Rating: 
Summary: Slow to start, gets better
Review: I tried to read this book before I saw the movie but the pace was so slow that I just couldn't get into it. I put it down for several months and recently just picked it up again. The author tries to make her writing poetic to reflect the lifestyle of the characters and I found it annoying. Little dialogue also slows the pace. After I got through the first 100 pages, the book did begin to grab my interest. Some things are just ridiculous though, like how the author describes all the women in the maternity ward calling for their mothers. I gave birth twice and never did I hear anyone calling for "mommy".
Rating: 
Summary: Amazing
Review: I am usually very skeptical of Oprah book club books because they are always depressing and sometimes the characters are just a little TOO deep. However, I picked up White Oleander and was amazed.The story is less about foster care and Ingrid as a mother, as it is about Astrid finding herself independently of her mother. Astrid is a strong character who triumphs in the end not because there is a solid conclusion, but because you know that she, despite the horror of her life, has found herself. Usually I am also always disappointed in the endings of books, but not this one. There really isn't much of an ending to give away, but the most amazing part of the book is the feeling you are left with in the end of Astrid as an independent young woman determined to survive until the end and take a piece of everything and everyone with her to make her who she is. I haven't seen the movie, but I know it can't possibly do this book justice. This book gives you hope and reminds you that know matter what it is your ultimate decision to survive and, even, thrive.
Rating:
Summary: Very good read
Review: Found the character Ingrid hard to forget. Story is depressing but extremly well written.
Rating: 
Summary: A promising beginning but after that...
Review: not so much. I was intrigued by the characters at first and the idea that the mother would actually murder this man. For some reason, maybe because the prose was so whimsical and romantic, I thought perhaps Ingrid wouldn't get caught. Of course she does, which leaves us with Astrid. Astrid on her own is a lot less compelling. I find it strange that during this coming-of-age story the changes in her body, a normal part of adolescence, are never once mentioned. She has no qualms about pregnancy even though she, if I recall correctly, engages in unprotected sex a number of times. I guess I just wasn't too interested in her. This book was highly recommended but I was quite disapointed in it. I'm glad I got it from the library. Listening to it on tape eased the pain somewhat because if I fell asleep I didn't miss much.
Rating:
Summary: What's the point? Foster homes, survival? What's the point??
Review: I'm not against depressing stories, but there must be a point (message or moral) to the story. This story offers no redemption in the end and ON TOP OF that, there is no point! I don't think Astrid becomes a better person for her struggles. Even if a story is depressing, there needs to be something positive that comes out of the story such as a moral or a life lesson. The only thing you think of after this book is "That poor girl". Yes, Astrid survived, but I don't think she overcame anything or became a better person. Her experiences hardened her and that's not really a positive message...
Rating: 
Summary: Great book
Review: I loved this book... i just can't wait to see the movie now!
Rating:
Summary: This book is amazing
Review: I dont know what some of the people were talking about but everyone i know from the real world loves this book... it is an interesting story that is beautifully written I love this book I have bought it over and over again becuase I keep letting people borrow it and they never give it back but really this book is fantastic
Rating:
Summary: An interesting life story
Review: Janet Fitch was born in LA. She attended Reed College and Kelle Unviversity. She spent 12 years trying to get her first short story published. White Oleander is a touching story about a relationship between a mother and daughter. Astrid (daughter) stuggles to survive in the world without the only person she has ever loved and been loved by. Even though the book had a slow start I really enjoyed it by the middle. At that point it became a real page turner. I really liked hearing about the foster homes Astrid was put into, the people she met and how they treated her. I was surprised at some of the desicions Astrid made as she was moved from foster families. I didn't agree with some of the ways she dealt with the drug users, prostitutes and other people around her. However ... After reading this book I would really like to see the movie and see how the characters were portrayed.
Rating:
Summary: a "catcher in the rye" for girls
Review: Astrid and Ingrid MAgnussen live the poets life. Their wonderful villa in the middle of California has them living the way that they want to live. Until HE comes along. Barry is a fat lard. Astird says that he smells like a goat. Until she finds her mother falling in love and breaking everyone of her rules to life. Until one day Barry dumps her and sends Ingrid rolling to the bottom. She makes her veneful revenge by poisoning his food with oleander plants. She is easily caught and sentenced to 35 years to life in prison. Astrid, meanwhile is whirled into a series of foster homes and is exposed much too early to the real world. But somehow during it all she finds the answer to the ultimate question: where does a mother end and a daughter begin? White Oleander is one of the great ones. One of those literary page turners. Its an eye opener. It puts many of the recent debuts to shame. It is sure to become a classic since it is alreay beloved around the world. It will make its place beside A Tree Grows in Brooklyn and A seperate Peace. Note: I would give "Oleander" 4 1/2 stars because it dragged in some parts and could have been cut by about 50 pages.
Rating:
Summary: Learning about Astrid
Review: This story follows Astrid, a pre-teen girl through her life in foster homes. Her mother, Ingrid, killed her lover and is now in jail for life. Through this compelling story of Astrid's life you learn that no matter how much she truely tries she can never get away from her mother. I thought that the book showed the changes of life through foster homes and how different life is when you do not have a stable family, but I thought that the book was missing something. I know that many people have enjoyed this book and that was why I choose to read it, but I thought that you needed to get rid of Ingrid to really see Astrid. Everytime you thought Astrid was going to come into her own, somehow her mother popped into her life again. I think Finch missed her mark by a little bit with this book. Still very compelling though.
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