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Summary: White Oleander book review
Review: After Astrid's mother, Ingrid, murders her boyfriend with poison from an oleander, she is sentenced to over thirty five years in prison. White Oleander is the story of Astrid's remarkable struggle from foster home to foster home. Though she and her mother are very far apart, Ingrid still tries to control Astrid's life. Out of jealousy, she continuously attempts to hurt those few people who show care for Astrid. Each home Astrid inhabits provides its own lessons to be learned. This novel is an odyssey of self-discovery. Finch's writing style is enchanting and the characters are magnetic. She is a very figurative author. An abundance of similes, metaphors, and symbols are found throughout the novel, contributing to its charm. Ingrid tells her daughter that they are warriors, and they must fight for life as the Roman vikings did. The white oleander is a symbol of something so delicate and beautiful, yet deadly.
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Summary: Perfect
Review: I am a voracious reader, you name it I've read it, so for me to say a book is amazing, well, says a lot. I even saw the movie first, but that didn't ruin it for me, but only allowed me to picture the characters, and here there voices in my mind.The book is an artisitc masterpiece, beautiful and engrossing. I was actually sad when I finished, wishing there was more. The writing is absolutely enchanting and the characters,magnetic. Donot let this book slip by.
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Summary: Gives you a different perspective on things
Review: I definately have to say that I relate to this book a lot. I went from group home to group home for 5 years when I was a teenager, and I see that there are a couple reviews from people who said the story was completely "absurd" or "unbelievable". It really isn't as farfetched as you'd like to think.
I think this is an incredible story. There needs to be more books like this, I feel that children that are in the custody of 'child protective services' are forgotten about. When I read some of these reviews, it really confirmed to me just how ignorant some people are about the children who have to deal with the sort of life that the main character portrayed in White Oleander.
I think books like this will help a lot of children that are in group and foster homes feel more brave and confident, instead of invisible and forgotten, where the only people who are in your life are paid by the government to be there for you.
The author's style isn't all that bad, very interesting is a good way to describe it. But really, it's the plot and story that make this book. You've really got to put yourself in Astrid's shoes. It's a painful thing, this girl's life, but it makes you grateful for what you have. This young woman in the end is forced to accept all the awful things that have happened to her. Astrid is so courageous in this book, I really do think it shows that there is always hope.
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Summary: Had potential, but...
Review: I thought this book had a lot of potential, despite the obvious drawback of it being an Oprah's Book Club pick. I caught the beginning of the movie on HBO right before going to a used book shop, so when I saw the novel on the store shelves, I decided to give it a try. It started off well -- Astrid is a teenager in California who is shipped off to foster homes after her mother is arrested for murder. As we follow old Astrid from place to place we hear about how horrible her mother is and how she tries to control Astrid's life and take things away from her (such as love from others) all from behind bars. Everyone loves her mother, who is apparently this wonderful poet, and nobody seems to realize that she is an evil, evil woman, according to Astrid. Is Mommy Murderer really evil? Well, I don't know, because after Astrid left the Richards' foster home I just lost interest. I skimmed ahead to get the general idea of what happens at the end, but I just think that the book could have accomplished whatever it wanted to accomplish in way less than 450+ pages. Also, the author seemed to try too hard to use words in a special flowery beautiful way and it didn't work. Didn't really fit the book, I guess. Overall, the book was okay, but it just got boring.
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Summary: I'll be honest, I watched the movie first... THEN read this
Review: I watched the movie and found myself wondering... how much did they leave out? How was THIS handled, etc. So, I picked up the book. I read it in less than 48 hours. Yes, it was that interesting. The tale itself is just that... interesting. You WANT to see what will happen next. I liked the ending of the movie better than the book, but only b/c the movie's ending made me more comfortable. The book's ending was probably more accurate/believable. The mother in this story, Ingrid, is such a piece of work. She is so unlike anyone you know, and yet, at once she is a part of MANY women you know. You want to know what she'll say next, what makes her tick. And Astrid is every girl you've ever known that you wanted to save. Each woman in this book is a finely drawn portrait of some characteristic of women we know, or women we are. A terrific peek into the psyche. And a great read. Don't hesitate because of the hype.
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Summary: Excellent book!
Review: A mind twisting tale! White Oleander is Astrid and Ingrid's story of love and the loss thereof. I found this to be an extremely well written book, narrated through Astrid, a thirteen year old girl who relies on her mothers thoughts for her own, until her mother poisons her cheating boyfriend, with deadly White Oleander. This book will take your breath away and then give it back slowly as Ingrid (a cynical poet)is sentenced to prison for murder and Astrid, being an only child with no visible father, is shuffled through the adoption system. Use to having her mother lead her through life she slowly finds a small part of self discovery that shows her different aspects of the same picture, with her own point of view. I highly recommend this book!
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Summary: Honest & Beautiful
Review: I have never been so swept away by a literary work of art. I had difficulty putting it away! Janet Fitch peers into the soul of an artistic girl & can interpret a confusion of feelings into beauty. It helped me appreciate MY creativity and helped me explore myself, push myself, strive harder to become the artist that hides in my heart. I was ready to start it over by the time I had finished it. It has become a constant thought in my mind.
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Summary: Totally absorbing!
Review: I was totally taken in by the beautiful writing and the story of the artist-mother as unstable parenting material, having experienced a similar upbringing myself (my mother was also a poet -- and very unstable). What I was unprepared for in picking up this novel was the beauty of the writing. This is no trashy page-turner but a work of literature! I strongly recommend it! I promise you'll be seduced and moved by this wonderful book! Also recommended: The Losers' Club by Richard Perez
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Summary: really intresting book
Review: Astrid is a very bright girl who learns the hardships of living without a parent for most of her life since she was about 12 years old . Her mother Ingrid is a very beautiful woman , very strong and a great poet , i really enjoyed this book because it was very much real and i could relate to it very (not all parts ) i think it was great and i would like to congratulate Janet Fitch for writing such a terrific and wonderful book .
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Summary: The white oleander,from the eyes of a fifteen year old girl.
Review: The white oleander The white oleander, is a novel about a poet ,Ingrid and her daughter,Astrid.Ingrid falls for a man called Barry Kolker,all goes well untill Barry loses intrest in ingrid and leaves her for a twentytwo year old blond La bimbo.Ingrid falls in to a rage and starts to stalk barry,she would shop at the stores he shopped at,eat at the restaurants he ate at,atend the same partys she wanted him to see what he had done,she wanted revenge.Then one morning,Astrid wakes up to police officers arresting her mother for the murder of Barry Kolker.Astrid is clueless,what has happened?had her mother really killed Barry?what will happen?Then another knock at the door,a social worker has come to take Astrid away,away from her house and away from the life she shared with her mother.Ingrid is put in to prison,and Astrid is put into foster care.The novel is about Astrid's diffrent expieriences in her diffrent foster homes,and her visits with her dictating mother.I found The white oleander was quite intrieging to read but very bizarre.I recomend it for people from the age of fifteen to 45.It is hard to identify with the characters, because they are so bizarre,I can't even identify with Astrid even though we share the same name.I would like to thank Janet Fitch for writing such an amazing novel,
Thankyou.
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