Ellen Foster (alkuperäinen julkaisuvuosi 1987; vuoden 1988 painos)

It's impossible not to like eleven year old Ellen Foster. She is a feisty survivor from a terrible family. Her alcoholic father, vindictive grandmother, and indifferent extended family ultimately mean there is no one who cares about Ellen when her mother dies. Ellen efficiently takes matters in her own hands as best she can when she is placed in the care of these various family members. I loved the discovery near the end that Foster is not her real surname and how she picked it. Highly recommended. ( )

Sad, but intriguing. ( )

i found this book at a junk shop, not knowing it was queen oprah's selection. i paid 25 cents! it was so well written, imaginative and real. i wonder why i'd never heard of kaye gibbons before. ellen is strong, hopeful and inspirational. ( )

The protagonist of this poignant novella is Ellen, a fifth grade who, like Little Orphan Annie, has a "hard-knock life" physically abused by an alcoholic father and neglected by a mother frequently in bed with depression. Although one might believe that this work would be a depressing read, the mood is lightened with Ellen's musings, such as the opening lines:

"When I was little I would think of ways to kill my daddy. I would figure out this or that way and run it down through my head until it got easy."

Much of the novella is an interweaving of three time periods including after she is placed in a foster home, which she described as a place where "nobody barks, farts, or feeds the dogs under the table..." I had no difficulty keeping track of the various time frames.

Essentially, the book is about one poor, but resilient, white Southern girl who desperately seeks a family and a mother to replace the one she loss. Her longing brought tears to my eyes, but the satisfying ending makes this work a must read. ( )

I read this book as a recommendation from a friend and was lucky enough to find it at the Public library... It was a great read and quick! I love how the book starts out- "When I was little I would think of ways to kill my daddy. I would figuare out this or that way and run it through my head until it got easy."

It made me wonder what this story was about- what had this poor 11 year old girl gone through.
Ellen Foster was a deeply delightful story from her point of vision. ( )