When most people hear about rape, murder, and drugs, they think of the news and movies. They never thought that a book could properly express these controversial topics. I was one of those people before I read “The Glass Castle” and “A Place to Stand. ““The Glass Castle” is about a girl who grows up with a parent who shouldn't have children. She struggles with growing up poor and not getting the support she needs when terrible things happened. “A Place to Stand” is about a boy who grows up without his parents around and eventually ends up in a maximum security prison for drug dealing. Most of the book focuses on him learning to read and write in prison and all the horrible things that happen there. These books were wonderful depictions of the lives of the authors, Jeannette Walls and Jimmy Santiago Baca. Many bad things have happened to them throughout their lives, but they have been able to persist and become the respected people they are today. They made their lives matter to us with their memories. I really liked both books, but there was one that I liked a lot more than the other. “The Glass Castle” was a higher quality book than “A Place to Stand”. I liked the narrative aspect of “The Glass Castle” compared to the long narrative of “A Place to Stand.” It was much easier to put Jeanette's book aside without getting confused the next time you read it. I also love the whimsy that Jeannette brings to topics that aren't typically wacky. Jimmy's novel is completely serious throughout the book. Finally, each character in “The Glass Castle” seems to develop and grow over the course of the book. Aside from Jimmy, most of the characters die or are never seen again by the end of the books. These are both......middle of the paper......they have a long narrative where you have to remember a lot of details to continue reading it effectively, other than the main character lacked character development and everything else he was serious all the time. I really enjoyed both of these books, but "The Glass Castle" was the better of the two. They taught me things I never thought I'd learn in a memoir. I rarely read a book I'm assigned for a class and actually like, but both books assigned were fantastic. Without reading these books I would never have seen that the human spirit can overcome any obstacle. I would also never look back on my life and see that others have it so much worse than me and I should be happy to have a loving family to support me. Now I know life is different for everyone, but as long as you grow and learn it's worth all the trouble it brings.