Pre-numbered label used for registration. I bought this softcover book in beautiful Colorado Springs, CO at a Goodwill store.

From the Publisher
Astrid is the only child of single mother, Ingrid, a brilliant, obsessed poet who wields her luminous beauty to intimidate and manipulate men. Astrid worships her mother and cherishes their private world full of ritual and mystery — but their idyll is shattered when Astrid's mother falls apart over a lover. Deranged by rejection, Ingrid murders the man, is sentenced to life in prison.
White Oleander is the unforgettable story of Astrid's journey through a series of foster homes and her efforts to find a place for herself in impossible circumstances. Each home is its own universe, with a new set of laws and lessons to be learned. With determination and humor, Astrid confronts the challenges of loneliness and poverty, and strives to learn who a motherless child in an indifferent world can become. Tough, irrepressible, funny, and warm, Astrid is one of the most indelible characters in recent fiction.

White Oleander is an unforgettable story of mothers and daughters, burgeoning sexuality, the redemptive powers of art, and the unstoppable force of the emergent self. Written with exquisite beauty and grace, this is a compelling debut by an author poised to join the ranks of today's most gifted novelists

RELEASE NOTES:

Off to start the bookring!
Tenneh NE

SmilingSun IL

Raralovestoread FL

Sissyrun CA

Ann32 AK

Lunna Brazil

FiBe England

Siriradha CO, USA

received today - will start soon.

This is a really good book but I found it to be really depressing. I was glad I read it but found myself in a depressed mood every time I read.

RELEASE NOTES:

heading off to SmilingSun today

Just received in the mail!

SmilingSun

I received this book in the mail today. I will start it as soon as I finish the book I am currently reading (a bookray book). Thanks, siriradha, for sharing this book with us.

Hmmm ... I enjoyed this book, but I felt the ending was lacking something. I don't know what exactly I was expecting, but it let me down somehow. I am glad I read it and am interested in seeing how the movie compares to the book.

Today I mailed this book to Sissyrun in California. Enjoy!

Received in the mail today, 12/14/04.
I noticed that the movie was on HBO(?) and couldn't resist watching it. I will really like to see how the book and the movie differ. Really looking forward to reading as soon as possible.

I finished this book today and I PM'd Ann32. She is away until 1/6.
This book really draws you in and makes you feel for Astrid. What a life this child had to endure when her mother went away to prison. I felt as if I was watching a metamorphasis of a moth to a butterfly. And that mother of hers!!!!! SHE is the white oleander.... such poison and venom coming from that woman's letters! You cringe at the thought of foster homes like the ones portrayed in this story, but you know deep down there really are people like this; both good and bad.
I wish I could draw like Astrid....
Very good book, good movie, well done.

Released on Friday, January 07, 2005 at about 6:00:00 PM BX time (GMT-06:00) Central Time (US & Canada) at N/A in Mailed via media mail, A Trade Controlled Releases.

RELEASE NOTES:

Finally on its way to Alaska! Hope the terrible Calif. storm doesn't delay delivery.
Happy trails.....

Received this in the mail today. Looking forward to reading it.

This is an excellent book. Fitch's words paint a vivid, lyrical picture of Astrid's life. Real, compelling, interesting, and full of life. Others have said this book was depressing, but I didn't find it that way. Vivid and compelling... and certainly not cheery... but hopeful, in its own way.

I've PM'd Lunna, and will send this book on when I get an address. Thanks for sharing the book!

Mailed to Lunna in Brazil today.