Rating: 
Summary: A Little Overdone
Review: This book touches some deep issues from the view of an insider; however, the descriptions are a little exaggerated. It is slightly unbelievable that one person would meet so many people with such amplified characteristics. I know that no such thing as a "normal" person exists, but I do not think that the world is full of so many extravagant people. It seems as if the book is written by someone who has always had things handed to them in life, and he is now trying too hard to show what it would be like to have a rough life. While this delivers the author's point, it makes the reading unrealistic.I read an essay once on how to write well. The author said that one should not use too many metaphores or similes. At the time, I did not understand why that was bad; I had always loved such comparisons in a piece of writing. After reading this book, however, I understand that it can be overdone. Perhaps more description of how a person walks rather that how it looks like he walks would be better. Not everything requires so much unecessary detail. If you like reading that is very flowery, this is a good choice. If you are more realistic, I would not suggest this one.
Rating: 
Summary: Amazing how childhood environment shapes your life
Review: This book is a good example that the environment you grow up in shapes your views of yourself and what you think you deserve in the future. Many people are able to overcome adversity and seek something better for themselves, but many can not. Astrid doesn't believe she deserves better than what she has and never seeks to rise above only to make do with what she has. A sad reflection of a lot of lives. Misery truly is what you make it.
Rating:
Summary: Bitter and Beautiful
Review: This powerful book took everything I am as a person and twisted it into a knot so tight I thought I might cry. The struggle one girl faces, based on her mother's wrong-doing, makes me see how fortunate I am in my own life. The story is honest and right in your face, no strings attached. If you don't enjoy vivid and detailed stories, this may not be the best book for you. But it sure keeps you glued to the pages and really makes you analyze your own situation in this world. An eye-opener...this one will keep you wondering for days.
Rating: 
Summary: A Glimpse into the Deep
Review: I am largely speechless...the pages still warm with my fingerprints. This is a literary experience to shape all others. A glimpse into the infinite complexity and shallow tenderness of every person - our capacity to connive and strategize as well as that to sit back and let it wash over us. To me, the sign of brilliance is the ability to wield metaphor like a wand, making even the mundane glow. Janet Fitch is a modern day master. Her words and her characters are burned into my own.
Rating:
Summary: Poetic Justice?
Review: How can you describe imagery so beautiful and unique that you keep a pen in hand to underline phrases to remember as you read the book? White Oleander is filled with such imagery, so poetic it sweeps you along until you are as caught up in its spell as are the characters it describes. There are shades of Tom Robbins lurking between the lines as the images leap off the pages regaling the readier with a sensory overload. And the picaresque nature of Astrid's youthful search is reminiscent of Robbins's characters. However, the comparison stops there, because in White Oleander the characters are heartbreakingly real and their struggles are almost beyond imagination. On the surface this is a story about a mother and daughter, but not the usual relationship we have come to expect in a novel. Ingrid Magnussen--poet, beauty, free spirit, evil encarnate--and her daughter, Astrid--brilliant artist, deep thinker, lover of beauty, hungry for home--have a unique relationship. Ingrid, who spurns all conventional thought and propriety shapes Astrid as she would a lump of clay, and it takes Astrid years before she realizes the heartless manipulation and control her mother has used on her. When Ingrid is sent to prison for murder, Astrid embarks on a quest for the real home and family she never had, not to mention the unconditional love one expects from their mother. Despite horrific circumstances in foster homes, Astrid also finds love as she learns, often the hard way, what love really is and that ultimately, she is a giver of love. She learns to take the best from all the places she has been and to learn from them; she also knows what kind of life she wants for herself. This is truly a lovely book, one I hated to finish and one I will read again. Here we have beauty and inconceivable tragedy, but ultimately, there is triumph for Astrid who takes the beauty where she can find it and transforms it into something she can love--a lesson well-taken.
Rating:
Summary: White Oleander
Review: This book was gut-wrenching and heart breaking. I had to force myself to put it down at times. I was completely entranced by this story of a young girl whose mother goes to jail for killing her boyfriend. She moves from foster home to foster home in the Los Angeles area and somehow manages to surivive despite all obstacles thrown in her way. If you are looking for an engaging story that will keep you focused from start to finish, then read White Oleanders.
Rating:
Summary: A grace-filled book by a graceful author!
Review: It simply does not get any better than this. Janet Fitch has created a work of perfection that leaves one in awe page after page. She has committed the sin of spoiling the audience; after reading "White Oleander", everything else pales in comparison.
Rating:
Summary: Very sad, but a mirror of life
Review: This was one of the most beautifully written books I have ever read. I plan to watch for more of Janet Fitch books. Hard to believe this was her first novel. Where has she been? The book was very sad, but it shows a strength that can come from adversity. It made me appreciate my parents who actually raised me. And it made me want to hug my three children. Thanks, Janet. Sometimes we are too sheltered to know there is another world out there.
Rating:
Summary: Great Naration...
Review: I really enjoyed the way in which Janet Fitch used a teenage girl to narrate White Oleander. The first person narrative added great depth and insight to this story of discovering oneself. The novel was written in percise detail and captured the essence of Astrid's life beautifully. However some parts of the book seemed to be a bit long, while the ending was way too short.
Rating:
Summary: GREAT!
Review: I loved this book, it was a refreshing and new. I found the story line facinating and the main charcter became a part of my life. I couldn't put the book down because I kept wanting to know how Astrid would end up. I highly recomend this book to people looking for something fresh.
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