YMMV / White Oleander

• Harsher in Hindsight: In the novel, there's a passage where Claire explains to Astrid the different ways actresses are rejected and their meanings, along with the harsh criticism based on physical appearance in Hollywood. In 2016, the actress who played Claire had to write an article for the Huffington Post rebuking the claims that she had gotten work done on her eyes and defending herself against the backlash the tabloid rumors had caused for her, along with calling out the Men Are Strong, Women Are Pretty mentality in Hollywood and in tabloids.
  • It's even more harsh when you read the article and at one point, realize she sounds almost exactly like Claire in the article.
  Claire: "You spend hours getting ready, drag yourself to the call, where they look at you for two seconds and decide you're too ethnic. Too classic. Too something. [...] Too small means breasts. Too classic means old. It's not a very nice business, I'm afraid. I still go out, but it's an exercise in futility."
  Renée Zellweger (HuffPost, 2016): "Too skinny, too fat, showing age, better as a brunette, cellulite thighs, facelift scandal, going bald, fat belly or bump? Ugly shoes, ugly feet, ugly smile, ugly hands, ugly dress, ugly laugh..."
• Tear Jerker: Goddamn, where to start.