1. NicoleM.

   10

   I thought the book and movie was the best that I have ever seen in a long time.

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2. jamiemeghan

   9

   White Oleander is an emotional-heartwreck coming of age story written by Janet Fitch and published in May of 1999. This fictional novel tells of Astrid Magnussen, beginning in early childhood. Astrid is living with her feminist, poet of a mother in Southern California--prey to the blistery, dry-warm wind of the Santa Anas. “Never let a man spend the night,â€� Ingrid tells her young daughter. “Dawn has a way of casting a pall on any night magic,â€� she warns and Astrid listens, eager to absorb the beautiful words of the woman she holds in such high regards. Astrid delights herself with the idea that soon she will grow up and be strong and powerful as her mother before her has “alwaysâ€� been. Ingrid defies herself as she breaks her own rules when she falls for a Mister Berry Kolker and in-turn feels the pain of her own manipulations backfire. Mister Berry Kolker is a flat character who mirrors Ingrid’s rigid lust and emotional detachment, coated with romantics and disregard for anyone else’s rules. When Berry asks Ingrid to leave after making love to her because he has another woman coming over, Ingrid is infuriated in a more than personal way. Ingrid takes Astrid to Mexico, not on a family vacation but rather to buy Dimethyl sulfoxide, (DMSO); in her conniption, Ingrid uses the DMSO to heighten the toxicity of the California-native White Oleander and bring her unfaithful lover to a venomous demise. Astrid’s life is thrown up in the air as her mother in sentenced to life in prison for murder. She becomes a child of the foster care system and is unable to settle because she is under constant fire from her unfortunate foster parents and families. She changes foster homes multiple times throughout the story because she must be removed from those people whom are detrimental to her life. Astrid struggles not only to stay afloat but also to find herself and separate her personal ideas from those of the people she must stay with and those of her mother. Through much travail, Astrid develops herself around loneliness, stress, abuse, loss, sexuality, drugs and massive confusion. This is the kind of Story that truly shapes a character. Astrid undergoes more **** and struggles in her early years than most do throughout their lives. Growing up without her mom and without the stability that comes from “homeâ€�—which she also was deprived of, Astrid is a weeping willow, growing as an independent spirit. Fitch’s novel provokes one to feel a great deal of sympathy for its protagonist, even as Astrid’s strong narration avoids pleading for such kindness. As a young person in modern society, I see many of the difficulties portrayed in this story; yet, Fitch’s account is graphic and Astrid’s story is a tragically beautiful story revolving around the challenge of letting go and of finding one’s self in unlikely and unglamorous places—such as in the trash bags on streets, full of clothing and other sellable items. Fitch’s intelligent diction in her writing and within Astrid’s mind as the narrator allows the book to draw you inward toward the story. Her diction also provides the audience with an appreciation for Astrid’s cleverness and builds her as a very unique character. This novel is a gratifying read for anyone who has the itch for a compelling and intellectual read and for anyone who has the desire to open their mind to a brilliant author—Janet Fitch. By Jamie Herrera… Expand

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