White Oleander: A Novel

Rating:
Summary: Another Oprah downer.....
Review: When will I learn. There must be a major plan behind the Oprah recommendations. What's next a book on therapy for all those determined to read her book club suggestions. Help us all. I don't even want this book in my house. Give me uplifting anytime. On to JUNK for summer reading..

Rating:
Summary: Great Summer Read!!
Review: White Oleander is a very moving story about an adolescent girl searching for her sense of self. It was emotionally evocative and captivating, yet I thought at the end that there was still a piece of the story missing. There lacked closure, and maybe that means that Ms. Fitch will continue the story of Astrid and her mother, Ingrid, in another book, but still the ending could have been stronger or breathed a greater sense of finality and conclusion. Otherwise, the book was refreshing and original, and for me an emotional experience as well. Very entertaining. Readers will not be disappointed.

Rating:
Summary: Devastating.
Review: My name happens to be Carolee. It was a bit hard to read this book. My life was similar to a point. To watch what happened to Astrid was like looking in a mirror. So many people trying to kill her soul and her struggle to survive..and then to do more than survive but to live a full complete life reduced me to tears. This is a book that will stay with you for a long time.

Rating:
Summary: excellent book, beautifully written
Review: I was given this book because I am a Court Appointed Special Advocate. We are volunteers appointed by the courts to help kids get through the foster care system. My charge is a teenager - most people prefer younger kids and teenagers get passed around just as Astrid was. This book just hits the mark. It shows how a creative, beautiful soul can go through needless pain because our society does not have enough resources to cope with kids who's parents can't or won't take responsibility for them. I suffered with Astrid as she moved from strange house to strange house, adapting, fitting in, changing schools, making new friends looking for mentors, looking for love. No child should be put in that position. In the end I loved the way the author described how little it took to give Astrid for her forgiveness and love. These kids need society to protect them and this book really gave a realistic - non-dramatized - view of what many children experience in foster care. It should be required reading for those who have the power to make changes...these kids need help..they are not criminals. I will be passing it around to many people I know.

Rating:
Summary: Beautifully written about life's struggles & the effects.
Review: Purchasing this book to support a new writer was my motive. After finishing the book this AM I felt let down. Had hoped that Astird would have taken a more postive position with all the struggles she had endured. I was saddened that women often have babies so they can clone themselves, and control or just to have someone that will love them back. It also brought to our attention that no matter what a child suffers in child abuse, they have that strong bond to their birth parents. Astird was so talented, mature beyond her years and still seem to stay locked into the unfilled life. She at the end seem to take the lesser options, so often this is what women settle for in real life. The one thought that kept coming to my mind was a tee-shirt I saw some years back, "Life us One Stuggle After Another, Then You Die." Her mother really did a number on her and Astrid let her. Both were so talented, yet so miss directed. All of us are a composited of the personalities we share, as well as gens. I kept waiting for Astird to over come in a more positive way.

Rating:
Summary: Reader beware...another depressing Oprah book!
Review: I've read many of Oprah's books and found most of them well written but sooooo depressing. This one is no exception. Astrid's search for love absolutely grabs your heart and squeezes til you can't even breathe. Ambiguous ending leaves one dissatisfied. Adios Oprah!

Rating:
Summary: A book you bring to work to read at lunch!
Review: This is definitely one of those books that you bring with you whenever or wherever you think you may have a moment to read!

Rating:
Summary: So good you'll forgive it for its weaknesses.
Review: Very lyrical novel about a young girl whose brilliant but mentally ill mother murders an ex-boyfriend and winds up in prison for life. The girl is bounced around from horrible foster family to horrible foster family while trying to figure out who she is, who her mother is, and who they are to become. Some of the writing seemed heavy-handed to me, and some of the plot seemed unnecessarily manipulative. However, I couldn't put this book down -- the prose is so good that breaking it up by putting it down was almost impossible. I wanted to keep the flow going. Very depressing look at foster care, but an uplifting look at the strength young women in difficult situations can pull up from within themselves.

Rating:
Summary: Heart Wrenching
Review: White Oleander was written with so much passion that many times I had to re-read sentences. It is very poetic even with some of the deepest moments in Astrid's plight to survive foster care. Never, would I have imagined the horrible trauma that foster care could hold for a young girl. Her Mother was a complete lunatic for not protecting Astrid, & does not deserve her love.

Rating:
Summary: Beautifully written about life's struggles & the effects
Review: Purchasing this book to support a new writer was my motive. After finishing the book this AM, I felt let down. Had hoped that Astrid would have taken a more positive position with all the sturggles she had endured. I was saddened that women often have babies so thay can clone themselves, and control or to have someone that will love them back. It also brought to our attention that no matter what a child suffers in child abuse, they have the strong bond to their birth parents. Astird was so talented, mature beyond her years. She at the end seem to take the lesser options, so often this is what women settle for in real life. The one comment that kept coming to my mind was a tee-shirt I saw some years back,"Life is One Struggle After Another, Then You Die." Her mother really did a number on her and Astrid let her. Both were so talented, yet so miss directed. All of us are a composited of the personalities we share, as well as gens. I keep waiting for Astird to over come in a more positive way.