent away, exiled from the only home she's ever known. Years later, Sallie claws her way back. She's tougher now, sharper, ready to prove she belongs in the Kincaid empire. And Duke needs her—his operation is crumbling, his sons can't handle the pressure, and the law is closing in. Sallie becomes his right hand, the daughter who can outthink rivals and outmaneuver enemies. She's finally earned her place. But power in the Kincaid family comes with a price, and loyalty is a currency that runs out fast. Jeannette Walls gives us a heroine who refuses to stay down. This is Prohibition-era Appalachia in all its brutal, beautiful complexity—a world where family is everything and nothing, where women fight twice as hard for half the recognition. Sallie's voice is unflinching, her story propulsive. It's about what we owe our blood and what we owe ourselves. Walls knows how to write resilience without sentimentality, grit without cliché.Publication dateMarch 28, 2023Amazon rating4.3/5Print length368LanguageEnglishPublisherScribner
Frequently Asked Questions about Jeannette Walls
Jeannette Walls writes both non-fiction and standalone novels. For non-fiction, the order is Dish, published in 2001, followed by The Glass Castle, published in 2007. Her standalone novels include Half Broke Horses (2010), The Silver Star (2014), and Hang the Moon (2023). While the non-fiction books are biographical accounts, the novels are fictional narratives inspired by her family history. Readers can choose to begin with her non-fiction or fiction works. The books do not form a series and can be read in any order, though reading the non-fiction might offer context for the novels.
A good starting point for Jeannette Walls is her most well-known work, The Glass Castle, published in 2007. This memoir recounts her unconventional childhood and adolescence with nomadic, eccentric parents. It provides a direct and compelling introduction to her life experiences that have informed much of her subsequent writing. Another option is to begin with her earliest non-fiction book, Dish, from 2001, which offers an earlier perspective on her life. Alternatively, readers interested in fiction could start with Half Broke Horses, her first standalone novel, published in 2010.
The books by Jeannette Walls are not part of a connected series, so they do not need to be read in a specific order. Her works are divided into non-fiction books and standalone novels. The non-fiction titles, Dish and The Glass Castle, are autobiographical. Her novels, Half Broke Horses, The Silver Star, and Hang the Moon, are fictional narratives drawing from her family's history. Readers can select any book that appeals to them and begin their reading journey without concern for sequential plotlines or character arcs from one book to the next.
Jeannette Walls writes both non-fiction books and standalone novels. She has not written any books that are part of a series. Her non-fiction works, such as The Glass Castle, are autobiographical accounts of her life. Her novels, including Half Broke Horses and Hang the Moon, are separate fictional stories, though they are often inspired by her family's experiences. Each novel can be read independently of the others, and none require prior knowledge of her other fictional works.
Jeannette Walls has written five books: two non-fiction works and three standalone novels. Her non-fiction books are Dish, published in 2001, and The Glass Castle, published in 2007. Her standalone novels are Half Broke Horses (2010), The Silver Star (2014), and Hang the Moon (2023). These five titles represent her published books to date. She has not written any books that are part of a series.
The first book Jeannette Walls wrote was Dish, a non-fiction memoir published in 2001. This book details her early life and experiences, setting the stage for her later autobiographical work. It offers readers an initial look into the unconventional upbringing and nomadic lifestyle that shaped her perspective. Dish was followed by her more widely known memoir, The Glass Castle, in 2007, and then her foray into standalone novels.
Jeannette Walls's most recent book is Hang the Moon, a standalone novel published in 2023. This novel is set in the 1920s and tells the story of a young woman named Sallie Kincaid, who is sent to live with her father after her mother leaves. Like her other novels, it draws inspiration from her family's history and unique characters. This release follows her previous novels, Half Broke Horses and The Silver Star, and her non-fiction works.
Jeannette Walls primarily writes non-fiction memoirs and standalone novels. Her non-fiction works, such as The Glass Castle, are autobiographical and recount her personal life experiences, often focusing on her unconventional childhood and family dynamics. Her novels, while fictional, are deeply influenced by her family history and the settings she grew up in. She has explored themes of resilience, family relationships, and overcoming adversity in both her factual accounts and fictional narratives.
Joanna Hickson
Coming soon
Leslie Jamison
Coming soon
James G. Anderson
Coming soon
We verified the reading order for Jeannette Walls's books by cross-referencing official publication dates, ISBN databases, and publisher catalogs.
Last verified: July 2026
Shelf & Shadows. (…). “Jeannette Walls Books in Order.” Retrieved …, from https://www.shelfandshadows.com/authors/jeannette-walls