White Oleander is about a teen named Astrid who idolizes her mother, Ingrid, and views her as a goddess. Then her mother is imprisoned for murder and she is left to grow up and fend for herself in the foster care system.

So far Ingrid and her daughter Astrid live a pretty free go with the flow lifestyle. It seems like Astrid really admires and idolizes her mom. She is the model daughter grateful for everything but her mom isn’t the best. Its like a one sided love where someone cares more that the other person and the other person just takes and takes. Ingrid gives Astrid words of guidance to follow in life and Astrid holds onto them as if they were words of wisdom from an old sage.

In chapter 1 Astrid says,” I had seen girls clamor for new clothes and complain about what their mothers made for dinner. I was always mortified. Didn’t they know they were tying their mothers to the ground? Weren’t chains ashamed of their prisoners”(11) This made me assume that her mother raised her to believe that she was like Jesus and she should worship her. Ingrid sort of made sure she was her only contact, her only sense of stability, her religion, her friend, everything but a mother.