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.