White Oleander

 White Oleander by Janet Fitch  390 pages

Summary from Goodreads: Everywhere hailed as a novel of rare beauty and power, White Oleander tells the unforgettable story of Ingrid, a brilliant poet imprisoned for murder, and her daughter, Astrid, whose odyssey through a series of Los Angeles foster homes--each its own universe, with its own laws, its own dangers, its own hard lessons to be learned--becomes a redeeming and surprising journey of self-discovery.

And here's what I thought: I re-read this book about once a year because I enjoy the story and a lot of the imagery. Both Astrid and her mother are interesting characters and the way they play off each other lends an extra element to the story of a daughter exploring the results of her own choices. When Astrid's mother is charged with murder and imprisoned, Astrid is left to navigate the foster care system. As expected, some places are better than others and through the years, Astrid has to struggle to hang on to who she really is.  Astrid is an artist and her mother is a poet, so there are plenty of both throughout the story. This is a book that is beautifully written, which is why I re-read it on a regular basis.