Rating: 
Summary: Ridiculously tragic
Review: Just when you thought she's been through enough - another tragedy. (and another, and another.) Especially disturbing is when the main character gets fostered into what we think will finally be a nurturing home! Yikes! Too good to be true, of course. So how can the character be anything but a bitter, unlikable person? What I liked about this book is it's descriptions of Southern California - the diverse neighborboods, the Santa Ana winds. Very accurate, from a native's perspective. (Jewel is a good book w/ CA description too.) Take the book for what it's worth. I actually think it is worth reading. Just know you'll be reading about a very sad life. The mother is an interesting manipulator.
Rating: 
Summary: an amazing read
Review: It has been some time since I've read a book written so splendidly. Fitch captures the reader's interest from the very moment the cover is lifted and the words flow into the reader's eyes. Her characterizations are startling, harsh, and beautiful. These people are real and, as with all excellent reads, a relationship develops between them and the reader.I wanted so badly to dialogue with Astrid, with Ingrid, with Claire and Olivia. I wanted to see for myself Rena's house. The imagery is contagious. One reviewer rated this book poorly, claiming it is only one tragedy after another. Instead, I say that this story is of one strength after another. Astrid is damaged, yes, but she is also one of the strongest, most real characters I have ever read. In a crazy, wicked way her story is uplifting. I highly recommend this novel.
Rating: 
Summary: Tragedy after Tragedy after Tragedy....
Review: In this book the main character's mother murders her lover and is imprisioned. Her daughter floats from foster home to foster home and is submitted to horrible tragedies. She grows to be a bitter and dysfunctional woman. The world is sad enough without having to read a very long book that focuses on how horrible humans can really be. Unless you LIKE to be sad or shocked, save your time and read something else.
Rating: 
Summary: One of Oprah's Better Picks
Review: Being a HUGE fan of Oprah's, sometimes I have to wonder though, what was she thinking? I think this was one of her better picks. A very well written, bittersweet story, that kept my interest from start to finish. I will definitely be interested in reading more by Janet Fitch. Hope you like it.
Rating:
Summary: My favorite book of all time!
Review: White Oleander is an amazing book. Fitch has excellent command of the English language and her writting is beautiful and haunting. The characters she builds are so real and believable. Upon reading the other reviews for this book, I found that every review which disliked the book, disliked it because they didn't like the character Astrid. They despised her with a passion. Little do they know, they have just paid Ms. Fitch a compliment. They have acknowleged that Astrid was so real and in-depth, it seemed like they knew her...and therefore hated her! Amazing. A good book and a good writer creates characters as if they were real people. Every person has bad and good sides. Fitch made Astrid complex with bad and good qualities. Just like a real live person, you can either like them or hate them. This proves Astrid is a very real character. Either way, if you liked the book or not, it is impossible to say Ms. Fitch cannot write well.
Rating:
Summary: A very good and emotional read
Review: I'm not a follower of the Oprah Book Club, so sometimes that label makes me think twice before I pick up one of those selections. I am so glad I picked this one up! This story follows Astrid through the trials of losing her emotionally challengin mother to prison and the numberous foster homes she ends up in. After reading this story, I just wanted to give Astrid a home and a hug! Janet Finch does an excellent job of drawing the reader into Astrid's world. We feel her fear, her pain and her joy. We are comfortable when Astrid is safe; we are on pins and needles when she is in a terrible home. Her mother doesn't win high marks with me, and the reader will want to shake some sense into her. Of course, Astrid is no angel, and I kept wanting to tell her to stop and everything will be okay. If you don't want your hug to be tugged or want to think about how the US can improve the foster home situation, then don't read this book! It will make you think!
Rating:
Summary: White Oleander
Review: I didn't like this book. It started out ok, but the character who started out innocent, turned into an overnight sleaze. She had a very good foster family in Star and her boyfriend, until she decided on her own accord to seduce him. After that, I refused to feel the slightest bit sorry for Astrid.
Rating:
Summary: One of my favorite books!!
Review: What an amazing book!! I know i will not be able to do it justice, but i'll try. Firstly, it is so descriptive--not beating you over the head w/adjectives mind you, but incredibly rich and full of imagery. And secondly, the characters are very real and very well written. It is obvious that Fitch worked very hard to make her characters believable, despite the unbelievable things they did. Fitch also accomplished a great task by making the characters "real" to the reader. I've read books before where the characters were well written, but with this book, i find myself still thinking of them and wondering how they would react in certain situations. A great read, hard to put down, and a book you could never forget.
Rating:
Summary: Janet Fitch is wonderful!
Review: How can an individual create such a wonderful composition of a life that has been so torn and fragmented, that the mind is taken on a great rollercoster? Janet Fitch is really a great writer and should be appraised for it. This is the first novel that I have read by her but I am willing to indulge in many more novels by her. She wouldn't disappoint you so have no cold feet in purchasing this book. It is life that has been researched and recorded using two very colourful characters.
Rating:
Summary: An inspiration for budding novelists everywhere
Review: Although it was a total piece of trash, this book did have one redeeming quality. It made me realize that if junk like this can get published, certainly I can write something publishable! The "lyric" writing was forced and annoying, the similes way overdone, and the situations improbable and ridiculous. I have to admit I enjoyed the first couple of chapters about Astrid and her mother, when their life was normal but pleasantly quirky. But then some murder, sexual abuse, and shootings were thrown in for obvious shock value and the book just went downhill from there. Oprah, what were you thinking? This was possibly her most ridiculous selection yet, and I've read "Back Roads."
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