White Oleander

This book was so good!

This book was amazing! It was so much better than the movie! Compared to the book, the movie was absolutely horrible. The characters were pretty much the same. I loved Astrid's strength and bravery throughout the entire book. Even though her mother and other people kept putting her down, she got through it. I felt like I was Astrid the entire book and it made me sad and a little depressed. I wish things like what Astrid went through never happen. It's just not fair.

5 out of 5 people found this review helpful.

Vivid Journey

This book is not just about a mother and a daughter, nor is it a catalogue of foster care atrocities. It is the journey of a girl, Astrid, as she discovers that it is possible to remember, as well as to move on; to be able to understand hate, as well as love. Reads like a mix of poetry and journalism. I won't forget it.

5 out of 5 people found this review helpful.

Love

I have read this book about 7 times. It is an amazing book. Don't judge the book by the movie, the movie was terrible.

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Breathtakingly Beautiful.

Read this book once, liked it. Reread it, adored it. now after at least reading it 5 times, i cherish it. The prose reads more like poetry, drawing up as much emotion as a movie. Just beautiful. Highly reccomended.

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Great book!

I just picked this book up from B&N. I love the style of writing. Great book

2 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

Beautifully heartbreakingly profound

Janet Fitch is so much more than a poet. This book is full of many sad truths. I read it often...to remind me.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Good book

The story is phenominal. The feelings felt real. The characters felt true. And I was hooked pretty much throughout the book. However, I just found it difficult to finish the last 50+ pages or so. I guess I just wished for a different ending. But ultimately, I would read another Oprah's Book Club recommendation.

1 out of 2 people found this review helpful.

White what?

I wasn't at all interested in reading this book, but once I started, I forced myself to put it down so that I could fully experience every line. And the experience is a taxing yet terrific.

Good book

This book was like a roller coaster for me, there were times when i struggled to stay interested and then other times when i couldnt put it down. Im only giving it a 2 star because even though the characters were developed sometimes the scenes were not as believable.

Very good :)

The book was very lyrical and i loved the range of description as well. It's not the same as the book but it is worth reading for sure!

Amazing!

I honestly love this book. Its amazing, a must read!

A fascinating story, tugged at my heart, yet truley inspirational!

Great book, continues to be one of my favorites. A truley enjoyable read, I couldn't put it down!

Amazing story

Loved ever bit of it!!!!

A must read!

It is a wonderful read. I could not put it down.

Highly Recommended

Janet Fitch's debut novel, White Oleander, is an engrossing dramatic novel about a fourteen-year-old girl named Astrid from Los Angeles, California and Astrid adores her mother, Ingrid. Ingrid is not like most typical mothers that are seen everyday and is instead selfish, brilliant, and a little unstable. Ingrid also sometimes forgets that she has a daughter, leaving Astrid to witness things that not many girls her age would see. One day Astrid's world is turn upside down because her mother used the poison of the oleander flower to kill a man named Barry since he is a womanizer and used Ingrid. Because of this murder, Astrid is sent of to different foster homes from trailer houses to a bungalow in Hollywood. Through her journey, Astrid learns how to stand up for herself and develops her understanding while turning into a woman.
White Oleander is a bestseller and it is an Oprah's Book Club novel. Fitch was sparked into writing fiction novels because she was born into a family of devoted readers. Fitch attended Reed College, and later won a student exchange to Keele University in England. Using vivid and descriptive images, Janet Fitch attracts the reader and makes the reader feel like you are experiencing what Astrid is doing. White Oleander also contains poems, which are told by Ingrid to Astrid either about herself or to Astrid's behavior.
This novel is deep and will change your impression about the world because it showed me that not all homes are well. Reading through the events Astrid endured affected my thinking of homes. The hardships Astrid endured caused me to feel grateful for my home because even though we may have fights it was nothing compared to Astrid's hardship. She was forced to take care of other children, treated like a servant, and at one foster home she starved to the point where she didn't have a menstrual cycle. You are also able to learn lessons from this novel such as to learn from both good and bad so you are able to improve in your own character. In the scene where Ingrid teaches Astrid another lesson about life after breaking up with Barry Kolker, we too can benefit from this lesson. Ingrid says, "Remember it all, every insult, every tear. Tattoo it on the inside of your mind. In life, knowledge of poisons is essential. I've told you, nobody becomes an artist unless they have to". (67)
I recommend this book to those that are slightly more mature because there are certain events in this book that are very graphic. This book contains some sexual scenes and if you are uncomfortable reading these scenes then this is not a book for you. However, once you overcome the sexual scenes it is very interesting to read the view from a child whose parent are in jail and how they cope with that. With the author's style to add many descriptive scenes towards the feeling and setting you are able to experience it from Astrid's point-of-view. Such as during the sexual scene it is very detailed so you can almost feel what she is feeling. The author also provides many poems in this novel to create a deeper impact towards the reader. This is surely not a novel to miss out on because it will surely keep your attention.

0 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Beautiful but disturbing

Very much in the line of Little Alters Everywhere and Divine Secrets of the YaYa Sisterhood. Damaged daughters, controlling, mentally ill mothers. And how much we need our mothers even when they destroy our lives. I doubt that I will re-read this book, but I'm glad I read it once.

I LOVED THIS BOOK!

I loved everything about this book. All the characters were so real, and Astrid's struggles throught the foster home system were interesting to read about. I loved Claire, but I also thought Rena, Nikki, and Yvonne were great characters too and so real.
I couldn't stand Ingrid, but that's OK because you're not supposed to like her.
Also, Astrid's struggles about not having a dad in her life hit home with me, since I too am experiencing that, and I think other people who are going through that situation would like this book too.

An amazing read!

This hauntingly beautiful story is a must read!

A+must+read+...+One+of+my+favorite+books+of+all+time

A+hauntingly+beautiful+book.+You+grow+so+close+to+Astrid+and+love+her.+Please+read+it+because+every+young+woman+should.

Beautifully written

The author has a way with words that will capture your heart. This is a must read and is highly recommended!