The Life All Around Me By Ellen Foster

Ellen Foster #2

by Kaye Gibbons

This sequel to Gibbons's beloved classic Ellen Foster stands on its own as an unforgettable portrait of a redoubtable adolescent making herself up out of whole cloth. Now fifteen, Ellen is settled into a permanent home with a new mother. Strengthened by adversity and blessed with enough intelligence to design a salvation for herself, she still feels ill at ease in the world. Her sole surviving ritual-a visit to the county fair-takes on totemic importance. While she holds fast to the shreds of her childhood-humoring her best friend, Stuart, who is determined to marry her; and protecting her old neighbor, slow-witted Starletta-she negotiates her way into a larger world by selling her poetry to pay her way to a camp for gifted students. With a singular mix of perspicacity, naïveté, and compassion, Ellen draws us into her life and makes us fall in love with her all over again.


Anyone considering making an underage change in life, such
as who you're going to live with, should know there's no way to
avoid the government getting in on the decision, so try to be
kind to the lady they'll send with a stack of tests. Try to stay
calm and do your best on them.

-from The Life All Around Me By Ellen Foster

Genres: Fiction, Historical Fiction, Southern, Young Adult, Contemporary, Literary Fiction, Literature

218 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2005

About the author

Kaye Gibbons is an American novelist. Her first novel, Ellen Foster (1987), received the Sue Kaufman Prize for First Fiction from the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters, a Special Citation from the Ernest Hemingway Foundation and the Louis D. Rubin, Jr. Prize in Creative Writing from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Gibbons is a member of the Fellowship of Southern Writers and two of her books, Ellen Foster and A Virtuous Woman, were selected for Oprah's Book Club in 1998.
Gibbons was born in Nash County, North Carolina, and went to Rocky Mount Senior High School. She attended North Carolina State University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, studying American and English literature. She has three daughters.
Gibbons has bipolar disorder and notes that she is extremely creative during her manic phases, in which she believes that everything is instrumented by a "real magic". Ellen Foster was written during one such phase.
On November 2, 2008, Gibbons was arrested on prescription drug fraud charges. According to authorities, she was taken into custody while trying to pick up a fraudulent prescription for the painkiller hydrocodone. She was sentenced to a 90-day suspended sentence, 2 years probation, and a $300 fine.

Reviews

[Barb · Rating 1 out of 5]

I've decided that life is too short to read books I just can't get into. I have stacks of books I'm dying to start, so why plod through 250 pages of characters I cannot connect with, or writing that I stumble over.

I am sure this is a fine book, but the author's style is just one I cannot follow -- lots of first person narrative with sentences that just ramble on and on. yes, I know that is the style of the character, but i just don't have patience for it.

[Tina · Rating 1 out of 5]

It was very difficult for me to stick with this book (and so I did not). I have given up trying to finish it. The writing style, in it's attempt to be unique, killed the book. In my frustration I actually felt like throwing it across the room...and I'm not the throwing type.

[Melissa · Rating 1 out of 5]

Let me start out by saying this.

This book is the sequel to Kaye Gibbons’s 1987 novel and 1997 Oprah’s Book Club pick Ellen Foster, which I absolutely loved and reviewed here and named as one of my best reads of 2008. (It took me awhile to get to it, despite it being on my TBR shelf for 11 years.) I adored Ellen Foster. So, naturally, you would think (as I did) that I would fall just as much in love with this one.

Not. Even. Close.

I had a hell of a time trying to follow this book, which picks up with Ellen Foster being 15 years old and applying for admission to Harvard. (Her admission letter – written in September 1974 to President Derek Bok himself – is hilarious and is the best 8 pages of the novel.) It’s also a great plot device on author Kaye Gibbons’ part; the reader easily and succinctly recalls much of what happened in Ellen Foster from Ellen’s letter. The voice and wit is the same as one remembers it to be from the 1987 novel, and the reader anticipates that these 218 pages will be similar.

It’s not. In my opinion (and many others’ on Goodreads), this is a confusing, disjointed, rambling narrative that is very difficult – and at times, completely impossible – to follow. There isn’t anything resembling a plot. Characters reappear from Ellen Foster, but with little or no reintroduction, so the reader is left pondering how they are connected.

I sought out the reviews of The Life All Around Me by Ellen Foster on Goodreads because as I listened to this on audio, I honestly thought the CDs had been mislabeled or that this was actually an abridged version of the novel (it is not) or something was wrong with my comprehension abilities. Apparently, I wasn’t alone in my love for Ellen Foster and my bewilderment as to how this novel wound up so dramatically different.

Aside from the characters and the location, it truly bears little resemblance to its predecessor, which is unfortunate – and utterly perplexing.

[RuthAnn · Rating 1 out of 5]

Would recommend: No, and I'm really sad about it

I am so disappointed in this book. I loved Ellen Foster SO MUCH, and I recommend that book all over the place, so when I saw this sequel at the used book store, I snatched it up right away. This book was so disorienting. The stream of consciousness that was so honest and interesting before was a jolt all the way through this time around. I couldn't keep anyone straight, and I felt like Ellen's affect was so flat. Other than a few sparkling, poignant lines, it was a long, hard slog. It took me a over 2 weeks to read this, and it's just over 200 pages. That's how unmotivated I was. I don't know. Maybe I need to read the first one again and re-assess.

[Laura · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one shows the more flawed version of Ellen Foster. The first book showed the bigger than life Ellen Foster. Still liked it but hard to beat the first book. Glad the excerpt from the mother was included, silver lining.

[Karen Germain · Rating 1 out of 5]

I'm not sure that this book should even get one star.

This book came to me through another bookcrosser and I felt compelled to finish it. It was short. If it had not been short, I would have given up on it early.

I guess my main problem was the writing style. I couldn't connect to it on any level. The main character was irritating. The plot meandered...not in a good way. I simply didn't like this book.

[rendezvous_with_reading · Rating 4 out of 5]

Last week, while perusing the shelves at the library, I was excited to find this book, The Life All Around Me by Ellen Foster. I had no idea there was a sequel to Ellen Foster that I read earlier this year. In this sequel, Ellen is 15 and navigating her teen years. Her foster mother, Laura, is Ellen's champion in all her endeavors especially where her education is concerned. And Ellen already has her sights set on early admission to Harvard. But, her reduced financial circumstances as an orphan seem an unsurmountable obstacle and her remaining relatives a burden.

It was so enjoyable to revisit Ellen and see how life was working out for her. My only regret was not being able to listen to this on audiobook. The narrative is so conversational, that I some how felt cheated having to read this instead of hearing it.

[Pam · Rating 2 out of 5]

#3 01/07/06
TITLE/AUTHOR: THE LIFE ALL AROUND ME BY ELLEN FOSTER by Kaye Gibbons
RATING: 2/D
GENRE/PUB DATE/# OF PGS: Fiction, 2005, 218 pgs
CHARACTERS: Ellen Foster, 15 yrs old
TIME/PLACE: 1975,small town in NC
COMMENTS: Very disappointing, I have loved some of Gibbons other books (Charms for the Easy Life, etc.) Maybe I never read Ellen Foster, can't remember. Ellen is now 15 and living a stable life w/ her guardian, Laura. The book starts out OK w/ a letter from Laura to the president of Harvard, requesting early admission. The rest was just a mish-mash of Laura's observations of "the life all around her". The writing was awkward and clunky and was the longest 218 pgs. If I heard Ellen say "compare & contrast" one more time!!! Why I even read the whole thing I don't know.

[Kathryn in FL · Rating 2 out of 5]

This sequel to "Ellen Foster" stunk. I am not usually so harsh but it read like a first draft. I just finished "Ellen Foster", which was witty, sardonic and sharp. Then, I pick up this clunker and I scratched my head. It started well, then diverts and rambles into various directions and for me, I kept thinking did I miss something? No, just the opportunity to spend my time elsewhere.

I can't fathom why this book fell so far short. Kaye Gibbons proved a worthy writer in "Ellen Foster" but now one wonders if she had help writing it or just didn't put the same dedication into this follow-up tale. I expected to be entertained or at least satisfied that Ellen found some happiness but she is far less likeable in this version and seems to be her own worst enemy. After half way through I quit. My time is more valuable than reading something this poor in quality, it is an insult to the reader and theft (if they paid to read it).

I actually used both the audio book and the paperback version because I wanted to consume this story during traffic and at home. I will add that the narrator for "Ellen Foster" was not used this time instead Kaye Gibbons narrated it and also did a mediocre job at this, which added to the already confusing writing because her cadence, tone and other aural devices were not adequate for narration.

[Lora Elisabeth · Rating 1 out of 5]

The writing style of this book was even harder to decipher than the first book, Ellen Foster, so I stopped reading after about page 30.

However, I did FINALLY find out when the first book took place as this book plainly revealed the year. I spent the whole time reading Ellen Foster wondering, "What time period is this?!"

I really wanted to like these books, but the confusing writing style ruined it for me. I've read many books written in different dialects and have never had a hard time understanding them, but this book and Ellen Foster were the exceptions. A few commas, quotation marks, and improved sentence structure may have made all the difference in the world.

[Antoinette · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have never been so happy to finish a book, especially one this short. It's been some time since I read Ellen Foster but I remember liking it A LOT and remember Ellen as being ... endearing (I was also a big fan of Kaye Gibbons' A Virtuous Woman). The Ellen in this book is flat and emotionless, the story disjointed. Very disappointed. Worth skipping entirely.

[Colleen · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found the writing and dialogue style very difficult to follow. There's a reason writers use quotation marks, and it's to help demarcate spoken vs. internal dialogue. The whole book just left me feeling very...unsatisfied.

[Teresa · Rating 1 out of 5]

I tried to read this book, but it was a rambling mess. Kaye Gibbons is Bipolar and I’m wondering if this is the reason this book rambles. So many books, so little time...I’m moving on to my next read!

[Susan · Rating 3 out of 5]

in this sequel, a precocious young girl remains haunted by the circumstances of her mother’s death even as her own new life provides security and opportunities. While Ellen retains her spunk, originality, and unique narrative style from the original story, this short book suffers from sequelitis, where new developments and revelations combine with updating the reader on all the characters and loose ends from the previous volume—an information overload for a fairly short book. If you loved the original Ellen Foster (as I did), you’ll probably want to read this despite its shortcomings.

[Sasha · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5

[Linda Griffin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Engaging but sometimes hard to follow.

[Midge · Rating 2 out of 5]

The Life of Ellen in this book is not very interesting like the first book.

[Anne Marie · Rating 1 out of 5]

I wasn’t sure if I should give this book one or two stars. It was definitely not as good as the first book, Ellen Foster. I think the author should have left the first book be as it was. My biggest complaint about this second book is the way the author writes. I know this is Ellen writing the book from her point of view, but most of it didn’t make sense. It was like I had to get the main theme out of each chapter to know what was going on. Then read aimlessly the other parts.
Ellen is now 15 and wants to go to Harvard. I guess Ellen is gifted, even though she should take more writing classes in school in order to make better sense. Maybe some people will get Ellen’s “deeper meaning” of things and know the other characters in and out. I’m still wondering who Henry is and are the other friends of Ellen’s somehow related. Does Stuart really want to marry her? Do all her friends have some sort of disability?
Bits and pieces of what I got from the story:
Ellen likes living with Laura but if other girls who live in the foster home start misbehaving, she will call the authorities and have the girls evicted.
Ellen is trying to save up to go away to school and tries not to burden Laura. She sells poetry?
Ellen goes to John Hopkins school in Baltimore. She seems out of place.
Ellen goes to a fair with Stuart, Starletta, and Laura. Stuart tells Ellen he found out her cousin Dora is pregnant and her Aunt Nadine wants to move to Texas. Ellen is worried because Nadine took all of her mother’s things and she doesn’t want them to go to Texas with the things that should be hers.
The bigger reason Nadine and Dora are moving is because Nadine has been collecting rent from Ellen’s old house - money Ellen could use for school. Ellen thought the bank owned the house. Then Laura hires a lawyer. Nadine has been passing Dora off as Ellen so she could take everything that belongs to Ellen.
Nadine and Dora come over to Laura’s house and admit what they did. They are going to give everything back of Ellen’s mother’s. The best part of the book is in the end, when Ellen is going through her mother’s things and comes across papers someone from the mental hospital wrote about her mother. I wish the author could have written like this throughout the book! A lot of questions were answered just on these few pages.
To wrap it up, Ellen received a letter back from Harvard saying she is accepted on full scholarship. But until she’s old enough to attend, she should take summer classes. Let’s hope Ellen lives happily ever after because I don’t think I want to read a third book.

[Book Concierge · Rating 3 out of 5]

Book on CD read by the author.

Nearly twenty years after the publication of Ellen Foster, Gibbons returns to her subject to catch us up on what’s happened in the life of this extraordinary character. Ellen is now fifteen and thriving. She’s exhausted the resources of her local school district, and is on an independent course of study. While she realizes it’s unusual, she has decided to apply for early admission to college, and may as well set her sights high. The novel opens with her letter to the President of Harvard University requesting special consideration of her accomplishments and suitability for matriculation.

I love Ellen Foster. The original novel packed an emotional wallop that is still with me some 18 years after I first read it. I admit I was concerned about whether Gibbons would be able to replicate that emotional connection in this sequel. Well, I still love Ellen. She’s resilient, vulnerable, both naïve and wise beyond her years, intelligent, loving and brave.

I also dearly love Kaye Gibbons. I’ve read just about everything she has written, some more than once. But I did not love this book; it didn’t quite meet expectations. Perhaps this is the fault of the audio experience. Gibbons reads her own novel and while I think her voice is a good one for Ellen, after a couple of tracks I grew really tired of her lack of inflection. There is no effort to differentiate the various characters and as a result the entire experience is lacking emotional depth. I did also look at the text version, but I’m not sure I would have rated this much higher if I had read it rather than listened. I suspect that Gibbons was purposely holding the reader at arm’s length because she believes that Ellen would do so. And perhaps she’s right. Whatever the cause, I was disappointed.

[Julie · Rating 1 out of 5]

Hmmm. I don't like the idea of some sequels. If it's not a series-type book, then shouldn't it just be a book? No need for a sequel to Pride & Prejudice, or The Time Traveler's Wife, or most novels.
Yes, some books end in a way that you are left wondering what happens next, but that is just the way stories go. Just because you could write another book about those characters, does not mean you should.
If you do it, it better be good.
This was not.
It wasn't horrible, but it definitely wasn't good and did nothing to add to the original story.
Besides being slightly boring plot-wise, there was my major problem with the style of writing.
In Ellen Foster, she is supposed to be really young, and though smart, not-so-educated. This made it okay that it was written with bad punctuation, no quotations when people were speaking, etc. It was hard to get used to, but overall I was fine with it.
Now Ellen is a little older, and supposedly smart enough to try to get into Harvard at the age of fifteen. However, it is still written in that horrible no-punctuation-mish-mash-crap style.
If the character is supposed to have grown up a little and evolved in some ways, then WHY does this need to read like it was written by a ten year old? In fact, even when I was ten, I had a better grasp of how to use quotation marks and commas that this books shows(and before anyone mentions it, I know that I am certainly NOT perfect with my grammar).
I had to re-read parts to understand what was being said, and it was highly annoying.
It seemed to be worse than what I remember the first book being, although I did read it a long time ago.

I almost want to give it 1 star, but I reserve that for books I really hate.

[Bridget · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of my very favorite books EVER is Ellen Foster. As a matter of fact, a few years ago, when a local theater group did a dramatization of it, I nearly didn't go, even though we had season tickets, because I didn't want it to be ruined for me. Fortunately, it was extremely well done, and when I talked to the guy who had done the adaptation afterwards, he said that he knew it had to be true to the book, since so many people he knew were dedicated to it.

Anyway, this book picks up Ellen's life after she has been a foster child for a while. She is now fifteen years old, and hoping to go to Harvard. The original Ellen personality is still there, just slightly more sophisticated. She is still friends with Starletta, and has processed a little more about how she felt about her parents and their deaths.

I enjoyed this book, though not as much as the original story of Ellen. But this was a very reasonable "sequel" and did not suddenly make her a different sort of character. She still observes everything and everyone around her, and tries to make sense of what is often a cruel or ridiculous world.

The best thing is that she remains optimistic but not sappy, realistic but not jaded. Reading this book makes you appreciate Ellen, and if you are lucky, your own life in the process.

[Benny Lum · Rating 1 out of 5]

The Life All Around Me by Ellen Foster is a sequel written by Kaye Gibbons that shows how Ellen Foster has moved on after the loss of her parents. In this book, Ellen is now a 15-year-old girl who has big dreams for the future. Strengthened by her past difficulties and her intelligence, Ellen has found a new mother and new home. While still dealing with the trauma, Ellen is determined to move on in the world around her and set her sights on Harvard as time goes by. Ellen also sells poetry to struggling classmates, briefly joins a camp at John Hopkins, and is even dealing with issues that are related to her friends and relatives.

First, the book is historical fiction and is challenging to read due to the lack of dialogue in it. Also, the book is a 218-page sequel that describes part of a fictional character’s teenage years and is one of the many books that Kaye Gibbons has written. Next, this book takes place in the past and is set in the real world by mostly taking place in North Carolina during the 1970s. North Carolina’s the home state of Ellen and she describes the state as a “flat Variety Vacationland.” Furthermore, the way that the book was written made the setting confusing due to the lack of dialogue and short paragraphs that the author put.

Finally, I felt that the author could’ve added some dialogue between the characters and provided more background information on certain characters that Ellen could relate to. If I was the author, I would’ve provided more information on certain characters and included dialogue between them in order to get the reader more aware of what’s going on in the story. Nevertheless, I believed that the author did a wonderful job of helping to make the book more interesting by including poetry and accent words in the pages. In conclusion, I wouldn’t recommend the book to anyone because the writing style is hard to follow and my emotions weren’t engaged.

[Maria Morera · Rating 5 out of 5]

This sweet little book touched my heart. It is a coming of age story set in the Carolinas. It includes quirky characters amidst a series of tragedies and disappointments that create a perfect storm of challenges and grace for the title character, Ellen Foster.

Although the story is about Ellen and how she overcomes the deaths of her parents and a conniving aunt that places her in foster care, I am drawn to Laura, the woman who takes in Ellen and and helps her flourish.

Laura opens her home to Ellen, and giver her the warmth she needs in order to thrive. Ellen’s teenage angst was funny, but her earnest desire to learn and use the opportunity given to her is endearing.

Laura’s gift of selfless support extends to the women in her community. Ellen sees this and admires the quality in her foster mother. It wasn’t unusual for Laura to open her guestroom to young mothers for a nap and a little respite. Ellen recognizes that Laura is the kind of woman who loves “enough to keep a friend hidden of a Sunday afternoon and waken them with English tea in a China pot and a tin of biscuit treats they can’t have at home because everything gets consumed out from under them.”

This powerful lesson teaches Ellen that in spite of the ugly treatment from her aunt, she doesn’t have to “slip into being the kind of girl who damages women.”

There is sorrow in Ellen’s circumstances, but also a great deal of hope and joy. I’m delighted by Ellen and her trust, but it is Laura’s example of loving support that makes this a terrific weekend read.

[Barb VanHorn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I loved Ellen Foster the first time I read it. Recently, I read it 2 more times to prepare to lead the discussion of the book in my book club. Again, I loved it. So, I agreed to lead the discussion of The Life All Around Me by Ellen Foster. This book was not so easy to read. I struggled with it - start it and stop it and start it again... However, I plan on reading it at least one more time, so that I might better understand the book. I always find new things that I missed the first time (not that I reread books very often). Not sure how the discussion will turn out. Not sure I love this older Ellen, but I'll try harder.

[Neyly · Rating 2 out of 5]

I must be missing something here: the point of the book.

Abused child finds her footing, shines with prodigious talent, gets accepted with full scholarship to Harvard. Note that she's accepted at age 15 with a deferred enrollment for when she finishes high school. The full scholarship stands despite the fact that she's come into enough money not to need any lessening of financial burden. I felt like I read Educated by Tara Reid all over again. Though in all fairness to the fictional Ellen Foster, she's twice as much fun as Tara and tons less whiny.

Recommend: It was okay but barely so. Note that it doesn't stand alone well. Read Ellen Foster first, which is actually quite good.

[Sidney · Rating 3 out of 5]

While I loved Ellen Foster, Gibbon’s first book, this sequel left me feeling confused. Maybe it was the writing style or maybe just the fact that it didn’t flow? I don’t know but I’m glad I’m done. In this sequel, Ellen is now 15 and wants badly to attend Harvard; however she knows that without a scholarship or instant money, she will never be accepted. Her foster mother, Laura, has found out something about Ellen’s aunt that could help her future. Other than that, there’s really not much going for this 219 page book.

[Sue · Rating 3 out of 5]

This sequel to "Ellen Foster" is written from the viewpoint of Ellen herself. Because it's written in a stream of consciousness way with long sentences, I found myself reading fast, as if she was speaking it to me all in a rush. I had to keep telling myself to slow down and enjoy it. It tells of her life at 15 and gives some insight into growing up, her family, and at long-last, her mother. It's a funny and touching tale that grips your heart.

[Jodell · Rating 2 out of 5]

In a certain time, place, era, age a book or character creates a masterpiece. Something that nothing else can ever compare to ever again. It shines so bright nothing can dull it's beauty. But Because a place changes, people grow up, an era is gone, circumstances change, or its a continuance of a story you have already read. The second book cannot compare to or compete for the first book Ellen Foster.

[Katie · Rating 2 out of 5]

The second book in the Ellen Foster duo. I liked the first better, as I had a hard time getting through this one. Ellen is older now, and although she’s settled in with Laura, her foster mother, she’s still struggling with dealing with life after her mother’s death. Most memorable parts of this book include a trip to the fair with her childhood friends and some new information about her mother that’s revealed towards the end of the book.

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

This second book about the life of Ellen Foster teetered between 3 1/2 stars and 4 stars. Parts of it were so deeply moving, but there was enough lacking in the story that I had to rate it at 3 1/2. This being my 3rd Kaye Gibbons book, I can safely say that she has moved in as one of all-time favorite authors...right below Robert Goolrick. Both of these authors have rich, moving stories to tell. And they both have a wonderful writing style; a beautiful, quirky way of telling their stories.