Rating: 
Summary: You thought it was more...
Review: I was so excited about watching the movie, I didn't relize that it had a book too. So I missed the movie when it was at our hometown theater. So then I'm like okay I've heard this story is really good, so no longer will I wait. A month later I finally had the book in my hands. My hands turned the pages slowly with excitment, then with disppointment, and some further disppointment. Don't get me wrong the way Janet Fitch describes things makes the clock stop to try and picture it. That's what I did all through the book, picturing the famous names that playing the roles in the movie( the poster on my wall). The thing that disappointed me the most was the way she described Astrids tension with the older men and stuff.
Other then that the book held great value for foster kids..
Rating: 
Summary: a great read
Review: I'm not really interested in this type of book, but my aunt got me this book ... and I truly enjoyed it. I later purchased it for many of my friends and they all have really found it to be a great read. read it! you'll cry and laugh.
Rating:
Summary: Depressing
Review: Well written, but this book is SO depressing. I was glad to finish it. NOt recommended to those who want to feel happy after reading a book.
Rating:
Summary: ONE GIRL'S SEARCH FOR HERSELF IN FOSTER HOMES
Review: White Oleander is the story of a mother and daughter, Ingrid and Astrid Magnussen. Although not the typical mother/daughter. Ingrid is a tempting, controlling, free-spirit, man-eating artist. Astrid learns to be wise beyond her years to make up for her mother's lack of parenting.The story's plot centers around Astrid's continual move from foster home to foster home after her mother's arrest and incarceration for the poisoning death of her lover. As Astrid is tossed around from the various foster homes she learns how survive and discovers who she really is and not just the identity that she is Ingrid Magnussen's, the artist's, daughter. She also learns how to stand up for herself and let go of her possessive mother. Even from Ingrid's prison cell she tries to run the show of Astrid's life. But in the end Astrid proves she is much stronger than Ingrid. I loved the imagery in this novel. The descriptions were very fitting because the two main characters were artists.
Rating: 
Summary: Lots of "Hype", I was expecting more
Review: I wanted to read the book before I saw the movie. I don't think I will see the movie now. Usually the book is better, so I have my doubts about the movie. Although, I really like Michelle Pfiefer. This could easily be an "Oprah" book if that still existed. Most of those books are depressing, although some of them have been very entertaining (i.e., The Pilot's Wife). This book never makes you "feel" good. I did want to read it to find out if it ended better than it started, but I was also disappointed in the ending. I was glad when I finished reading the book.
Rating:
Summary: Histrionic Drama
Review: While I admire the research behind this first novel, and I was presdisposed to love it based on reviews and the movie performance of the actress who played Astrid, I found the book more than a litle too flowery and overwrought - like the author was showing off all her skills just in case she doesn't get another chance.
Also, between "Lovely Bones" and "White Oleander", what's up with 13 year old girls being sexually destroyed by older men?
A disquieting theme.
Rating:
Summary: Amazing!!!
Review: I loved this book! I recommend it to everyone.
Rating:
Summary: White Oleander
Review: I have read a lot of books, but this book is one of my two favorites. I recommend it to anyone. I'll put it this way, I, 20, my Aunt, 45, and my Grandmother, 82, all loved this book! I think that many men would like it too. It may take a little bit to get into but it's more than worth it to stick with it. You've got to find something in the book to relate to. (My other favorite is Back Roads by Tawni O'Dell.)
Rating:
Summary: Great for understandign our female relationships
Review: Although the book started out a bit slow, after chapter 3 it just took off. I loved it and I wish I would have read it before I saw the previews to the movie, the A-list actresses kept getting in my head as I read. However, it does not diminish the storyline and the harrowing ordeal of Astrid as she survives her adolescent and teenage fate. A wonderful read! Especially if you want to better understand how intricate the mother-daughter relationship is! Beautiful prose.
Rating:
Summary: Entertaining, but definitely no masterpiece
Review: The only people I've ever heard rave about this book are lonely housewives and Bebe-sporting teenybopper suburbanites, so my expectations weren't all that high. I'm glad. I found the book entertaining, but there is no question at all that other authors have told the same story and conveyed the same messages with more literary talent and finesse than Janet Fitch. Some of the foster homes are unbelievable at best, if not downright absurd. It felt like the author borrowed Amelia Ramos from Miss Hannagan in the movie Annie, Starr from a trailerfied version of Baywatch, and all the male characters from The Young and the Restless. Additionally, I have no idea why people are tauting this book as being "poetic" or "well-written." The metaphors logarithmically outnumbered the number of pages per chapter, and most of them were repetitive, redundant, and unnecessary (for example, constant lists of exotic places that Astrid associates with her mother). It read like the author thought she was pretty clever and wanted everyone else to think so too. Speaking of the author, anyone who loves-loves-loves this book should be wary of watching or reading any interviews with Janet Fitch. One interview comment, that she has a shrine to Oprah and ignites candles for it daily, plummeted her in my esteem from a mild flake to a full-fledged space cadet. This book entertained me in the way that a really bad Lifetime Original Movie would, but is no work of J.D. Salinger.
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