Rating: 
Summary: A quick, enthralling, richly textured read.
Review: Everything a book should be. A few pages into this book, I was a little sickened by the overly ornamental descriptions and text. Kind of like a really, really rich piece of chocolate cake. But I quickly grew to love the texture provided by Fitch's metaphorical prose.Enjoy. This book is mind broadening.
Rating: 
Summary: Survivor
Review: I found this book to be very enlightening. It's hard to believe that one young girl could be so misplaced numerous times in a foster system that is supposed to nuture poor innocent children. Fitch did a remarkable job writing this story through the thoughts and eyes of the victim, Astrid. Although Astrid was put into some awful circumstances, she grew to understand herself more through these times..and eventually survive all on her own..without her wicked Mother.
Rating: 
Summary: White Oleander: What a Great Movie
Review: The novel White Oleander by Janet Fitch is a well
written, interesting book that would make a really
great movie. The characters are all complex and
vivid, and the protagonist of the story, Astrid, is
completely memorable. White Oleander is Astrid's
story as she travels from foster home to foster home
after her mother, a brilliant and self-obsessed poet
named Ingrid kills her boyfriend in a jealous rage.
Astrid goes through five foster homes before she is
finally free to go out into the world on her own, and
each home is worse than the last. The first foster
care mother is an ex-showgirl turned Jesus freak, the
second a bigot, the third a dangerous cheapskate, the
fourth almost perfect until a terrible secret consumes
her, and the fifth a refuse thief. Along the way
Astrid must cope with her mother's continuous
manipulation of her even while in prison, the worst
luck any human being could ever have, and realizations
about her past. This book was, over all, a well
written book, but it lacked that certain uniqueness
that really great books require. There were some
parts of the story that seemed cliché; for example, I
thought that Fitch's depiction of the foster care
system was fairly one sided and "already done." The
characters were vivid, though, and the story was
nicely layered with tragedy and a strange sense of
beauty as well. Astrid was, if miserable, a heroine
that invokes pity in the reader for her ridiculously
bad luck, and Ingrid is a believable nutcase. The
side characters were well defined and came and went
smoothly throughout the story. White Oleander would
make a terrific movie because the novel is really
quite melodramatic, but not over done at the same
time. There are different complex relationships
throughout the entire novel, and the characters'
motives are, for the most part, pretty clear. At
times the plot was sort of predictable, but this never
took too much away from the story itself. I would recommend White Oleander to someone looking for a quick and entertaining read. This novel isn't
exactly "fine literature" and the movie version might
even be as good as the book itself; a feat that is
usually considered to be impossible. Like many Oprah
books, White Oleander is rich in the emotional , but
it is not mushy as it explores one young women's
search to find herself in the worst of circumstances.
Rating:
Summary: What a Read
Review: This book is, to date, my favorite book of all time. The drama is so realistic and so heart touching you feel as if you were actually there.
Rating:
Summary: Excellent Read.
Review: I read this book in a matter of a few days. I thought the storyline was wonderful. After talking to many of my friends who had been through the foster system, it felt like they were telling me there life story just with different charactars and different times.
Rating:
Summary: painfully truthful
Review: This book is a mix of truth and beauty, the need to hold on and hold out-whatever the circumstance. Tragically beautiful and sometimes almost hateful the characters come alive, agonizingly real. A must read.
Rating:
Summary: Hauntingly beautiful
Review: This book was given to me as a gift from a boyfriend who subsequently gave me several pieces of jewellery, however, I still think that this book is the best present he ever gave to me. White Oleander tells the story of Astrid, a girl whose entire life revolves around a mother who never really wanted her. Astrid's pain comes from the fact that she realises this but nevertheless strives to make her mother love her. Ingrid, on the other hand, is a breathtakingly selfish and pretentious woman whose only concerns revolve around her perception of beauty and intellect, and who pays attention to her daughter only when it serves her purpose. A Nordic beauty, Ingrid is so used to toying with mens' emotions that when she finally has her own heart broken, she murders the man in question, earning herself a life sentence in prison. 12 year old Astrid is taken into foster care, and sent to live in a doublewide trailer with Starr, a born again Christian who epitomises .... She is insanely jealous of Astrid, but the conflict between this and her Christian values (or how she thinks she should act) keep Astrid safe in her care until finally her jealousy gets the better of her and she tries to kill her. Astrid is then sent to live with Marvel, a woman of no taste who lives in a turqoise house and sells Mary Kay cosmetics. Astrid is slowly withering away in this suburban nightmare, until the elegant courtesan from next door takes her under her wing. However, Marvel's racist mindset cannot deal with this and she sends Astrid away. The book deals with Astrid's constant search for a home, somewhere that she belongs. However, a constant barrage of letters from her mother, who can never relinquish control of the daughter she never even wanted ensure this will never happen as long as Astrid continues to believe that her mother actually loves her. This novel is a stunningly beautiful, hauntingly written tome that I have read four times. Janet Fitch's prose rolls off the page with such poetry that it is impossible not to be swept up by it. I am surprised that no-one has thought to make a film of this book yet, however, I am doubtful that any contemporary director has the vision or soul to do it justice.
Rating:
Summary: Pure magic....
Review: Janet Fitch has written the most inspiring, beautiful, magically written book i have ever read. "White Oleander" is my favorite book, i haven't read a book so cleverly written for ages, she is truely a gifted soul. white Oleander tells a story of a young girl 's life and the many disturbing and difficult situations she endures. You will fall in love with Astrid the main character and find it hard to come up with a wrod for her mother, you will feel through this storytelling how it feels to be Astrid, this book will grab at you and it won't let you forget, i loved it!
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful Celebration of Literature
Review: Being an "ex-English" teacher, I am privy to being quite critical of many literary pieces. I have been disappointed lately at all of the "crap" that is out there. During an extended airport delay, I started White Oleander, and put it down five hours later. If you appreciate a captivating plot as well as beauty through poetic prose, don't deprive yourself if this literary adventure! FIVE STARS!
Rating:
Summary: White Oleander
Review: The narrative in this novel is beautiful and there is not one sentence in this book that wasn't well thought out. The story and characters are original and the setting plays well in the story. It was refreshing to find an American writer who can make reference to other places in the world and realizes that the U.S. is not the centre of the universe. If this is Fitch's debut I can't wait for her second novel.
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