Search - White Oleander

A peek into a world that is mostly unknown to the average person. An artisticly inclined women and her daughter of like quality, are ripped apart after her mother's fatal decision. A story filled with unimaginably sad twists and one youth's fight to survive.

Once I began this book I was committed to finishing it without hesitating. It was an irresistible to put down at points wanting to finish, to find some peace hopefully at the end. Once I commit to something, I'm in it to win it...or at least get all the way to the finish line.
This girl's life was in a state of tremendous upheaval, and I was expecting a vastly different ending. Unfortunately, the ending left me a bit unsettled. Overall it was considerably detailed in all it's elements and a must read!

This book was incredible! I had stopped reading books for the past few years and just started back up. This was a great choice! I could not put it down. The author is incredibly detailed and descriptive. The vocabulary is also impressive at points. Definitely recommended!!

A Book Club Choice. A great story!

Incredible book about relationship between a mother and a daughter. Astrid was thrust into the foster care system after her mother goes to prison for murdering an ex-boyfriend. Her mother was a poet and lived an avante guard life style, keeping her daughter hauntingly thirsting for her mother during the years of living with an assortment of foster care families in L.A. Although she was in prison, she could still control her daughters life with her words. As Astrid grows through puberty into a young woman she becomes self reliant and independent. After her foster mother committs suicide because of something her mother said, Astrid turns from her mother and sees her as she really is, self serving and controlling. She becomes more self reliant and is able to break the spell of her mother over her.
A very provocative book, I didn't want it to end!

Good rainy day read.