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Book Review By Mike Newman
White Oleander by Janet Fitch

The story is essentially the tale of Astrid, a young woman coming of age through a variety of foster homes, and Ingrid, her beautiful but distant mother.

Astrid and Ingrid float through life, adhering to Ingrid's somewhat arbitrary rules regarding relationships with men, until Ingrid breaks her own rules with a man she falls for. He, of course, lets her down and leaves her. She cannot come to terms with this and poisons him. She is sent away to prison and so begins Astrid's journey to adulthood.

Astrid finds herself in a number of foster homes through her childhood.


Plot & Themes
Tone of book? - depressed
Time/era of story - 1980's-1999
Kids growing up/acting up? Yes
Is this an adult or child's book? - Adult or Young Adult Book
Something wrong upstairs/downstairs? - searching for identity/meaning
Parents/lack of parents problem?
Wild kid(s)? - committing crimes

Main Character
Gender - Female
Profession/status:
Age: - a teen

Setting
How much descriptions of surroundings? - 5 ()
United States Yes
The US: - California

Writing Style
Sex in book? Yes
What kind of sex: - touching of anatomy - actual description of hetero sex
Amount of dialog - roughly even amounts of descript and dialog
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