Ellen Foster (Oprah's Book Club)

Fabulous read by Kaye Gibbons. Fantastic, unforgettable opening line.

I saw the movie on TV and decided I wanted to read the book the movie was based on. I could visualize the happenings when reading the book because of viewing the movie first. The young girl in the story lived a Hell on Earth. She was a survivor and knew what she wanted and pursued her dream of a new family. The book made me so grateful for the family I grew up with. Ellen was faced with racial discrimination because of her black girlfriend, along with fear of sexual abuse living with her drunken and abusive father and his black men friends. After her mother's death and later her father's death she was forced by the courts to live with her Mother's Mother, an angry verbally abusive old woman who treated her badly because she was the daughter of the horrible man that her daughter had married blaming him and Ellen for the abuse and death of her daughter. It is quite a path that she must travel to not only survive but find the family that she so deeply desired. The book is written in Ellen's words in the first person, making it a little hard to read at times but also very effective. It is a short, sweet, and good read.

Ellen Foster is a story, told from a child’s view that makes sense of her very shattered childhood. She develop’s a view of life and “takes it by the horns” to create her own view of life.

This book read very quickly as it was shorter in length, but also kept me (the reader) engaged. The main character faces a tough life, but at a young age gathers her spirit and determination to improve her own situation - all the while a steady friend and her family provide respite and comfort for her. At the end, the young character reveals her own realization that she indeed struggled, but not so much as the close friend who never faltered in her positivity and attitude. Great coming to age tale.

A very touching and poignant

It’s hard to hear the phrase, “children are resilient.” And it’s not really true. They may carry the pain quietly, and then as adults, we can lie to ourselves and say it’s true. The author does an astounding job of getting inside the mind of a child forced to grow up much too fast. But bolstered and rooted by a mother’s love, however short lived. I will never forget Ellen, and her brokenness made bearable a sweet nature.

This book and author were unknown to me before I selected it. At first, I didn't know what to make of it. Was it going to be a tale of a very bright 11-year-old enduring an abusive, heartbreaking hardscrabble existence? In untutored, I'll-educated dialect? No way. This short book is a gem! It's beautifully written, infused with compassion, and crying out with meaning. The story is wonderful, the protagonist is a survivor whose spirit is inspiring. And within all that, the author shows the reader, in oblique, gentle ways, how racial prejudice can melt away.

While others reading Ellen Foster have given negative reviews because it was depressing, for me it was like a breath of fresh air! I am a 4th grade teacher working in a rural school where 80% of our children come for impoverished homes. I know real children who remind me of Ellen, but not all are as resilient. Ellen had a mind of her own and she used it to make a better life for herself. Her honesty and forthrightness came across rather crudely at times. However, it was because she had the ability to see the big picture and be honest with herself and others that she survived. This remarkable authenticity was in contrast to her cousin and aunt. Their pathetic, twisted lives hurt Ellen, even as they tried to sugar-coat their world! I could not put this book down. Too many children in America live in poverty. They need resources in order to make it out.

A quick and quirky read. Was selected as a bookclub read but was a bit short for that purpose really. But I enjoyed Gibbons' style and her choice of subject matter which is grim, but lightened by narrators wry humour.

Great book

terrible

More ragged than I thought. I always recycle books to others so wasn't expecting perfect "used" condition but this was in a pretty battered condition.