Ellen Foster by Kaye Gibbons Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Ellen Foster
Book Review: A novel to enhance your empathy and insight
Summary: 4 Stars
My mother, my wife, my sister, and Oprah recommended Ellen Foster to me. Ellen Foster is a very young, very mis-treated Southern girl who tells her story in simple, compelling language. She takes us energetically into her world and lets us see adult behavior through her worldly but never cynical eyes. Her saga is funny, clever, and heart-rending. But most of all, it is a true human experience.To enter another person's world, to see things as they see them, to allow for different reactions to similar circumstances is to connect with people in a powerful way. Such empathy, compassion, and insight are essential for succeeding with the Genuine Selling system and to living a fulfilling life of Genuine Success. Listening to the stories of people in circumstances different from your own is entertaining exercise that develops this important skill. This is one of three novels (Along with When the Sons of Heaven Meet the Daughters of the Earth and Spidertown) that I recommend to my clients for their unusually intimate and immersive experiences of worlds most business people never encounter. The practice these novels offer with escaping our own narrow versions of reality can help us to be more receptive to the various worlds of the people we manage and sell to every day.
Book Review: A search for stability
Summary: 5 Stars
I read "Ellen Foster" for the first time about eight years ago, but I wanted to tackle it again before reading Kaye Gibbons' sequel. This is an excellent story narrated by Ellen, an 11-year-old girl who has had a very difficult life. Her mother died and her alcoholic father was abusive and neglectful, which resulted in Ellen being shipped off to a variety of foster homes. Ultimately, spunky and determined Ellen decides to take matters into her own hands and seek out a safe haven for herself.
"Ellen Foster" is set in the American South and it tackles the issues of racial prejudice and self-awareness. Throughout the book, Ellen demonstrates the racial biases that have been instilled in her by her community when she refers to her "colored friend," Starletta. However, by the end of the story, Ellen has learned a lot about the things that really matter in life and she realizes that the only way to judge a person is to study their actions and their character, not the color of their skin.
One of the best things about this book is its tone...Gibbons does an excellent job of telling this story in the words of a young girl who grew up in the Southern states. The writing contains numerous colloquialisms, slang terminology, and humor, which make the novel even more enjoyable.
This is a great book and a pretty quick read...I hope "The Life All Around Me By Ellen Foster" is equally impressive.
Book Review: A short but powerful read!
Summary: 5 Stars
Kaye Gibbons portrayal of a young girl growing up in an abusive, dysfunctional home packs an emotional punch. Ellen hates her father but with good reason. He is an alcoholic who abuses his wife, Ellen's mother, and severely neglects Ellen. Ellen's survival of the abuse is remarkable. Yet, so many victims of abuse do survive. The story of abuse is told entirely from the child's point of view. The reader sees the inner strength it takes to survive such abuse as Ellen struggles to have some control over the events in her life. This book reminded me a lot of Dave Pelzer's A CHILD CALLED IT,another 5 star book. While Pelzer's book is nonfiction, the characterization of Ellen Foster also has the ring of truth.Book Review: A story of a resilient girl who is able to find a family.
Summary: 4 Stars
I enjoyed reading Ellen Foster because Ellen possesses resilience- a characteristic that can take a person far in life. The book pertains to life in America because there are so many children who do not have families. The story is hope for all those children.Book Review: A study of a resilient child
Summary: 5 Stars
You will fall in love with the title character of Kaye Gibbons's Ellen Foster. Throughout the novel, Ellen's most dominant character trait is self-preservation. From the first page to the last, she reveals and demonstrates the backbone and resilience necessary for a child thrown into challenging circumstances.
Gibbons structures the novella around a series of temporal shifts between the present situation of the narrator (the now of the story) and the past situation of the character (the then of the story). The story, in effect, becomes a gradual diminishing of the distance between these two temporal settings.
As the story of Ellen Foster's difficult childhood and her remarkable resilience is parceled out to the reader through fifteen chapters, another story--a story about a child's understanding of race and decency--is told as well.
Like J.D. Salinger's Catcher in the Rye, Ellen Foster is a story for people of all ages.