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tormlen 's review for:

White Oleander by Janet Fitch
5.0

I will always have a soft spot for this story. I actually saw the movie first, after my family had moved all the way across the way across the country only for my father to leave two months later. It struck a chord with me then, and it's a chord that still resonates more than a decade later.

I'm actually glad I waited until now to read the book. As a teenager, I think I would have let some of the more controversial scenes
Spoiler(namely Astrid's relationship with Ray)
Spoiler get under my skin. Now, I relate to Astrid and understand why she made some of her perhaps not stellar decisions.

The story kept me engaged, even though it took me nearly a month to finish this book. For some reason, I picked it up shortly before I started moving into a new apartment. I've seen many complaints on here that the prose is overworked. I actually really liked it overall. There were a couple places that made me pause, but other than that I loved the imagery.