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4.0 AVERAGE
4.0 AVERAGE
An awesome debut novel. Beautifully poetic in prose. A fantastical story about a manipulative woman (picture Heather Locklear in the role) of the literary arts, a poet, sent to prison for murdering her boyfriend to punish him for leaving her for another, and her daughter who imminently lands in foster care. The horrible reality for a child in the foster care system, the uncaring foster parents who only take in foster kids for the money, the number of homes a single child passes through before he/she reaches eighteen years of age, and the hopelessness and hatred these kids come to know as a survival mechanism. The author has done good research on this subject matter to tell this story.
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Bible. Bible. Bible.
"Beauty was deceptive. I would rather wear my pain, my ugliness. I was torn and stitched. I was a strip mine, and they would just have to look. I hoped I made them sick. I hoped they saw me in their dreams"
"Beauty was deceptive. I would rather wear my pain, my ugliness. I was torn and stitched. I was a strip mine, and they would just have to look. I hoped I made them sick. I hoped they saw me in their dreams"
It ended pretty abruptly and the climax was really weak. It could have done with a couple more chapters at the end. It's almost like the author got bored with writing it. I'd still recommend the read though.
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Sad. Language was a little flowery but in a good way. I get the feeling there is more under the surface to understand but I don’t have the literary analytical skills.
“How vast was a human beings capacity for suffering. The only thing you could do was stand in awe of if. It wasn’t a question of survival at all. It was the fullness of it, how much you could hold, how much you could care.”
For starters, it’s incredible to me that I was allowed to read this at age 11 and that I enjoyed it. That being said, I hadn’t reread this since, and coming back to this a decade and a half later was an experience.
Janet Finch has such a way with words and characters; there were so many passing faces that were so fleshed out and real, even if we only saw them briefly. White Oleander is raw and dirty and hurtful in the way only something so realistic can be. It’s such a skill to be able to write a villain so dynamic, so present, even as she’s not directly involved with most of this plot.
Definitely was worth the reread and very much enjoyed!
For starters, it’s incredible to me that I was allowed to read this at age 11 and that I enjoyed it. That being said, I hadn’t reread this since, and coming back to this a decade and a half later was an experience.
Janet Finch has such a way with words and characters; there were so many passing faces that were so fleshed out and real, even if we only saw them briefly. White Oleander is raw and dirty and hurtful in the way only something so realistic can be. It’s such a skill to be able to write a villain so dynamic, so present, even as she’s not directly involved with most of this plot.
Definitely was worth the reread and very much enjoyed!
I have regrets for putting off reading this book for so long.
Something about reading this felt like a diary, my friends diary, my own diary, the secret whisperings of any woman, any foster child, anybody who has had issues with parents (mostly maternal but also paternal), anybody who has questioned themselves, anybody who has had to grow up too fast too hard.
This book was amazing. If anything please read this book for the prose, almost every page I have underlined at least one sentence that reached into my heart and heard it’s beating.
Easily one of my new favorite books, perhaps I’ll watch the movie. Excited to read the next books Janet Fitch releases.
Something about reading this felt like a diary, my friends diary, my own diary, the secret whisperings of any woman, any foster child, anybody who has had issues with parents (mostly maternal but also paternal), anybody who has questioned themselves, anybody who has had to grow up too fast too hard.
This book was amazing. If anything please read this book for the prose, almost every page I have underlined at least one sentence that reached into my heart and heard it’s beating.
Easily one of my new favorite books, perhaps I’ll watch the movie. Excited to read the next books Janet Fitch releases.
This book is amazing. Lyrical in a way that most authors can only dream of.
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced