After reading the novel White Oleander, I was able to realize how revenge can ruin lives. Ingrid Magnussen kills Barry Kolker in the very beginning of the book, as revenge for cheating on her. As a result of this, obviously Barry dies, Ingrid is sent to jail, and Ingrid’s 12 year old daughter Astrid is left for dead. “I had to get used to that. Everybody left you eventually, (page 254)” this was said by Astrid in her fifth foster home, after one of her friends left. In my opinion, nobody should have to feel that everyone leaves, so this was the most memorable part of the book for me. While reading this book, I really thought about how lucky I am to have a loving family and a roof over my head, and how a lot of times that gets taken for granted.…show more content… When Astrid’s mom Ingrid was spying on her boyfriend Barry, to find him cheating on Ingrid, she said “I knew we shouldn’t have come. Now I wished she’ never broken any of her rules… Once you broke the first one, they all broke, one by one, like firecrackers exploding in your face (pg 57),” which shows how sometimes you have to take a step back and use your common sense to make decisions. I believe that Finch used Astrid to show the theme of what doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, and how you can get through
