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    Ellen Foster
    Ellen Foster
    Ellen Foster
    Audiobook (abridged)2 hours

    Ellen Foster

    Written by Kaye Gibbons

    Narrated by Kaye Gibbons

    3.5/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    "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 through my head until it got easy."

    So begins the tale of Ellen Foster, the brave and engaging heroine of Kaye Gibbons's first novel, which won the Sue Kaufman Prize from the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters. Wise, funny, affectionate and true, Ellen Foster is, as Walker Percy called it, "The real thing. Which is to say, a lovely, sometimes heart/wrenching novel...[Ellen Foster] is as much a part of the backwoods South as a Faulkner character and a good deal more endearing."
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherSimon & Schuster Audio
    Release dateAug 1, 1996
    ISBN9780743546690
    Ellen Foster
    Author

    Kaye Gibbons

    Kaye Gibbons was born in 1960 in Nash County, North Carolina, on Bend of the River Road. She attended North Carolina State University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, studying American and English literature. At twenty-six years old, she wrote her first novel, Ellen Foster. She is also the author of A Virtuous Woman, Charms for the Easy Life, On the Occasion of My Last Afternoon, A Cure for Dreams, Sights Unseen, and Divining Women.

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    Reviews for Ellen Foster

    3.5/5

    878 ratings43 reviews

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    • 3/5
      Some children are born into circumstances beyond their control. Ellen is one of those children. The daughter of an alcoholic, abusive father, Ellen bears witness to her mother's death. Having been responsible for herself and her mother, she now finds herself completely alone and determined to steer clear of the man who is supposed to be her father. The reader journeys with this bright and cunning child, as she finds safety and comfort in the home of her art teacher and husband. However, that is short lived, as the courts award Ellen's grandmother custody. Again, Ellen is placed in a situation where she is emotionally abused, however Ellen manages to find herself and keep herself sane as she unwinds the next phase of her life. Ellen is a determined young woman, and the reader finds themselves cheering her on.
    • 4/5
      Ellen Foster by Kaye Gibbons; (3*)Ellen Foster is a small book with a big story. The time it will take to read it is time well spent. This novel provides a reminder that it is really up to each of us to decide how we will respond to what life throws at us. None of us would choose to have Ellen Foster's life. She is given little comfort anywhere. Yet though her lot is hard she has resilience. She is a child who discovers possibilities even in her darkest of times. She doesn't fall victim to self pity which would be easy enough to do, given her life story. She judges people and situations based on the humanity of the people and of the circumstances. In doing so she proves to herself that she can make the best of almost any of life's situations that come her way. Eventually she is able to share her own humanity with others through her behavior & reactions to situations. She becomes able to see the lies that allow racism to exist. She, remarkably for an 11 year old, understands the value of giving and receiving. She finds love and comfort in the simple act of sitting in silence with a friend. I suspect that anyone can learn something from reading Ellen Foster's story.
    • 4/5
      I hated for this book to end. To me, that's the mark of a great read. Ellen shows how surprisingly resilient, and sadly, wise & practical, young children can be when they simply feel they have no choice but to keep on keepin' on. Born to a mother abused physically & mentally by a cruel, alcoholic husband, Ellen was forced to be the grownup. Somehow, she refuses to give up hope and finds the love, kindness, and decency she deserves, surprisingly without becoming bitter. I plan to read the sequel.
    • 5/5
      5***** and a &#10084A heart-breaking story of triumph over adversity. A young girl from an abusive family dreams of being part of the Foster family she sees in church on Sundays ... the kids are all clean and their mother is polite and kind. So she signs her name "Ellen Foster" in hopes of making her dream come true.
    • 5/5
      The book was depressing.....we never know what children live through. This being told through the eyes of a child made it even more sad.I did keep reading, though...what an awful childhood, but she made it through.
    • 4/5
      "When I was little I would think of ways to kill my Daddy." - Says 11-year-old Ellen in the opening line. A white orphan from a very racist North Carolina, she narrates this short book in almost a single breath. The grammar is her own slang, and there is little punctuation as she switches from narration to dialog, from past to present, from descriptions to thoughts. This is her account of her experiences with her mother's death and all the uncomfortable bounces toward her present. Her spirit, instead of breaking, sharpens itself, becoming a fierce armor of confidence and independence.This is a quick read, probably a great young adult book. It's actually a pretty charming story at least on the surface where, instead of crying, Ellen just keeps talking. But, it's also very intense; the natural tension of Ellen's experience amplified by Ellen's naivete, her nonchalant confidence and unintended humor. Each time I put the book down and exhaled, it felt like I had just been holding my breathe through the entire passage.
    • 2/5
      The book is good but the audio skips a lot of pages.
    • 4/5
      To be immersed in the naiveté and honesty of a child’s thinking in this book is refreshing, sad and often very funny. Ellen Foster, a 10 year old and perceptive beyond her years, narrates her experiences of life and death which are close to unbearable at times in a truly dysfunctional family. Ellen, a strong character, is able to reason through what she does not understand in the adult world (e.g.,abuse, death, control, racism, rules, poverty) and many times sets a course of action to eventually save herself from a shallow and mean existence. She grows quickly with experience, changing and adapting to what is out of her control with clear purpose and mature behavior. Believing in her own goodness Ellen insists on being treated with respect and learns to respect the goodness in others...regardless of what others think.Gibbons’ story offers a very special view of the world, and comes across with amazing humor and wisdom. This is a wonderful little book I feel privileged to have read.
    • 4/5
      Unlike some of the other readers here, I've never kept up with the Oprah choices, and so had no idea this was on that particular list. I came to the book with no preconceived ideas.This short and intriguing novel moved at lightening speed for me, almost like a long short story. Ellen has problems, and lots of them. But in the end, this is a book about the power of human will against all odds. The plot line is a stretch, but it is fiction, after all. I loved Ellen's voice and the honesty of her emotions. Recommended.
    • 4/5
      I remember loving this book when it came out.
    • 5/5
      i found this book at a junk shop, not knowing it was queen oprah's selection. i paid 25 cents! it was so well written, imaginative and real. i wonder why i'd never heard of kaye gibbons before. ellen is strong, hopeful and inspirational.
    • 5/5
      The protagonist of this poignant novella is Ellen, a fifth grade who, like Little Orphan Annie, has a "hard-knock life" physically abused by an alcoholic father and neglected by a mother frequently in bed with depression. Although one might believe that this work would be a depressing read, the mood is lightened with Ellen's musings, such as the opening lines:"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 through my head until it got easy."Much of the novella is an interweaving of three time periods including after she is placed in a foster home, which she described as a place where "nobody barks, farts, or feeds the dogs under the table..." I had no difficulty keeping track of the various time frames.Essentially, the book is about one poor, but resilient, white Southern girl who desperately seeks a family and a mother to replace the one she loss. Her longing brought tears to my eyes, but the satisfying ending makes this work a must read.
    • 4/5
      I read this book as a recommendation from a friend and was lucky enough to find it at the Public library... It was a great read and quick! I love how the book starts out- "When I was little I would think of ways to kill my daddy. I would figuare out this or that way and run it through my head until it got easy."

      It made me wonder what this story was about- what had this poor 11 year old girl gone through.
      Ellen Foster was a deeply delightful story from her point of vision.
    • 3/5
      Her mother dead, her father poor , drunk and abusive, her maternal grandma an embittered and mentally ill woman...the ten year old narrator tells of her journey from one home to another...the family she was placed with- and returned from - and her final successful placement with a local woman, from whom she eventually takes a new surname- "I heard they were the Foster family." And the (curiously unknowable) lifelong friend, Starletta - daughter of an impoverished but kindly coloured family, for whom Ellen notices her feelings changing, from the perspective of inculcated white superiority to a true valuation of the girl as an equal.She's a sparky, intelligent and self reliant child, and it tells a story, but not massively memorable.
    • 4/5
      Suppose the literary spirits of Carson McCullers and Flannery O'Connor needed a place to stay and they settled down in author Kaye Gibbons, mixed things up a little and out came "Ellen Foster". This is a remarkable first novel that will tug at your heart, make you sad and make you chuckle and admire the spunk of a young girl who got a very bad hand dealt to her.I'd recommend this to anyone who likes southern literature and maybe everyone else too. I'm dropping this onto my favorite books by year list for 1987. I have another book by Kaye Gibbons which I am looking forward to.
    • 4/5
      Yet another winner from Kaye Gibbons, I love everything she writes.
    • 3/5
      Raw and unflinching, this story told through a young girl's eyes will captivate readers. Born to a depressed mother and abusive alcoholic Ellen learns to fend for herself and to depend on the kindness of strangers, especially on the colored family down the road. When Ellen loses her mother she isn't shocked or surprised she just further goes into survival mode, bouncing from one household to the next, trying to find someone willing to care for and love a ten year old. Set in the south during the sixties, this book is sure to generate lively discussion. It's a quick read and Kaye Gibbons does a wonderful job viewing the world through a child's imagination. Witty, charming, and precious.
    • 3/5
      Ellen Foster is a very likable character, and one who is quite spirited. I enjoyed the writing style of using the voice of a young girl, complete with incorrect word usage (romantic fever vs. rheumatic fever) and incorrect grammar. It felt very authentic.

      The transition between past and present was a little confusing for me at first, but once I found the rhythm, I was able to settle into it. It proved to be another nice way to tell the story, like Ellen was reflecting on her past.

      Ellen's struggle with the various abuses of the adults around her was handled well. Gibbons was able to convey the seriousness of the situations without making the reader cringe. The wit and wisdom in how young Ellen responds to the dangers around her was a welcome respite for me, as opposed to the more raw "Bastard Out of Carolina" by Dorothy Allison. To me, this made the book much more YA-friendly.

      Ellen's friendship with Starletta, a black student at her school, was an important theme, but I didn't see it quite as central and pivotal as was apparent at the end of the book. I found it an odd way to end this story, since there were so many other relationships that seemed to be more important.

      Overall, this was an easy book to read. It is very short, at less than 150 pages, and Ellen's outlook is hopeful throughout her troubles. I would recommend.
    • 5/5
      Eleven-year-old Ellen Foster is an old soul living inside the body of a youngster. She is wise, funny and courageous, taking things as they come; living her life with a remarkable bravery and heroism that is truly unforgettable. Describing herself as "old Ellen" - an appellation which is disturbingly accurate, considering how much Ellen has already gone through in her young life - she tells her own story with a poignancy, an honesty, a perceptivity, and a certain unselfconscious wit that is startling to find in one so young.After her frail and unhappy mother dies, Ellen effectively considers herself an orphan. She still lives with her alcoholic father - who alternately neglects and abuses her - but only for a short period of time, until her situation becomes truly untenable. From that point on, Ellen is shuttled between the homes of various uncaring relatives - living for a time with a teacher, a grandmother who blames Ellen for her mother's marriage, then with an aunt.Eventually, Ellen discovers a home where she is finally wanted; loved and treasured by her new family in a way she would never have believed was possible to experience ever again after her mother's passing. Ellen is a shrewd judge of character, developing friendships along the way that are lasting and heartfelt. She judges people shrewdly and well; bonding with a little girl named Starletta and the strength of those relationship ties are beautifully revealed throughout the story.I must say that I found reading this book to be remarkably gripping; Ellen's life was harsh and tough and her story was heartbreakingly poignant. However, despite those first impressions, I still enjoyed this story immensely. Yes, I know this may sound unusual, but I generally do enjoy reading books with depressing themes. Ellen Foster: A Novel by Kaye Gibbons is just such a book; it was certainly worth an A+!
    • 4/5
      Ellen narrates the hardships she has already endured in her young life, but holds on to hope and works hard to overcome abuse and poverty.I think I must have caught some of the TV movie starring Jena Malone years back, which was what put this book on my radar. I'm not sure I would have read it at all otherwise. It's a short book but makes you slow down because the narration is sort of stream of consciousness and goes back and forth between Ellen's past and present, leaving you little hints of things that you could miss if you're reading too quickly. "Enjoy" is the wrong word for this story as so much of what happens is terribly sad, but Ellen herself is such a terrific character I kept reading to see how she pulled herself out of her circumstances.
    • 4/5
      The debut novel from Kaye Gibbons received excellent reviews when released, and was picked up by Oprah Winfrey's book club. It is definitely a sweet, multi-layered story of a precocious child from the Mid-West, written in first person singular, leaving much to the reader's imagination. Her life is a living hell, with an alcoholic father and a family with issues, to put in mildly. Ellen is, however, a true survivor, and although her inner life is not fully believable as a thought world of a ten year-old, she touches the reader both with her horrific experiences and her survival methods. The weakness is in the narrative there really isn't any real obstacle, we early on learn how the story will end and the only real mystery is how Ellen will get there. Still, I enjoyed reading it and was moved by the main character and by her incredible inner strength.
    • 4/5
      Unlike some of the other readers here, I've never kept up with the Oprah choices, and so had no idea this was on that particular list. I came to the book with no preconceived ideas.This short and intriguing novel moved at lightening speed for me, almost like a long short story. Ellen has problems, and lots of them. But in the end, this is a book about the power of human will against all odds. The plot line is a stretch, but it is fiction, after all. I loved Ellen's voice and the honesty of her emotions. Recommended.
    • 5/5
      There's one major disappointment with this book: the fact that I've had this on my bookshelf for almost 11 years, and I just got around to reading it.

      Oprah chose Ellen Foster as her Book Club pick on October 27, 1997. I received this as a Christmas gift that same year but for some unknown reason - another more compelling book, perhaps - I never read it. Sure, I glanced at it from time to time, but mostly as it was packed, unpacked, and repacked - and then packed, unpacked and repacked again - and still again a third time, as we moved to three separate residences in 11 years.

      Eleven is also the age of Ellen, the protagonist of this exquisite novel. Orphaned, Ellen herself is sent packing after the death of her abusive father (which follows her mother's suicide). The novel deals with Ellen's quest for home in every sense of the word - shelter, yes, but also a place of belonging and acceptance. From Oprah.com:

      Ellen's first eleven years are a long fight for survival. Her invalid, abused mother commits suicide, leaving Ellen to the mercies of her daddy, a drunken brute who either ignores her or makes sexual threats. Through her intelligence and grit Ellen is able to provide for herself, but her desperate attempts to create an environment of order and decorum within her nightmarish home are repeatedly foiled by her father. After his death, a judge awards Ellen's custody to her mother's mother, a bitter and vengeful woman who hated her son-in-law for ruining her own daughter's life and who hates the child Ellen for her physical resemblance to him.Against all odds, Ellen never gives up her belief that there is a place for her in the world, a home which will satisfy all her longing for love, acceptance, and order. Her eventual success in finding that home and courageously claiming it as her own is a testimony to her unshakable faith in the possibility of good. She never loses that faith, and she never loses her sense of humor. Ellen Foster, like another American classic, Huckleberry Finn, is for all its high comedy ultimately a serious fable of personal and collective responsibility.

      This is a quick read (only 126 pages) and if you have the opportunity to listen to it on audio (as I did), I recommend that version also. Although similar themes have been portrayed in other works, Ellen Foster is an exceptional, compelling and emotional story. As a first novel, this book is a true triumph for the author Kaye Gibbons. As someone who enjoys Southern fiction, I enjoyed this tremendously and look forward to reading more of Kaye Gibbons' work - within the next decade, to be sure.
    • 2/5
      Meh. I had a bit of a hard time following this book, and left several days in between readings. It really never captured my interest, and there were some formatting problems with the Kindle edition (no extra spaces between scene shifts) that were confusing. Ellen herself wasn't terribly likeable, or interesting.
    • 3/5
      Ellen Foster is a ten year old girl who is rejected by all her family.After the death of her weak- willed and sick mother she is left mostly on her own, her father being a drunk and violent man and her closer relations wash their hands off their responsibility.A sad and heart-warming story, in which a little girl has to face the world and find her own place in it, keeping the illusion alive, in spite of her desolate surroundings.Nothing new though.
    • 4/5
      Ellen Foster By Kaye Gibbons Fall in love with this spunky, honest, smart, clever, brave young girl named Ellen. In a small backward southern town Ellen's mother dies from a heart condition and pure sadness. Her no good father drinks heavily and verbally abuses her daily. She has noone to hold her, noone to love her until through her own determination and Gods will she finds her new mama and becomes Ellen Foster. A classic story for all to enjoy. Take a moment to reflect on Ellen's struggle and faith that family and happiness are out there somewhere. She never stops hoping.
    • 4/5
      To be immersed in the naiveté and honesty of a child’s thinking in this book is refreshing, sad and often very funny. Ellen Foster, a 10 year old and perceptive beyond her years, narrates her experiences of life and death which are close to unbearable at times in a truly dysfunctional family. Ellen, a strong character, is able to reason through what she does not understand in the adult world (e.g.,abuse, death, control, racism, rules, poverty) and many times sets a course of action to eventually save herself from a shallow and mean existence. She grows quickly with experience, changing and adapting to what is out of her control with clear purpose and mature behavior. Believing in her own goodness Ellen insists on being treated with respect and learns to respect the goodness in others...regardless of what others think.Gibbons’ story offers a very special view of the world, and comes across with amazing humor and wisdom. This is a wonderful little book I feel privileged to have read.
    • 3/5
      My heart always breaks reading about kids like Ellen Foster, forced to grow up and fend for themselves well ahead of time. This tale of Southern poverty and abuse reminded me somewhat of Bastard Out Of Carolina, but it is too sketchy and brief to have that book's lasting impact.
    • 3/5
      Gibbons' style reminds me of Cormac McCarthy. For me, that's no compliment. There are no quotation marks around the dialogue, making it harder to keep track of, and almost no commas as far as the eye can see. Gibbons at least could claim a rationale for what in McCarthy I can only see as an affectation. The first person narrator, Ellen Foster, is a child, poor and uneducated, so at least one could say the punctuation impoverished style fits her. That doesn't mean I found the novel a pleasure to read, and not just for stylistic reasons (though it's my biggest issue). Although it's at least short--I'd estimate the novel is only about 50 thousand words. But it's fairly bleak, even if shot through with hope since right from the beginning Ellen intersperses the story of her happy new home with her uber dysfunctional biological family (her father isn't sure if his own daughter is 9 or 10, Ellen keeps the home, even pays bills and gets herself her own Christmas gift--and that's the small stuff). There is a dark humor threaded throughout and not a bit of self-pity, but the style kept me from ever connecting with the story.
    • 5/5
      Even though this book is unlike anything I have ever read I can honestly tell you that I loved it. It took a while to get used to the writing style, considering the author did not use quotation marks or even italics to indicate dialague within the pages. It was a very short book at only 126 pages but it sure packed a punch with our spunky narrator Ellen doing what she needed to do in order to survive. Poor 'old' Ellen probably had the worst family life that one could imagine. After both of her parents pass away she finds herself being shuffled from home to home in search of a stable lifestyle. It seemed to me that one of the only stable things in Ellen's life was her friendship with Starletta. Since Starletta was a negro and segregation was just coming to an end, Ellen had a very interesting relationship with her. She couldn't have asked for a better friend than Starletta but she still managed to keep her distance in her own way.Ellen grows up quickly as she moves from home to home and learns some very valuable life lessons along the way. She learns about the different values that people have and figured out what was important to her. Knowing what she expected to gain from life she put a plan in motion to turn her dream into a reality. I don't want to say any more about this wonderful story but I will tell you that I, along with the rest of my book club just loved it. It made for a very in-depth discussion and we discovered information about the author that helped understand the story and her writing style. Here is an article from the Minneapolis Star Tribune that you may find interesting if you plan on reading any of her work. We also used discussion questions from Reading Group Guides.com that had us touch on parts of the story that we probably wouldn't have even thought about. I highly recommend this book!