Oprah Book Club® Selection, October 1997: Kaye Gibbons is a writer who brings a short story sensibility to her novels. Rather than take advantage of the novel's longer form to paint her visions in broad, sweeping strokes, Gibbons prefers to concentrate on just one corner of the canvas and only a few colors to produce her small masterpieces. In Gibbons's case, her canvas is the American South and her colors are all the shades of gray. In Ellen Foster, the title character is an 11-year-old orphan who refers to herself as "old Ellen," an appellation that is disturbingly apt. Ellen is an old woman in a child's body; her frail, unhappy mother dies, her abusive father alternately neglects her and makes advances on her, and she is shuttled from one uncaring relative's home to another before she finally takes matters into her own hands and finds herself a place to belong. There is something almost Dickensian about Ellen's tribulations; like Oliver Twist, David Copperfield or a host of other literary child heroes, Ellen is at the mercy of predatory adults, with only her own wit and courage--and the occasional kindness of others--to help her through. That she does, in fact, survive her childhood and even rise above it is the book's bittersweet victory.


From Publishers Weekly
The appealing, eponymous, 11-year-old orphan heroine of this Southern-focused debut survives appalling situations until she finds safe harbor in a good foster home. "Some readers will find the recital of Ellen's woes mawkishly sentimental," PW remarked, "but for others it may be a perfect summer read." Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From Library Journal
Ellen Foster is an 11-year-old who has been dealt a rotten hand in life. Her early childhood is spent with a sickly mother and an alcoholic and abusive father. After her mother commits suicide (or is it murder?), Ellen goes to live alone with her father, doing the best she can to avoid being raped or abused. When the courts finally take action, she is sent to live with her grandmother, a bitter and spiteful woman. Yet when her grandmother dies, Ellen manages to take charge of her own life. This beautifully written story, compelling in its innocence, is sweet, funny, and sad. The abridgment is well done, and Gibbons reads her own material. Recommended.?Joanna M. Burkhardt, Univ. of Rhode Island Coll. of Continuing Education Lib., ProvidenceCopyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.


From AudioFile
Kaye Gibbons's drawl has a persistency that wins out over her flat tone. In her character of 11-year-old Ellen, who soothes her wounded spirit by imagining ways to kill her abusive father, the intense monotony of the voice draws the listener into the depths of her hurt and emotional awareness. For all the story's grimness, there's warmth and humor. As read by Gibbons, they're understated but projected nonetheless. We feel, rather than hear, her sneers or affirmations of love. The quandaries of a child's life in an uncaring adult world are well presented by Gibbons in both her writing and her performance. S.B.S. (c)AudioFile, Portland, Maine


From 500 Great Books by Women; review by Jesse Larsen
Ellen Foster is adolescent Ellen's first-person memory-narrative told in two distinct time frames - now, while she is safe, and two years ago, when she was not. Now: "I live in a clean brick house... When I start to carry an odor I take a bath and folks tell me how sweet I look." And then: "When I was little I would think of ways to kill my daddy." Ellen's father is an abusive drunk, her mother a beaten and defeated woman who finally deserts her only child by taking an overdose of drugs. Until her father dies of alcohol poisoning, Ellen continues to live with him near her only friend Starletta, the daughter of neighboring field-workers who welcome Ellen anytime. Ellen's father's death precipitates a series of disastrous living situations, all described in detail that does not miss the humor possible in human relationships no matter how dismal. Although segregation prevents Ellen and Starletta from living close to each other, Ellen eventually comes to treasure her friendship above all others: "Sometimes I even think I was cut out to be colored and I got bleached and sent to the wrong bunch of folks." Stirring realism and the warmth of a lively spirit combine to make Ellen Foster an outstanding novel. -- For great reviews of books for girls, check out Let's Hear It for the Girls: 375 Great Books for Readers 2-14.

ANNOTATION

Having suffered abuse and misfortune for much of her life, a young child searches for a better life and finally gets a break in the home of a loving woman with several foster children.

FROM THE PUBLISHER

'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 and run it down through my head until it got easy.' So it begins the tale of Ellen Foster, the brave and engaging heroine of Kaye Gibbon's much acclaimed first Novel. The story of an eleven-year-old orphan, driven to desperation by some of the wickedest relatives in literary history, this is the story of her battle for survival. Wise, funny and affectionate.

SYNOPSIS

"When I was young, I would think of ways to kill my daddy." So begins Kaye Gibbon's debut novel, Ellen Foster, a powerful story told by the epononymous Ellen, an 11-year orphan whose violent father is responsible for her mother's suicide. Ellen is eventually taken out of her father's care and placed in a series of temporary homes—first with her grandmother, where she is made to toil in the fields as twisted payback for her father's brutality, and then with a neglectful aunt and her spoiled daughter, Dora. Told as a dual narrative, Ellen Foster follows the heroine's ordeals both chronologically and in reflection, and ends with her wish of a "new mama" fulfilled.

FROM THE CRITICS

Alice Hoffman

If one should never trust the person who has had a happy childhood, then Ellen Foster, the 11-year-old heroine of Kaye Gibbons's accomplished first novel, may be the most trustworthy character in recent fiction....In many ways this is an old-fashioned novel about traditional values and inherited prejudices, taking place in a South where too little has changed too slowly....What might have been grim, melodramatic material in the hands of a less talented author is instead filled with lively humor, compassion and intimacy. This short novel focuses on Ellen's strengths rather than her victimization, presenting a memorable heroine who rescues herself. -- New York Times

Publishers Weekly

The appealing, eponymous, 11-year-old orphan heroine of this Southern-focused debut survives appalling situations until she finds safe harbor in a good foster home. "Some readers will find the recital of Ellen's woes mawkishly sentimental,'' PW remarked, "but for others it may be a perfect summer read.'' (May)

Library Journal

Ellen Foster is the often heart-wrenching tale of an 11-year-old girl who loses her dearly loved mother through suicide and is left to coexist with her alcoholic father. "Old Ellen,'' as the protagonist refers to herself, is a tough but tender young soul, determined and wise beyond her years. Initially, she is resourceful enough to ferret out money for necessities, but eventually she becomes fearful for her safety and runs away to live with her art teacher. When a court decides she can no longer remain there, Ellen is briefly shuttled between uncaring relatives but eventually triumphs in finding a "new mamma.'' Gibbons has produced a warm and caring first novel about a backwoods child persevering through hard times to establish a new and satisfying identity. It is written with the freshness of a child but the wisdom of an adult. Kimberly G. Allen, Supreme Court Lib., Washington, D.C.

AudioFile - Deborah M. Locke