A Study Guide for Kaye Gibbons's "Ellen Foster," excerpted from Gale's acclaimed Novels for Students. This concise study guide includes plot summary; character analysis; author biography; study questions; historical context; suggestions for further reading; and much more. For any literature project, trust Novels for Students for all of your research needs.

"Filled with lively humor, compassion, and intimacy." -Alice Hoffman, The New York Times Book Review "When I was little I would think of ways to kill my daddy." With that opening sentence we enter the childhood world of one of the most appealing young heroines in contemporary fiction. Her courage, her humor, and her wisdom are unforgettable as she tells her own story with stunning honesty and insight. An Oprah Book Club selection, this powerful...

Now fifteen, Ellen Foster 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. While she holds fast to the shreds of her childhood, humoring her best friend Stuart who is determined to marry her. She protects her old neighbor, slow-witted Starletta and sells her poetry for money to pay her way to a camp for gifted...