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lisaeirene 's review for:
White Oleander
by Janet Fitch
A compelling, dark, sometimes heart-warming read about Astrid's difficult childhood. It starts with her life with her eccentric, but clearly mentally ill, mother in LA.
“Always learn poems by heart,” she said. “They have to become the marrow in your bones. Like fluoride in the water, they’ll make your soul impervious to the world’s soft decay.”
The relationship between Ingrid and Astrid is both endearing and disturbing. Even at a young age, Astrid seemed older than her years.
"I tried not to make it worse by asking for things, pulling her down with my thoughts. I had seen girls clamor for new clothes and complain about what their mothers made for dinner. I was always mortified. Didn’t they know they were tying their mothers to the ground?"
Ingrid is a brilliant poet but ends up murdering her ex-boyfriend and goes to prison. This begins Astrid's story of being bounced around foster homes. Each place she goes she learns something different about herself, survival, life, family and love.
“Honey, this is what happens when you fall in love. You’re looking at a natural disaster.” I vowed I would never fall in love."
It's not your typical book. The book is written beautifully, painting pictures for the reader that will not be forgotten.
Wherever Astrid goes, she finds solace in someone. In the first house, a trailer-trash type place, she befriends one of the young boys there. In the next place she befriends one of the neighbors who teaches her a lot about life and love.
“Isn’t it funny. I’m enjoying my hatred so much more than I ever enjoyed love. Love is temperamental. Tiring. It makes demands. Love uses you. Changes its mind.”
"When you started thinking it was easy, you were forgetting what it cost."
There was one foster home where this wealthy interior designer had a beautiful home and had several foster kids, teenage girls. It seemed like it was a wonderful home. But looks were deceiving. As soon as the social worker left, Astrid found out the foster mom was basically starving all the teenagers. The kitchen was locked and they were allowed to eat dinner and that was it. Astrid began stealing food at school from the garbage because she was literally starving to death.
There were so many horrible things in the book, but it's balanced by some glimpses of beauty and humanity. I loved this book!
“Always learn poems by heart,” she said. “They have to become the marrow in your bones. Like fluoride in the water, they’ll make your soul impervious to the world’s soft decay.”
The relationship between Ingrid and Astrid is both endearing and disturbing. Even at a young age, Astrid seemed older than her years.
"I tried not to make it worse by asking for things, pulling her down with my thoughts. I had seen girls clamor for new clothes and complain about what their mothers made for dinner. I was always mortified. Didn’t they know they were tying their mothers to the ground?"
Ingrid is a brilliant poet but ends up murdering her ex-boyfriend and goes to prison. This begins Astrid's story of being bounced around foster homes. Each place she goes she learns something different about herself, survival, life, family and love.
“Honey, this is what happens when you fall in love. You’re looking at a natural disaster.” I vowed I would never fall in love."
It's not your typical book. The book is written beautifully, painting pictures for the reader that will not be forgotten.
Wherever Astrid goes, she finds solace in someone. In the first house, a trailer-trash type place, she befriends one of the young boys there. In the next place she befriends one of the neighbors who teaches her a lot about life and love.
“Isn’t it funny. I’m enjoying my hatred so much more than I ever enjoyed love. Love is temperamental. Tiring. It makes demands. Love uses you. Changes its mind.”
"When you started thinking it was easy, you were forgetting what it cost."
There was one foster home where this wealthy interior designer had a beautiful home and had several foster kids, teenage girls. It seemed like it was a wonderful home. But looks were deceiving. As soon as the social worker left, Astrid found out the foster mom was basically starving all the teenagers. The kitchen was locked and they were allowed to eat dinner and that was it. Astrid began stealing food at school from the garbage because she was literally starving to death.
There were so many horrible things in the book, but it's balanced by some glimpses of beauty and humanity. I loved this book!