Ellen Foster [Import] [Paperback]

Kaye Gibbons (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: Pan Books; New Ed edition (1989)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 033030450X
• ISBN-13: 978-0330304504
• Product Dimensions: 7.2 x 4.4 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (332 customer reviews)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

42 of 44 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Poignant and Gripping..., October 17, 2001

By 

"bookboarder" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Ellen Foster (Paperback)

Ellen Foster is a work of great magnitude. Kaye Gibbons has a real talent for telling this story through the eyes for poor Ellen Foster. Nothing is said very deliberately, however, the message is received. Ellen's life is a sad twist of one tragedy to the next. This is definitely not a light-hearted Southern novel. It is a gritty, tough read, but it is so well done, it is worthwhile.

You will be unable to put this book down, however difficult it may be to read.

This book definitely deserves your attention, and at the discounted price [it] is selling it for, I would highly recommend it.

29 of 30 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Strength and Determination, June 14, 2000

By 

S. Bishop "bookworm" (San Jose, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Ellen Foster (Paperback)

While reading this book, I saw a very strong, clear thinking, determined and self sufficient child. Her motto of doing it her 'own self' reminded me of my independence as a child.

Yet, when I saw the movie, I didn't see an empowered child. I saw a sad story of an abused and abandoned child. I laughed through the book because you couldn't tell Ellen that she wasn't in control. The girl had a plan. Yet the movie left me so choked up that I almost felt bad that I hadn't realized how alone this child was before.

I am glad I read the book first. I think the author intended to show this from Ellen's perspective and not the department of children and family services.

Oft times, people write off childrens' spirit's and strength and turn them into mindless/feelingless being who need their lives to be decided upon by not so informed adults.

Yes, Ellen Foster was a tragic story. But it was also a story of great courage a thinking mind.

It was this book that made me a Kaye Gibbons fan !

25 of 26 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A gripping, compelling read, June 27, 2003

By 

Peggy Vincent "author and reader" (Oakland, CA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Ellen Foster (Paperback)

Eleven-year-old Ellen Foster is an orphan, abused and neglected by her parents and finally abandoned (after her mother's death)to a series of cold or uncaring relatives. With courage, wit, and native intelligence, she finds her own path to salvation.
Sound familiar? - Like lots of other comtemporary books about child abuse? Yes, but there's a difference: the understated, matter-of-fact telling of the story that makes this book so special. In Ellen Foster, Gibbons uses her beautiful language, literary acumen, and attention to detail to craft a clean, small spare portrait, a gift to all readers.