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WARNING: This contains some spoilers for the book, White Oleander, If you haven't read it, you might not want to. It's possibly one of the most disturbing books I've ever read. The assignment was to use a specific ten words from our grammar book in a summary of the book we read. Keep in mind that I wrote this at eleven o'clock the night before it was due.
Once upon a time, there was a girl named Astrid Magnussen who lived a charmed life in an enchanted kingdom where she had her mother reigned as queens. Though Ingrid, Astrid’s mother, was a negligent parent, Astrid loved her faiy-tale life. But one day, her mother did the one thing she swore she’d never do—she fell in love, but the man of her choosing was no knight in shining armor. In a twisted series of events, her mother, mad with hate over the infidelity of her boyfriend, kills the man to take revenge. Astrid is sent out into the world on her own, to face a relentless string of ill luck that only grows more intolerable as the poor girl gets older. Shunted from one venomous foster family to another, Astrid faces indignity after indignity. After suffering grievous injuries from her first foster mother, she is condemned to servitude in her next new home. Astrid contends with her unfortunate life as, over time, her relationship with her mother slowly warps and Astrid finally comes to see her as the selfish, manipulative woman she really is. However, despite Ingrid’s disposition, she builds up her career as an illustrious writer behind bars while Astrid struggles with the varied maltreatments and abuse she was forced to endure in foster care. Eventually, Astrid’s mother is released from prison, and immediately voices an interest in resuming their mother-daughter relationship. But Astrid has learned that her mother’s world is dangerous, and leaves with her own boyfriend to lead a vagrant life in Germany. The book ends, and we are left wondering whether Astrid really will succumb to the temptation of that dangerous, exciting, beautiful life, or remain safe with her Prince Charming, far away from the eyes of the evil queen.
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