White Oleander

Title: White Oleander
Author: Janet Finch
Pages: 480

SPOILERS……….
Astrid Magnussen is the daughter of the deadly and beautiful poet Ingrid Magnussen. And when Ingrid begins dating Barry Kolker, all of their lives will change forever. And as a result, Ingrid will end being sentenced to life in prison and Astrid will be forced into the child service system. Her first home is with Starr, an ex-drinker and ex-stripper that has been saved by Jesus. Also in the household are Starr’s real children Davy and Carolee; two other foster children named Owen and Peter; and Ray (or Uncle Ray), Starr’s carpenter boyfriend who is also already married. In Starr’s household, Astrid begins to learn about religion, as she is baptized into the Truth Assembly of Christ, and she begins to learn about nature, stars, trails, rabbits, and snakes from Davy. But it’s Ray, she’s most attracted to. And eventually the two begin a sexual relationship. As the relationship between Ray and Astrid grows, the relationship between Starr and Ray begins to deteriorate, so much so that Starr begins drinking again. And with her drinking Carolee decides to leave for good and Starr has a confrontation with Davy that results in a broken arm. Things continue to spiral and get worse until one night when Starr and Ray are having a loud argument, Starr storms into Astrid’s room and shoots her. Astrid is saved by Davy, who calls 911 and allows her to be taken into the hospital. After a few weeks stay in the hospital, Astrid is sent to her next home with the Turlock’s. This time Astrid meets Marvel and Ed Turlock and their two small children Caitlin and Justin. But it’s not long until she discovers her true purpose in the Turlock household, babysitter, pot scrubber, laundry maid, and beautician. And then Astrid befriends the rich beautiful black neighbor Olivia Johnstone. Immediately Astrid feels a connection to Olivia and sets out to befriend her. Only to learn the Olivia is also a prostitute. Soon Astrid begins drinking, and using drugs and even indulging in sexual acts for favors. One night Astrid sneaks out of the Turlock home in an attempt to visit Olivia, which results in a dog attack. The dog attack once again lands Astrid in the hospital with scars on her face and arms. And Marvel starts to become suspicious of Astrid’s behavior. One day without warning Marvel calls child services and has Astrid picked up from school and returned into the system. And that is when Astrid comes to live with Amelia Ramos, who has other foster daughters already including Kiki, Lina, Silvana, Micaela, and Nidia. To celebrate her arrival the entire clan has a giant meal. But the happiness is cut short, when the next morning Astrid discovers the fridge padlocked shut. And the entire house of foster girls go hungry all time. So Astrid steals food out of trash cans and does anything she can to survive all the while trying to reach child services and ask for new placement. It’s not until case worker Joan Peeler arrives that Astrid is finally able to leave Amelia’s house. And this will lead to Astrid’s happiest time. Joan places her with Claire Richards, a former actress and her film maker husband Ron. At first, it is just Claire and Astrid. They ate out of fast food cartons, told stories, thumbed through photo albums, listened to Opera’s, attended art museums, watched movies, and really formed a friendship and a love for one another. And Astrid flourishes, getting good grades and attending art classes all while planning a future in college. But when Ron would arrive home, Claire would become another person, only to be left crushed and devastated when he had to leave again. It is this weakness which Ingrid exploits. And Claire eventually takes a bottle of pills and commits suicide, leaving Astrid alone and heartbroken. And Astrid just stops trying. This leads into a placement in the MacLaren Children’s Center (aka Mac). Life at Mac would be the worst it’s ever been. Astrid is constantly beat up by the other girls, who are threatened that their boyfriends will find Astrid more beautiful. So Astrid chops off all her hair. She shuts her self off and she shuts down. It is during this time that she meets, Paul Trout. Paul Trout is also a foster child in Mac, and he is also an artist like Astrid. Eventually Paul is able to get Astrid to talk and the two become close friends and kindred spirits. Until the day Rena Grushenka arrives and Astrid is placed for her final time. Rena also has two other foster girls; Nikki, a rock and roll singer, and Yvonne a pregnant teen who must give up her baby for adoption. Rena teaches them all the importance of money. The dig through other people’s trash and sell anything they can to survive. Rena has the girls set up to do art projects that they can also sell. Meanwhile Astrid begins to dabble in drugs and sex with Sergei, Rena’s boyfriend. During this time a new lawyer appears on the scene for Astrid’s mom. The lawyer and Ingrid think that Ingrid can be released from prison with the help of Astrid’s testimony. Astrid finally agrees to testify but only if she can meet with her mother first and get some questions answered. So Astrid and Ingrid meet in the prison to talk about Astrid’s father and how Ingrid left Astrid for a whole year when she was a baby. Astrid explains to her mother how much she has poisoned her life. She wishes for Ingrid to choose between the corrupt Astrid, by having her lie in court or for having Astrid whole again. In the end, Ingrid chooses to not have Astrid lie for her. At the end of the book, Astrid is leaving in Germany with Paul and both are artists. Astrid is working on pieces about her life, which she puts into suitcases. Paul brings home an American newspaper one day and Astrid discovers that her mother has been released from prison and is now living in California. Astrid contemplates returning back to her former life with her mother but decides that while she may always fantasize about a life with her mother, she is no longer that person, she is now what she has become and a family with Paul.

Final thoughts:
Sad. And I lost a little interest after Claire died.
Book VS. Movie: The movie is great but left out Astrid’s time with the Turlocks and with Amelia.
3 stars out of 5.

Living Dead in Dallas

Title: Living Dead In Dallas
Author: Charlaine Harris
Subtitles” “A Sookie Stackhouse Novel” or “Southern Vampire Mysteries”
AKA: HBO’s True Blood: Season 2
Pages: 291

Confession time: I read this AFTER I had already seen HBO’s True Blood Season 2, so it may be nearly impossible for me to separate the two.

SPOILERS!!!!
Telepathic waitress Sookie Stackhouse knew falling in love with vampire Bill Compton, would be dangerous. But what she couldn’t have known was that by loving Bill a whole door of the supernatural would be opened and her life would never be the same. So when a dead body turns up in the back of detective Andy Bellefleur’s car in the parking lot of Merlotte’s, it’s just the beginning for Sookie. Who is then called upon to by Eric Northman to investigate the case of missing vampire in Dallas Texas. But in route Sookie is attacked by a maenad who has message for Eric. Upon arrival in Dallas, Bill and Sookie turn their attention to The Fellowship of the Sun, a religious organization of anti-vampire politics. So Sookie and Hugo (the human lover of a Dallas vampire) decide to go undercover at the Dallas church in an attempt to find vampires Godfrey and Farrell for Eric. But upon arrival at the church, Sookie is discovered as a spy and locked in the church basement, where she discovers Godfrey and Farrell are also being kept. When her jailer attempts to rape her, Sookie escapes the basement and then with the help of a werewolf/shapeshifter named Luna, escapes the church. The next day Sookie travels back to the church where she stays with Godfrey as he “meets the sun”. That night The Fellowship of the Sun attack the vampires Dallas lair and many humans are killed. In the explosion Eric is hit by a bullet which he convinces Sookie must be sucked out. Sookie agrees and accidentally ingests some of Eric’s blood, which will forge a connection between the two. Sookie, angered travels back to her home to try and help Andy Bellefleur solve the murder case there. Only to discover there may be a sex ring in town. Since she is still mad at Bill during this time, she invites Eric to go to the sex party with her to try and fish out the killer. During the party, the maenad arrives and kills all the responsible humans and then disappears into the woods. Eric and Bill burn the house to cover the evidence and glamour the remaining humans so that they have no memory of the sex party. And Bill and Sookie are reunited.

TV VS. BOOOK
Some differences: Where’s Jessica? Tara is just introduced in this book, whereas on tv she has been Sookie’s best friend for years. Jason is hardly mentioned in the book. Where’s Luna in the tv show? Godfrey’s name is changed to Godric and the tv show does not let us know that he is a child molester. Unlike the show, Godric is not mentioned as Eric’s maker, nor does it seem that the two have any prior relationship. In the book, Lafayette dies. Unlike the television show, there is no mention of the drug V. Unlike the show, we have yet to meet Bill’s maker. The Queen of Louisiana makes the show, but not the novel. The book features way less maenad story line and gives the maenad a different name. In the book Sam is having a sexual relationship with the maenad, in the show the maenad wants to kill Sam and Sam is having a relationship with another shapeshifter.

FINAL THOUGHTS:
I think I still enjoy the HBO version better. But it’s a solid and entertaining book. 3 out of 5 stars.

Honeymoon With My Brother

Title: Honeymoon With My Brother: A Memoir
Author: Franz Wisner
Pages: 288

A Book Club Discussion:
Me: What did you think?

Bookworm:
I loved it! i cried at three parts- the story of Quincy, the chapter titled this poor ole world of ours, and when Larue died. The chapter about how poor the rest of the world is hit me the hardest. Some of my family complains about politics... on a daily basis, always focusing on negativity, while there are people in third world countries who have no food or running water and still smile everyday. This book reinforced my philosophy- always look for the positive. I also loved that by the end, they were more than brothers, they were best friends. There's such a lesson in that. I was a little disappointed in Africa. i wanted a bit more detail like they provided in the other countries they visited. How did you feel about the book?

Me:
I really liked it too. My favorite thing? LaRue! I just loved her. I nearly cried in the end. I also loved the relationship between the brothers. Their relationship between the brothers before the "honeymoon" was something I could really relate too. What where your favorite countries or places? And what did you think about how 9/11 affected the story?

Bookworm:
I liked the Asian leg of the trip (interesting to find out that the Vietnamese hold no ill will towards Americans) but i loved Africa. Something about sipping a sundowner in front of my "tent" just looking out over the Savannah. And getting... to see animals that we have only seen in zoos roam freely would be amazing. I had a hard time reading about 9/11; I always do. I almost skipped it. Iinteresting that the brothers didn't see a real change in airport security after that. I think it probably gave credence to their honeymoon trip and their feeling that what they were doing- building a closer relationship- was more important than work. What was your favorite part? Do you have trouble reading anything to do with 9/11?

Me:
I loved Vietnam and Brazil. And I love the chapter on the worst taxi driver. LoL! I so wish I could go on a world trip. Or at least travel more. I would love to follow in some of their footsteps.9/11 is always hard for me. I can't stand the... month of September when all the Discovery channels/History channels so a billion 9/11 shows. But I liked how in the book the brothers weren't afraid to travel and be a part of the world. The real affect for them was an even deeper appreciation of family. Their blood family and their world family. I was glad it didn't stop them.

FINAL THOUGHTS:
3 1/2 Stars Out of 5

Book of the Month - September

Well it’s finally September which means that it’s all about Mockingjay by Suzanne Collins. And let me just tell you that I can not wait to get my grubby little hands on it! It is the third and final book in the story of Katniss, following Hunger Games and Catching Fire, both of which I read and really enjoyed. I can not wait to see how it all ends! What has happened to Katniss’ beloved district 12? Does district 13 really exist? Can they save Peeta? And who will she choose, Peeta or Gale? And can she save them all from the Capitol?