Olivia Coflin

AP Literature

White Oleander

In 1999, White Oleander was written by author Janet Fitch and immediately became a national bestseller. By reading the first page alone, anyone can see why. Fitch’s words soothe the mind and her imagery and her ability to convey the changes in characters emotions is exceptional.

This novel tells the twisted tale of an atypical mother-daughter relationship. Ingrid Magnussen is a famous poet who lives by her own set of rules. She has many lovers and lives freely all over the world with her daughter Astrid tagging along and learning the secrets to her trade. Astrid knows her mother by heart and soul; they are one in many ways. Their relationship changes when Ingrid starts dating a man named Barry Kolker who is less than appealing at first, but soon wins Ingrid’s heart and is everything Astrid has always wanted in a father. One day Barry ends things with Ingrid, and it destroys her mentally and physically. She starts dragging Astrid along while she stalks and plots Barry’s murder. She succeeds in poisoning him with the lethal sap of the white oleander flower. She is arrested and put in a high security prison for life.

Astrid, being only 13 at the time and having her mother as the only person in the world that she’s ever known, is terrified of anything different and being away from her mother. The story truly takes off when Astrid is taken to her first of many foster homes. Throughout the story, Astrid encounters a slew of different people all from different places with a distinctive story. She is always afraid to become too attached to any one place or person because she believes nothing will ever last long enough to be worth holding on to. She goes through amazing struggles with herself while keeping contact with her mother who wants to keep Astrid all to herself. After growing up too fast and learning what she can with her amazing artistic talents, Astrid emerges as the strongest character in the book. Her relationship with her mother is so moving and is constantly challenged while Janet Fitch keeps the thoughts of Astrid and Ingrid both so separate.

Every new destination that Astrid stumbles upon has its own tone and feel and the way the words are laid across the page vary so distinctively from Ingrid’s letters, to Astrid’s thoughts, to describing the backgrounds of every foster home. Fitch exemplifies many talents while writing this book and her whole heart was presented in creating the characters and relation of Ingrid and Astrid as well as every other character in this amazing novel. I highly recommend this book to anyone, but especially young women. It communicates the unbelievable strength that one girl can possess, which is the encouragement every young women is looking for. White Oleander is a fantastic read no matter how long you decide to make it, and it has become one of my all time favorite novels.