White Oleander (1999) (edit title/settings)

Ridiculously Simplified Synopsis edit see section history

show spoilers

Summary edit see section history

Characters/People edit see section history

show spoilers

• Astrid Magnussen: The protagonist of the story, she is the daugter of the brilliant poet Ingrid Magnussen. She is an artist, and often describes the things around her in terms of paintings or drawings throughout the story.
• Ingrid Magnussen: Astrid's mother, a brilliant poet and writer. Horrifyingly, disgustingly gorgeous.
• Claire Richards: Arguably the foster mother that Astrid connects with the most. She is an actress in small films, television shows, and commercials. She is highly superstitious and believes in things such as numerology and the evil eye.
• Rena Grushenka: Astrid's Russian last foster mother who lives with pregnant Yvonne. Girlfriend of Sergei. She owns a small shop.
• Starr: Astrid's first foster mother. She is a reformed drug addict, alcoholic, and exotic dancer; and has recently developed a fondness for church and the lord.
• Ron: A writer for a popular sci-fi tv show.
• Yvonne: Russian pregnant roommate of Astrid's when she lives with Rena.
• Olivia Johnstone: The neighbor of Astrid's second foster mother, Marvel. An elegant African American woman who teaches Astrid about the power of sex and more about feminism. Because her second foster mother was a racist, she was very much against them "hanging-out"
• Barry Kolker: A fat-cat cocky type of man. Not the most attractive and is very cocky and playboy. Ingrid Magnussen's boyfriend
• Davey: Starr's only biological son. Friends with Astrid and has an aptitude for science.
• Uncle Ray: The boyfriend of Astrid's first foster mother, Starr.
• Paul Trout: A boy Astrid meets in the Mac.
• Carolee: The biological daughter of Astrid's first foster mother, Starr. Rebellious and hates her mother.
• Sergei: Boyfriend of Rena. A Russian man who also becomes the lover of Astrid.
• Ingrid: A dark, seductive character that harms all who are not beautiful in her eyes. She is a delicious antagonist who you can't help but love.
• Joan Peeler: One of the previous social workers of Astrid
• Marvel: Astrid's racist second foster mother. Marvel is a Mary Kay beauty saleswoman who often uses Astrid as a babysitter.
• Niki: She is a fellow foster kid who lives with Rena.
• Susan: Ingrid's lawyer
• Amelia: Astrid's third foster mother. Treats her foster girls as slaves and only feeds them at dinner, starving them.
• Owen: Foster child of Starr and Ray
• Julie: Add a description of this character.
• Caitlin: Marvel's biological toddler daughter.
• Annie: Woman who took in children and raised Astrid for a year
• Debby
• Justin
• Marlene: One of Astrid's foster mothers
• Misha: Friend of Rena
• Eduardo: The man that owned a hotel in Mexico that Ingrid had a casual relationship with...the relationship that Astrid aspires to have with a man.
• Mrs. Kromach
• Thomas
• Klaus: Astrid's father who she hadn't seen since she was two years old. From Europe
• Ms. Cardoza
• Linda
• Peter
• Wendy

Quotes edit see section history

• “Oleanders could live through anything, they could stand heat, drought, neglect, and put out thousands of waxy blooms.”

  Astrid

• Popular Highlights from Kindle Customers

• Loneliness is the human condition. Cultivate it. The way it tunnels into you allows your soul room to grow. Never expect to outgrow loneliness. Never hope to find people who will understand you, someone to fill that space. An intelligent, sensitive person is the exception, the very great exception. If you expect to find people who will understand you, you will grow murderous with disappointment. The best you’ll ever do is to understand yourself, know what it is that you want, and not let the cattle stand in your way.

  Highlighted by 63 Kindle customers

• Love is temperamental. Tiring. It makes demands. Love uses you. Changes its mind.”

  Highlighted by 63 Kindle customers

• “But hatred, now. That’s something you can use. Sculpt. Wield. It’s hard or soft, however you need it. Love humiliates you, but hatred cradles you. It’s so soothing. I feel infinitely better now.”

  Highlighted by 49 Kindle customers

• “Love’s an illusion. It’s a dream you wake up from with an enormous hangover and net credit debt. I’d rather have cash.”

  Highlighted by 48 Kindle customers

• You know the mistrust of heights is the mistrust of self, you don’t know whether you’re going to jump.

  Highlighted by 44 Kindle customers

• This was how girls left. They packed up their suitcases and walked away in high heels. They pretended they weren’t crying, that it wasn’t the worst day of their lives. That they didn’t want their mothers to come running after them, begging their forgiveness, that they wouldn’t have gone down on their knees and thanked God if they could stay.

  Highlighted by 41 Kindle customers

• What was the point in such loneliness among people. At least if you were by yourself, you had a good reason to be lonely.

  Highlighted by 41 Kindle customers

• “Never let a man stay the night,” she told me. “Dawn has a way of casting a pall on any night magic.”

  Highlighted by 39 Kindle customers

• I wanted to tell her not to entertain despair like this. Despair wasn’t a guest, you didn’t play its favorite music, find it a comfortable chair. Despair was the enemy.

  Highlighted by 39 Kindle customers

• The pearls weren’t really white, they were a warm oyster beige, with little knots in between so if they broke, you only lost one. I wished my life could be like that, knotted up so that even if something broke, the whole thing wouldn’t come apart.

  Highlighted by 33 Kindle customers

Setting & Locations edit see section history

• Hollywood
• California
• Paris
• New York
• Amsterdam
• Mexico
• Ripple Street
• Argentina
• Berlin

First Sentence edit see section history

Series & Lists edit see section history

Preceded by The Pilot's Wife, and followed by Mother of Pearl.

Authors & Contributors edit see section history

1. Janet Fitch (Author)

First Edition edit see section history

Classification edit see section history

• Library of Congress: Add the Library of Congress Classification.
• Dewey: 813.54

Subjects edit see section history

• Books › Literature & Fiction › Genre Fiction › Family Saga

Movie Connections edit see section history

• White Oleander (IMDb): 2002.

More Books Like This edit see section history