Flowers in the Attic (Dollanganger Family 1) by Virginia Andrews

Dollanganger #1-2

by V.C. Andrews

A value-priced bindup of the first two books ever published by V. C. Andrews, Flowers in the Attic and Petals on the Wind.

Genres: Fiction, Horror, Young Adult, Romance, Drama, Thriller, Gothic

Paperback

First published January 1, 1979

About the author

Books published under the following names - Virginia Andrews, V. Andrews, Virginia C. Andrews & V.C. Endrius. Books since her death ghost written by Andrew Neiderman, but still attributed to the V.C. Andrews name

Virginia Cleo Andrews (born Cleo Virginia Andrews) was born June 6, 1923 in Portsmouth, Virginia. The youngest child and the only daughter of William Henry Andrews, a career navy man who opened a tool-and-die business after retirement, and Lillian Lilnora Parker Andrews, a telephone operator. She spent her happy childhood years in Portsmouth, Virginia, living briefly in Rochester, New York. The Andrews family returned to Portsmouth while Virginia was in high school.

While a teenager, Virginia suffered a tragic accident, falling down the stairs at her school and incurred severe back injuries. Arthritis and a failed spinal surgical procedure forced her to spend most of her life on crutches or in a wheelchair.

Virginia excelled in school and, at fifteen, won a scholarship for writing a parody of Tennyson's Idylls of the King. She proudly earned her diploma from Woodrow Wilson High School in Portsmouth. After graduation, she nurtured her artistic talent by completing a four-year correspondence art course while living at home with her family.

After William Andrews died in the late 1960s, Virginia helped to support herself and her mother through her extremely successful career as a commercial artist, portrait painter, and fashion illustrator.

Frustrated with the lack of creative satisfaction that her work provided, Virginia sought creative release through writing, which she did in secret. In 1972, she completed her first novel, The Gods of the Green Mountain [sic], a science-fantasy story. It was never published. Between 1972 and 1979, she wrote nine novels and twenty short stories, of which only one was published. "I Slept with My Uncle on My Wedding Night", a short fiction piece, was published in a pulp confession magazine.

Promise gleamed over the horizon for Virginia when she submitted a 290,000-word novel, The Obsessed, to a publishing company. She was told that the story had potential, but needed to be trimmed and spiced up a bit. She drafted a new outline in a single night and added "unspeakable things my mother didn't want me to write about." The ninety-eight-page revision was re-titled Flowers in the Attic and she was paid a $7,500 advance. Her new-generation Gothic novel reached the bestseller lists a mere two weeks after its 1979 paperback publication by Pocket Books.

Petals on the Wind, her sequel to Flowers, was published the next year, earning Virginia a $35,000 advance. The second book remained on the New York Times bestseller list for an unbelievable nineteen weeks (Flowers also returned to the list). These first two novels alone sold over seven million copies in only two years. The third novel of the Dollanganger series, If There Be Thorns, was released in 1981, bringing Virginia a $75,000 advance. It reached No. 2 on many bestseller lists within its first two weeks.

Taking a break from the chronicles of Chris and Cathy Dollanganger, Virginia published her one, and only, stand-alone novel, My Sweet Audrina, in 1982. The book welcomed an immediate success, topping the sales figures of her previous novels. Two years later, a fourth Dollanganger novel was released, Seeds of Yesterday. According to the New York Times, Seeds was the best-selling fiction paperback novel of 1984. Also in 1984, V.C. Andrews was named "Professional Woman of the Year" by the city of Norfolk, Virginia.

Upon Andrews's death in 1986, two final novels—Garden of Shadows and Fallen Hearts—were published. These two novels are considered the last to bear the "V.C. Andrews" name and to be almost completely written by

Reviews

[Giselle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Just finished "Flowers in the Attic." The best I can describe this book is like a watching a car crash. You know you shouldn't watch, but you can't tear your eyes away. This book is vivid, descriptive, wrong, innocent, at times evil, but most of all it's dark. It's a dark mystery that sucks you in and doesn't let go. The incestuous relationship is troubling, and I have to ignore those parts because for me, I feel like it's just wrong. But in the characters' eyes, they're all right. It's love and you can't help who you fall for, even if it's your own flesh and blood. This book takes the phrase "keeping it all in the family" quite literally.

[Deepthought · Rating 5 out of 5]

Firstly, these books are understood when read in series. They are extremely rich in symbolism and are riddled with subtextual meaning . The Dollanganger series is a mixture of all the other genres, with the correct proportions of each to give you the perfect story

There is so much to these books that it would take me an entire book to explain each and every thing, Although these books may appear to be "simple as you think they are more complex than you can imagine." This book is an extraordinary example of implicit or subtextual meaning.


*Book 1 - Flowers in the Attic
The first book "Flowers in the Attic" uses fairytale- like tones to give the illusion of innocence but beneath the surface is the undercurrent of a shadowed truth. . I remember the line from V for Vengeance "Artists use a lie to tell the truth". Virginia Andrews certainly did, in the series, using her prime narrator.

Every one pretty much read the books and they know of the story and it controversy.

It is told in the naif narrative view by Cathy. Everyone knows that too, of course!

So this is more a symbolic and subtextual analysis rather than a review. In fact this is more Chris's story.

Besides the obvious understanding of the attic

(1) being a place where stuff no longer needed is stored, the attic can represent :-

(2) The Dollanganger (Foxworth) family history and legacy

(3) The "way" of humanity. Way meaning its history and pattern. The family actually mentioned

(4).The subconscious mind maybe many of you have heard of the saying "The Attic of my mind" where things are recorded and stored and never forgotten.

(5) Using the biblical view can also represent a higher place (heaven) or the Garden of Eden". The philosophical view ties these two together.

(6). The universe or the universal view - macroscopic where the book needs to be understood in all its different levels of symbolism - the ineffable.

Knowing that, any one reading it further should

a). Gain a better understanding of Cathy and Chris (draw a character analysis because knowing these two characters unlock the secrets to the subsequent mystery).
Favoured child vs the envious child
The realist vs the idealist

"Chris coloured all his animals realistically, I decorated mine with polka dots .." Cathy (Flowers in the Attic). As you can gauge, Chris's interpretation of the story would be more realistic and to this series that is extremely important.

b). Pay attention to their family history. -Lost Colony
-Civil War
-winslow demise and the rise of the Foxworths
-the portraits
-clothes
-furniture
-Doppelganger and it's meaning

c). Nature
-the wind
-the colours green (most importantly), red, purple, white, black, yellow, blue
- the sun
- the rain
- the moon
- the leaves
- the seasons
-flowers and trees
-mountains

d). Perspective

Knowing this lays down the foundation to understanding the subsequent books.

**Book 2 - Petals on the Wind
The second book, my word, is the second book the trick in this whole series

Many read it and say it is just a soap opera but the trick :- Cathy changes from naif (innocent) to the Unreliable (Mad) narrator. Yes, she is unaware that she subconsciously kills - spanish moss love that clings and clings until it kills. Malcolm's killer (bad) genes. Pay attention to the green blanket, towel, grass, garden and yes of course the wind.
Pay lots of attention to the Flowers in the Attic passage

"Then Cory spoke up. As always, he was the one to ask the most
difficult questions to answer. "Where has all the grass gone?"

"God took the grass to heaven." And thusly, Carrie saved me from
answering.

"For Daddy. Daddy likes to mow the lawn.""

Cathy's to Chris (Flowers in the Attic)
"The Wind - dead souls whispering
"I've got another goodie-whispering winds like dead souls trying to
tell us something."

Bob Dylan wasn't kidding when he stated that the answer my friend is blowing in the Wind.

Love that clung and killed ... Cathy the Killer

a). Julian's Death
Julian couldn't feel her hand on his chest. If Julian was paralysed, he couldn't move his hand.

Remember this (Petals on the Wind)...
"Chris made the call to Madame Marisha for I was deathly afraid he'd pass away any moment and I might miss the only chance to tell him I love him. And if that happened I would be cursed and haunted all my life." She doesn't get a chance to tell Bart she loves him, that's why she doesn't have his picture in Seeds of Yesterday although we know that's she had pictures from the Greenglenna paper of him toasting her mother in her scrapbook of revenge, she doesn't ever keep a photo of Bart.

Further evidence . Julian's room "I stood in the dim, greenish light from the lamp covered by a GREEN towel."... (Petals on the Wind)

Pay attention to this..
"The two of them pulled Cory from my arms and wrapped him in a GREEN BLANKET." (Flowers in the Attic)
The colour of her dad's cadillac is GREEN.

"The body of Bart Winslow was found on the on the floor of the library with the skeletal grandmother still clutched in his arms - both suffocated by the smoke and not the flames. I stumbled over to fold down the GREEN BLANKET and stared into his face to convince myself death had come into my life"
(Petals on the Wind)

b). Bart's Death
Now onto Bart ... and the burning of Foxworth Hall .. Cathy (Petals on the Wind)
"I looked at the dormer windows of the attic and saw the fallen slat from one of the black shutters had been replaced. There wasn't a scorch mark anywhere or signs of fire. The HOUSE HADN'T BURNED!. GOD HADN'T SENT AN ERRAND BREEZE TO BLOW THE CANDLE FLAME UNTIL IT CAUGHT A DANGLING PAPER FLOWER ON FIRE. GOD WASN'T GOING TO PUNISH OUR MOTHER OR THE GRANDMOTHER, NOT FOR ANYTHING!" Sounds familiar ???? Cathy was the one who went to the attic with a lit candle. Before coming down to avenge her mother.

Corrinne couldn't have set the fire merely because it was mere minutes between the time she left the library to the time they discover Foxworth hall (which is large and would take some time to burn).

Corinne did however sent him back into the house. You should question why did Bart go back into the house ?!!! And his peculiar demise where he couldn't get out.

I must also stress here, that there are clues in the book to state that Bart Winslow knew who Cathy was from the beginning. Her letters to Corinne- he had them. He knew of Malcolm's affair with Alicia.

"And one great big secret I've never heard before is that Malcolm Neal Foxworth, the good, pious, saintly gentleman, had a love affair after he had heart trouble. Now before his heart trouble, I happen to know he had at least one, possibly, but no more."
Oh! He knew more than 1. 1 had shot an arrow into the sky, not knowing
it would hit a bulls-eye!" (Petals on the Wind)


He also knew who Cathy was when she kissed him in Flowers in the attic. That's why he constantly mentions that kiss to Corinne, to tell her that her children have found a way out. You can find that in the book.


c). Paul's Death
Paul's Death in the chapter named "Reaping the harvest". Cathy is called by Paul who tells her his impotent and suggests that she should go to her brother. Directly after that chat she writes "And so like Momma, we'd written our scripts too, Chris and I. And maybe ours is no better than hers". That suggests that they are engaged in a sexual relationship between them.

And a year later, they are at the river when Cathy tells Chris she had sex with Paul. If she was sleeping with Chris, why did she sleep with Paul? The answer is Paul lived on like the grandfather preventing them from living solely as husband and wife. She married Paul, to inherit the Sheffield name so she can pose as Mrs. Christopher Sheffield and to give her illegitimate son, Bart the cover of having a father and to inherit his money so they can find a secluded place to live. Pay attention to Paul's story about Julia and how she could have drowned herself in shallow water. We can understand her holding Scotty down but how did she manage to drown ?

Remember Catherine, you'll learn from "If there be thorns" doesn't like men who smoke like her grandfather did. Bart, Julian and Paul smoked.

d). Carrie's death
At Carrie's funeral "And the poison on her doughnuts hadn't been just a trace, but heavily laced.. Pure arsenic"

If it was heavily laced when she consumed them, Carrie would have died within hours. As with Mickey who was given a dose accordingly with body weight he died after several hours. Equate that with a person and a heavily laced dose and the same "Mickey effect" would arise. But from what evidence we see, Carrie has been steadily dosed over a long period of time. Hair falling out, feeling ill and going pale. It takes her many days before she eventually dies.

Remember that when Cathy and Paul host a dinner party for Alex and Carrie, the same night the following happens :- after Chris calls her when she is bed with Paul, she runs to Carrie's room.

"And yes just like Cory, I could hear the wind blowing and howling like a wolf searching for me, wanting to blow me away too, just had it blown Cory and made him only into dry dust. Quickly I ran to Carrie's room, wanting to protect her. For it seemed to me, in my nightmarish state, it was more likely that the wind would take her before it got me .. "

I can't express even how important this statement. In her nightmarish state she (subconsciously) poisons her own sister. That's why Carrie never explicitly states she took arsenic and she is never confronted and nor does she verbally state she committed suicide.

Remember Catherine thinks she is Corinne sometimes and then she hates herself.

Once you understand that Cathy is a killer, you start to understand Chris, why he couldn't abandon Corinne, why he had to become a doctor and why it had to be his sister.

"Oh, golly! I was greatly disturbed, kind of numb feeling inside. So many accidents. Two brothers dead and daddy ,too, all from accidents. My bleak look met with Chris. He wasn't smiling." Cathy (Flowers in the attic)

"Out of the four Dresden Dolls only two were left. And one would do nothing. He had taken an oath to preserve life and keep alive even those who don't deserve to live "
The defective family gene that lead them to become killers, Chris binds himself to an oath that forbids him to become a killer.

Chris plucked it out and held it, just staring down at a dead maple
leaf as if his very life depended on reading its secret for knowing how
to blow in the wind. No arms, no legs, no wings ... but it could fly
when dead. (Flowers in the Attic). He figured out the secret.

The Thomas hood poem

O'er the earth there comes a bloom, —
Sunny light for sullen gloom,
Warm perfume for vapours cold, —
I smell the Rose above the mould:"

Literary devices using the narrative techniques. The character that is the key to unlocking the mystery is the other protagonist, Chris. He is also the prime protagonist. Cathy repeats the murdering family legacy whilst Chris is the change in the pattern. Throughout our history there will be suffering, death, destruction and despair but there will come one person who will change that, save and unite humankind and show them the way - kind of like Neo in The Matrix, John Connor in Terminator, Mallory Ringess in Neverness or Paul Atreides in Dune. ( Andrews was big into science fiction and her very first novel was sci -fi Gods of Green Mountain).

That's why this story begins with Cathy and Chris, and not other people in their family. Andrews chose this because of that change in the pattern - Chris and his relevance to his family and humanity.

Andrews goes to great length to show how two people with different ideals suffering the same fate reacting differently. She is building us up for what shapes the human experience. One pins his hopes on reaching his goal of becoming a doctor (which he ultimately does), he doesn't go forth with great expectations and isn't idealistic, the other wants a mountain full to make up for what she has lost and when her dreams don't materialise, it fuels her plans for revenge.
"Before you begin on the journey of revenge, dig two graves. Proverb." One grave is reserved for the one seeking revenge.

It is essential to keep this in mind :-

"She said you kept the embryo, one with two
heads. I've seen that thing in your office in a bottle. Paul, how could
you keep it? Why didn't you have it buried? A monster baby! It isn't
fair-it isn't-why, why?"" Cathy to Paul (Petals on the Wind)

Why did Paul keep the deformed embryo ? Does it make sense ? Or does this shed some light ?

"And every time he swatted a fly, or killed a spider, Paul, Chris would long to have John Cuff microscope. And once he said he wanted to be the Mouseman of the Attic, and discover for himself why mice die so young."
"Do mice die young?" asked Paul seriously. "How did you know they were
young? Did you capture baby ones, and mark them in some way?"
Chris and I met eyes. Yeah, we'd lived in another world back when we were
young and imprisoned, so that we could look at the mice who came to steal....." Cathy to Paul - Chris's graduation - (Petals on the Wind)
Remember the embryo would serve Chris more than Paul.

This story unearths the human clay. It is a story of human suffering, betrayal and most of all hope. The rest of this can be found on the Dollanganger boxed set review.

[Ellie Hamilton · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.75
Even though I gave it this rating ( I think due to my age and some things in it just being too far fetched and childlike )and my editions had so many grammatical errors

[KP · Rating 2 out of 5]

Flowers in the Attic

3.5 stars


I would like to start by saying that, although I liked this book, it was probably not the best one I’ve ever read. However, for my first time reading in the young adult/contemporary genre, this was a pretty solid read.

First and foremost—the plot. For this aspect of the story, I have bittersweet emotions; it was good and kept me reading for the duration of the book, but I didn’t find myself racing back to the novel every night or anything. I do have to note, though, that the prospect of four seemingly perfect children, locked in a wicked grandmother’s attic by their seemingly perfect mother, was intriguing. Also, I found that the gap between Part 1 and Part 2 was a bit throwing—what with going from seeing the kids go about their lives day-to-day, to missing an entire year in the attic; although, from a writer’s perspective, I can understand how skipping that chunk of time was essential to the progression of the storyline.

As to the writing, for me, it was kind of “meh.” In other words, it was good, like the plot, but not grand. I was a tad bit disappointed upon the discovery of this, for I really enjoy novels that are so immersive, you can’t hear the conversation around you; but sadly, I didn’t find quite as much of that feeling as I’d hoped. The level of description used to convey Cathy and the others’ surroundings wasn’t exceptional, but average; same goes for the more suspenseful scenes as well. On the other hand, I did think that the diversity between the characters’ personalities was well thought out, so that although there would be a few family resemblances (as expected), there was no two of a kind.

Towards the late-middle/end of Andrews’ novel, things for Chris, Cathy, Cory and Carrie get more and more perilous; starting when the wicked grandmother starves them.


Yep.


You read that right.


Starves. Them.


Me being me, although I heard all of her threats and intimidations, I foolishly thought that the grandmother wouldn’t sink that low; yet she did.


She did.


What I found more surprising, though, is when the grandmother finally, finally lifted her siege, she brought something with her that had been clearly banned to the children, ever since she handed out that oh-so-hated list of rules on the second day of their imprisonment—powdered donuts! I have to say, although I didn’t like the prospect for our protagonists, I thought that the arsenic trick with the donuts was quite clever of their mother because, for most of the book anyway, she comes off to me as very helpless and unintelligent; so for her to come up with that scheme, I was taken aback, if only a little. Nonetheless, I did feel as though Chris found the manifestation of Cory’s death and their sicknesses a little too easily; but, as proven many times throughout the story, Chris is smarter than most can fathom.

I had the same thought when the trio escaped—that it was “too easy.” What I mean is, for all the anticipation and suspense that was chocked into this event, the actual execution of it was fairly simple and uneventful, at least to me. Well, be that as it may, the way Cathy, Chris and Carrie displayed their reactions to the real world made me think that the hysterical relief of being out of the wretched Foxworth mansion hadn’t hit them until they were gone—gone, away from the grandmother, away from the attic, and especially away from their wannabe mother who’s guilty of indirect murder.

One of the supposed most emotional scenes of this book is little Cory’s inopportune demise. What was most sad, to me anyway, was how little emotion I felt for him and his siblings; which, ultimately, is the fault of the writer. I mean, yes, I was upset that he died, and that the small ray of sun that shone in the dark, dank attic had finally been blotted out, but it just didn’t affect me the way that you’d think. It was the reactions of the other three that were more disturbing; especially because Cory meant something different to each and every one of them. Chris and Cathy lost a son; while Carrie lost her other half.

At the end of the day, I think that three and a half stars is pretty fair rating for this novel. Although I didn’t enjoy it as much as I’d hoped, the hauntingly suspenseful story, along with its characters, will stay with me long after the final page has turned.



Petals on the Wind

2 stars


Unfortunately, I got about three-quarters of the way through this book and decided that, sadly, I wasn’t going to finish it. And, after reading other fellow users’ reviews here on Goodreads, I’ve seen that thankfully, I’m not the only one.

Ultimately, although there were many little things that diverted my attention away from this novel, there was really only one main reason that just eventually sparked my stoppage; and that reason was Cathy.

Cathy, for most of Flowers in the Attic, was tolerable, in my opinion; I didn’t agree with a few of her actions but was able to overlook them in order to respond to the pull of wanting to know how exactly that haunting book ended. The same thing happened with Petals on the Wind, with a slightly less demanding desire to see what would ensue our so very unfortunate characters; and that lessening yearning made the frustrating moves Cathy made stand out ever the more prominently.

There were a lot of decisions she made that reminded me of her mother—and, honestly, although I don’t know for sure how the second installment ended, I’m pretty sure she becomes almost exactly like that wretched woman. I mean, stalking? Plotting revenge? Reckless decision making and a few careless choices? Come on! I personally felt as though I didn’t want to continue to watch (read?) someone slowly yet surely destroy a life that could’ve been filled with the most beautiful things; a missed opportunity that seems to be becoming more and more clear as the story moves forward.

Another miss for me was the monotony that could take over some parts of the book; for instance, when Cathy took on her ballet studio. Suddenly, her life was the continuous routine of work, home, take care of Jory or leave him with Carrie, work again, stalk her mother and Bart Winslow—on and on and on; until, oh no, Carrie dies!

That said, I don’t mean to be rude or disrespectful to V.C. Andrews. All I mean to say is that Cathy’s poor decision making abilities ruined what little attachment I had to the characters, making everything that was supposed to be heart wrenching and emotionally draining—Julian and Carrie’s death, the love triangle between Cathy, Paul and her brother, etc.—seem almost…distant, I guess. Like it didn’t really matter who died and who lived, because it was all her mother’s fault, and never Cathy’s. It was Mrs. Winslow’s fault that Carrie was dead, and that Julian wasn’t the perfect husband, and that Cathy’s ballet career never took off. It was always put on her shoulders, and although I can see how that can be foreshadowing for something unknown yet to come, I just sort of got sick of hearing the internal complaining and blaming and stalking and... well, you get the idea.

To wrap up, although this novel could’ve been a home run for some, for me it fell flat altogether. The initial premise was interesting—to find out what exactly Cathy, Carrie and Chris did once they were finally out of the despicable Foxworth mansion—but, besides a few exciting moments here and there, the rest of the story was a bit “meh.” Cathy’s life decisions were frustrating, and although she constantly is blaming the mother who originally dumped her and her three siblings into a whole lot of trouble, everything she hates about her current life is really the result of her poor choices. You know what they say: the things we don’t like about other people are usually the things that we don’t like about ourselves.

[Anna Potzer · Rating 1 out of 5]

Wow, these books should never have been written. There is no reason and should be no excuse to write a narrative that condones SA in any form, incest among children, and pedophilia. And yes, this book is full of all of them and each of these things happen MORE THAN ONCE in the span of the two books. The only positive thing this book puts out is that the victim is not to be held responsible, which could have definitely been the opposite view the book took considering the time it was written. But, the book doesn’t always identify the victim as such, and instead makes them (usually girls) willing participants. I mostly see harm from these books and do not want to accept it as a “modern gothic” but instead as the piece of shit that it is.

[Abby Rose · Rating 5 out of 5]

FLOWERS IN THE ATTIC:

To be honest, I'm not sure why this book gets such a bad reputation. And my cynical side can't help wondering if even half of the people dissing this could write a debut novel HALF as good.

Though to be fair, this wasn't ACTUALLY V.C. Andrews' first novel, it was just the first she published under her own name and no one knows what her old penname was because she didn't want her family to read those books for some unknown reason to do with "the content".

Also, I kind of hate when people make stupid remarks about how this book was the 1980s fifty-shades of Grey or Gone Girl or Twilight. Do you know how OFFENSIVE that is? Whatever you think of the subject matter and themes, you can't call a book trash just because it has incest or child abuse -- a lot of talent went into writing this, and it shows, regardless of what you think of the story. Whereas Fifty Shades was written in a manner that barely can hold a sentence together (I'll take narrator Cathy's dated slang peppered with "Golly" and "Gee" over "Oh My!" or "He's wearing a WHITE shirt" or "My face is the color of the communist manifesto" ANY DAY -- I mean what the blazes, people?). And don't get me started on Gone Girl -- just because it has a "twist" (and I use the term very loosely) that mildly surprised a few gullible readers (including some high-profile ones like author Nicholas Sparks, for some reason) does not make it good, unless you like reading about a hateful couple who only know three vocabulary words (not counting the over-used F-word) each, that's on you. But don't compare it to V.C. Andrew's far better work. Though, if the comparison is strictly being used to compare how the books get passed around between women and book clubs, I'll give you a pass.

That said, off-topic rant off my chest, I personally LOVE this book. It's a dark tale of four beautiful, blond siblings locked for three years in an attic while their recently widowed mother's love wanes and her greed grows.

It's sad, suspenseful, and yet full of a bizarre coming-of-age hope in spite of that.

I think the writing is solid and likable, though we see V.C. Andrews improve on the "pretty prose" front in later books such as "Sweet Audrina".

Also, fun fact: this book is possibly based on a true story. It's been said that V.C. Andrews (who had many health problems) met a handsome doctor who told her the story of himself and his siblings locked away in an attic for SIX years, and he inspired the character who would become Chris in the novel. V.C. Andrew's query letter for Flowers seems to strongly support this myth!

If you're wondering which movie adaptation of this to view after reading, there are pros and cons to both.

The 1980s one is a little dated, and the characters are a bit aged-up, but it does have a couple of book lines that the newer version left out and the soundtrack is really good -- the haunting music is perfect for the tone of the film. Also, a cameo from V.C. Andrews herself as a maid cleaning the windows. The more recent lifetime one is closer to the book, and very well-made/acted in, but it does leave out some things (Cathy's music box, and a number of iconic lines). Also, the incest is included, whereas it's left out of the 80s film entirely.

PETALS ON THE WIND:

While maybe not QUITE as good as Flowers in the Attic, this sequel doesn't let down Dollanganger fans in the least!

We get to see the lives of the characters after the events of Flowers in the Attic, and as Carrie is probably my favorite character in the series (it used to be Cathy when I was younger, but reading these as a grown up, I find I like poor, tragic Carrie best) I like that this book is HERS more than any of the others. True, she doesn't get a POV (for plot-related reasons I won't spoil here) but we see her as more than just a playful/sad toddler in this book, unlike in the previous one. We see her in school and later as an adult, and the choice she ultimately makes is that much more tragic because of this new view of her.

It also continues Cathy and Chris' stories and shows their different ways of coping with what they went through in the attic.

All and all, a worthy sequel!

If you're interested in the Lifetime movie, it's a good introduction to this book, but do be aware that they changed a lot more than they did for Flowers. Though, interestingly, many of their added/altered plot-points are allegedly consistent with Andrews' original unpublished draft, including Chris' romance with Sarah.

[Gabi Burke · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was probably one of the most disturbing books I have read in a long while. It was impossible to put down as you just wanted to know what awful thing was to happen next. Sort of like watching a car accident in extreme slow motion.

[Caroline (Words & Whispers) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Let me start off by saying this: these books are definitely dark and definitely not for everyone. The story starts with the Dollanganger family, happy and content. Then, on his birthday, their father is in a car accident and dies. The mother feels the need to go to her father, who had many years before disowned her. With a promise and a quick departure, the children are forced into an attic with sparse sunlight and little food from a grandmother who calls them Devil's spawn. Enough with the summary, I know, I know. Well, this book is one of my favorites. It is dark and incestuous and doesn't shy away from anything nasty or unheard of. Cathy is the pessimist, and the narrator. She whined a bit, (not that I wouldn't have been bitching about having a witch for a mother and a dead father alone) but she was my favorite character. Her undeniable cynicism saved them several times over, and I couldn't help but feel the way she felt. Chris, though I had to love him, was a little too much of an optimist, and I found his faith in their mother (and his slight sexual inclination towards her) to be annoying and too hopeful. I cried multiple times at Cory and Carrie's sufferings, and the end of the book nearly made me stop, so full of it emotions was it. The story was horrific, and though I've heard reviewers say that their situation is nearly ideal, I found it troublesome that so little was done to escape at times. It seemed to me that had already accepted their fate, at least until the very end. The mother was despicable in every way, and the grandmother... Well, I wanted to kick that bitch's ass more than a few times. That was the other main problem: How hard would it have been to knock her out and run outside? I mean, was the old lady really that strong? But oh well, it made for a better story this way, and I love the book, from start to finish.
Stars: 5. Recommendation: Well, that's difficult. If the premise doesn't totally intrigue you and you're iffy about the idea, it's probably not for you. But otherwise, by all means, read it!
--
Given my obsession with the first novel in the Dollanganger series, you'd think I'd be in love with all of them. But honestly, Petals on the Wind didn't quite live up to expectations. Maybe I set the bar too high, but this book seemed a tiny bit forced and a little bit unrealistic. Not that the first book was all that real-sounding, but still. Cathy's failed attempts at love seemed way too crazy, and her abusive relationship with Julian seemed flat-out ridiculous at times. I understood why he did what he did, but still, Andrews seemed intent on ruining everyone's lives, even secondary characters. But the plot moved quickly and flowed well, making up for many of its flaws. Chris' undying lust (love?) for Cathy could be disgusting if I really wanted to think about it, but I didn't, and so he seemed sweeter and less incestuous. I think the incest was so burned into their blood it caused some unfortunate events, and that made me more pitying than grossed-out. Since Cory's death, Carrie had become depressed, and even though I cried when her story was concluded, I saw it coming, not because it was predictable, but because it was the right ending, no matter how sad. The children's fates are all horrible in their own ways, and Cory and Carrie's are the worst. The ending was fitting, though the trail of lost loves Cathy leaves was a tad overdone in my opinion. Overall, I couldn't wait for the next one (I read these books a few months ago) and I'm still as captivated as I was when I went into the series.
5 stars, a recommendation to fans of the first book. Again, don't pick up these books looking for a regular romance novel. Their dark and creepy at times, to say the least.

[Charmaine Lim · Rating 1 out of 5]

*2020 Update* I'm lowering this to one star because that's all it deserves

I have never read something like this before, and I am quite determined never to read something like this again.

April Brooks, a booktuber, talked about how much she loved the series and how great it was, so I decided to pick it up. I already knew that it revolved around a family and I was aware of what would happen between Cathy and Chris, but I wanted to see how V.C. Andrews brought it all across. I wanted to see her argument, her point of view, her take on things. I want to see how she would execute the story. And I was sorely disappointed and disgusted.

***PREPARE FOR A MASSIVE RANT***

I hate Cathy. I hate Chris. I hate everyone except the twins. Everyone is so horrid. No one has any redeeming qualities about them. I hate the story. Frankly, I read the second book because it was part of the bind-up and I wanted to see if it could maybe redeem the first book. It didn't

HOW IN THE FRICKIN HELL IS INCEST OKAY?? SOMEONE EXPLAIN TO ME HOW IT IS OKAY AND HOW NO ONE BATTED AN EYE AT ALL. I don't agree with what the characters did. I don't agree with any of it, and they continuously annoyed me. Their mom was the biggest b*tch I've ever read about, and her children weren't any better.

I think I can afford to go a little in depth to the plot and characters, so as to explain exactly how I feel.

PLOT

**WARNING: SPOILER FOR SECOND BOOK**

The Dollenganger is basically perfect. Perfect family, perfect house, perfect blonde hair and blue eyes. The American dream. The ideal measure of beauty. Which all crashes when Mr. Dollenganger dies in a car crash on his birthday. Leaving his family without much money, Mrs. Dollenganger brings her children to her parents' house and leaves them in the attic, telling them that it'll only be a few days before they can come out and enjoy the riches of their grandfather's wealth.

But we all know that that's not what happens. No, Corrine (the mother) leaves her children in the attic while she galavants around with her father's money and all the men she pleases. No regard for her children, whom she drowns with gifts in the meantime.
While she's doing all that, her children are left in an attic, with no other human contact and the expectation to turn out normally. So what happens? Of course, Cathy and Chris, the two oldest, fall into incestuous love and expect no repercussions. Yes, Cathy is the one who keeps pushing Chris away, telling him that it's wrong, but what happens eventually? She's totally fine with it.

In the second book, the Dollenganger children have escaped and madd their way to Florida. A kind doctor takes them in and they live happy lives. Cathy continues to gain Chris' attention, while also flaunting her body to the doctor, who is about 2 and a half decades older than her. She begins a ballet career and life of sleeping with any man she pleases, Chris becomes a doctor who lusts for his sister, and Carrie feels neglected and unaccomplished next to her older siblings and also depressed because of Cory's death

CHARACTERS

Cathy
I didn't like her. Even from the beginning, she repulsed me. Her attitude is terrible and only became worse as she got older. She has this "I deserve whatever I want because I am the picture of ideal American beauty and all men will love, fear, and lust for me" attitude that was apparent when she was a child. In fact, I think she mentions that at the age of 12, she had already "fallen in love" 7 times with 7 different boys.
When her dad dies and all that, she becomes pessimistic and terrible. Only changing a bit when it becomes clear that she and Chris are to take care of Cory and Carrie while they're locked in the attic. She becomes a mother figure and is a decent role model for awhile. But her ambition, her desires, the attitude that I mentioned before, and her narcissism eventually over-rules every, if any, good thing about her.
Self-absorbed and obsessed with the most materialistic things, Cathy is a picture of narcissism at its finest. She has paragraphs where she talks about her beautiful her long, wavy, blonde hair is, how her eyes are gorgeous, and even though she's locked in an attic, how beautiful her figure is. I think there are even paragraphs where she goes on and on about how her breasts are and how she wishes that they'll be bigger, thus making her sexier and more appealing to males. Mind you, she's like 13. And this is set in the 1960s.
As the book goes on, Cathy makes less effort to hide her body from Chris, and even flirts with him Eventually, she gets raped by Chris, but I think she was okay with that and they had sex again later But she occasionally becomes good and pushes him away.
In the second book, Cathy is basically a slut. Seducing any guy she wants and hellbent on revenge against her mother. She becomes a gorgeous ballerina, has sex with the doctor who took them in, marries another ballet dancer and has his child, goes back to the doctor, and once in awhile, makes out with Chris. That's the gist of the second book.


In love with his sister. Rapes Cathy out of jealousy. Becomes doctor. Remains in love with his sister. Doesn't see a problem with his incestuous acts and feelings. Basically Chris' life.

Cory
Sweet little Cory. Twin to the more determined and loud Carrie. Musically talented in every way possible, but his life is ruined by the fact that his mother locks him in the attic and eventually poisons and kills him with arsenic .

Carrie
The more outspoken, determined twin, Carrie is very much like her mother. But she is also sweet and kind and everything that a child her age should be. Unfortunately, she grows up in the shadow of Cathy and Chris and also loses her twin, Cory, to arsenic poisoning at the hands of their mother and never really feels like she belongs anywhere thus leading to her eventual suicide, among many other reasons

Now, why did I focus on Cathy more than the other siblings? She's the protagonist. Everything is told from her POV and she is one of the most terrible characters I have ever read about. Basically a gigantic slut, she's willing to do anything to show her mom that she is "more beautiful, better, more loved by men, and not the little doll she once was" or something like that.


To wrap this up, this series is frickin' messed up

[Katie · Rating 5 out of 5]

So far for the series I am not disappointed! I know some people have some very strong negative opinions on these, but I love Andrew's writing style. It flows so easy and you really build a relationship with and understanding of the main character. There are so many twists and new situations that come about to keep you guessing. The ending of the second book isn't too much of a cliffhanger, but leaves some curiosities. I am nervous, but hopeful, as I start the next two! Do they live up to the first two? We shall see!

*Also, I know many people won't read these books due to their content which is perfectly fine (I dont want to give any spoilers), but I feel Andrew's approach to the topic was done very well. She goes enough into it to make you feel what the character is going through, but not so much that it consumes the book.

[Dayla · Rating 5 out of 5]

TRIGGER WARNING FOR RAPE

This book is just wow. These poor children. I’m at a loss for words. I know there are more books in the series, but I’m good with just the first book.

I’m glad I’ve finally read this book. The circumstances the children were put in made it easy to see why they formed the relationships they formed. Because of when this book was written and how little the characters knew about the real world (because they WERE children), I’m not going to be too harsh on them regarding certain events—but said events make it glaringly obvious how awful their situation was and how one could slip into something horrible.

It’s past 4am here in Canada. This is all I have to say about this book. I know it’ll stay with me for a while.

Happy reading!

[Lotte Fleck · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read Flowers in the attic, as a teenager and was really blown away by it. Because I got the book from a friend I didn’t know that there where more books. So a few weeks ago I ordered them all and have stared working my way through them.

So now I’ve read it again and also have read petals in the wind. And like before Flowers in the attic really got to me, and I read it in a day, whereas Petals in the wind didn’t. It took longer for me to get into and to enjoy, but I did. Sadly I have to agree with some of the other comments that my edition also had a lot of grammatical errors in them, especially Petals in the wind.

[Jonathan Hernandez · Rating 5 out of 5]

Always listen to grandma.

“Love...I put so much faith in it.
Truth...I kept believing it falls always from the top lips of the one you love and trust the most.
Faith...it's all bound up to love and trust. Where does one end and the other start, and how do you tell when love is the blindest of all?”

[Ella Easton · Rating 3 out of 5]

what the actual heck is this plot. I’m concerned

[Clinton Murphy · Rating 1 out of 5]

Sorry Venom.

[Julie Jacobs · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow just wow I can't believe what happened to her mother I find that so funny.. payback

[Capricious_Reads · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've been rereading this series for over 15 years. It gets better every time.

[Sarah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Dark & twisty.
A story I will never forget.

[Dallie Luke · Rating 2 out of 5]

Why did I read this?? Why did I torture myself in this way? Every twist, every turn, I was going to be sick, I felt sick through most of it. I don’t know if it’s just some part of me that just HATED the way everything was described in a dream-like, childish way for something so adult, or maybe it was something to do with just myself. But I didn’t like it. There were plots I enjoyed, yes, but others? The abuse, the incest, the r*pe, the absolute horrid mother that they had, it all just made me sick as I read it.

Did I enjoy the fact that I was able to follow along with a characters WHOLE life in just two books unlike other series? Yeah, maybe I did. But did I like how her life turned out to be? No.

Let’s start with the mother;

I hated her. With everything in me. I just knew from the start, when she passively looked past EVERYTHING her own mother was doing to her own children, she was bad news. Did I expect her to turn insane? Did I expect her to actually feel remorse for what she did? Absolutely not! But, did I expect her to prioritize the money over them, yeah. She was cruel to them, locking them away, and doing nothing about it. She didn’t care that the twins weren’t growing right, she didn’t care that they never got the food they needed as growing children, she didn’t care that they were all suffocated, unable to live normal lives like real children. She never cared, and it showed in the end when she made up stories, tried to justify what she had done. There was nothing that she could’ve said that would’ve helped.

Next, I want to talk about the Grandmother.

Yes, she was cruel as well. Yes, she also did terrible things to the children, but she would’ve done anything for her husband, and anything out of spite for her daughter. Though she played as a villain in the first book, she wasn’t in the second, she was simply a pawn used by the mother to be seen as the evil doer, when it was the mother all along. I’m not justifying her, just saying that she wasn’t the true antagonist of the story. The tar in the hair, the rules, the whippings, hitting the children, all things she did herself, all things that she committed, not the mother, yet, the poison was not her. She brought it up to them, but it wasn’t her plan. The arsenic was all the mother herself.

These two make me sick! And though, it isn’t expected, Cathy too, does not please me.

Does the Grandmother deserve to feel the pain that Cathy had been dealt by her? No, not when time had already taken its toll, when she herself went through her own pain. Cathy had a heart of stone, just like her mother, just like her grandmother. And though she let love in, she let it in only after her revenge had settled, and she was too blind by that pain and bitterness for her to see true love. She was a hopeless romantic, yet she wouldn’t see love until it was too late. She didn’t tell Julian in time until he was gone, she didn’t tell Bart at all, she had told Chris, but he was her brother and she didn’t want to live in sin as her mother did, and she told Paul, but didn’t stay with him. She was a player, she was a seductress, and though she didn’t want to be like her mother, she was almost exactly like her. Though she loved her children and promised never to harm them, she still hurt others, playing on the feelings of many different men all at once, four of them, might I clarify. She was not the best character to play protagonist when she had her own villainess qualities. She wouldn’t let go of her past, she was stubborn, which might be a quality many like in a lead female, she wouldn’t let cruelness leave her when she had the need for revenge. Though she stopped herself, she still whipped her own Grandmother and poured hot wax into her hair when the old woman could not defend herself after two strokes. She still stole her own mother’s husband and had his son, all because she wanted to borne his child to get back at her mother, even though what he did in the beginning to get her there did not “please her” like she wanted. And all that just made me sick.

Next, is Chris.

Though I hated him less, he still was not as desirable for me. There is one line that will forever plague my thoughts from him:

“I will make you mine… tonight… now!”

How can I forget it? When the scene that happened next was so hideous and undesirable for anyone to read. It was horrifying, when I stopped reading, (though could I count it reading when I simply skimmed over it?) I felt bile in my throat, I tried to swallow, but it was hard to, my throat was dry and I felt as though I might have needed a quick stop to the restroom for a reappearance of a meal eaten just hours before. I tried to drink water to swallow it down, and though it was hard, I managed. So yes, I was so horrified, my body didn’t even want water, I was so disgusted from what happened. I don’t know why I kept reading, it could’ve been simply because I thought that was it, the worst of it was over.

Oh, how I was wrong.

After he… well yeah I’m not describing it… after what happened, Chris managed to keep his possessive behavior over her for the whole rest of the two books in one, and never stopped until he had her in the end.

What the actual heck?

And almost the exact same thing happened Cathy’s first night with Bart.

Why?????


The final horrifying thing I want to try to discuss is Julian. Not only was he just as possessive as Chris, if not more, he was abusive and controlling. He took control over Cathy’s life while he was in it. He controlled their finances, he controlled what company they would dance for, and if Cathy ever did something he didn’t like, he was force himself on her, giving her ultimatums. Before he passed, he kicked her out of her final performance, broke her toes, and even slept with her enemy, who destroyed everything she owned. There was never one good experience that was mentioned, only every time he was abusive and controlling. There were even unfaithful times mentioned, with mostly young girls, and even Cathy’s own sister (that absolute piece of crap). It had been that way even before they got married, and yet, Cathy thought she loved him, and didn’t really want to leave him.

I just wanted to leave a happy-ish note at the end, and that happy note, was the twins.

They were filled with life and joy, and I loved their innocence. Cathy and Chris both tried their best to act as good authoritative figures for them, and tried to give them the most normal childhoods they could experience. A garden was made for them, swings were built for them in the attic. Their mother tried to buy their love with toys, yet, they considered Cathy and Chris their only parents. For the most part, they had fun, until they were poisoned and became sick. Carrie loved her porcelain dolls, Cory loved his rat, just as normal kids loved their toys and pets. Their childlike wonder and playfulness in the attic was the only normal thing in the book. I cried for them both. I cried when Cory died first, then I cried for Carrie when she decided to take her own life in the same way, in the shape of powdered doughnuts, and the color of white arsenic. It just wasn’t fair. Why did they have to go out in that way? It just hurt me to see such innocent beings (for the most part) be deliberately poisoned in one way or another. And though, yes, Carrie did make it out alive, her mind was poisoned to believe she was a freak, that she was hideous looking in others eyes. The bullying broke my heart. She looked down on herself as most teenaged girls do, and that piled on with grief led her to leave the world she was in, and join the place where her brother was.

So, to conclude everything, I think this had been one of the most horrifying books I had ever experienced. I rarely felt happy or joyous, I was mostly overcome with disgust and grief. And though, yes she’s gone, I have to wonder, was the author mentally well as she wrote this series? I’m not so sure I want to continue, and I have no doubt this is the last book I will read from V.C. Andrews.

[Dani · Rating 4 out of 5]

Flowers in the Attic by V.C. Andrews is a dark, twisted story about the Dollanganger family. Chris, Cathy, Cory, and Carrie lost their father in a tragic car accident and their mother reconnected with her father after many years of his disowning her. She takes the children to Foxworth Hall to get back into her father's good graces and be put back into his will. They are locked into the attic, where they are told they will only be there for a day or two, but in reality turns into years of being locked up there. Chris and Cathy in those years become Carrie and Cory's Mom and Dad.
Cathy, while being whiny about their predicament, was the one who saw through their mother's lies and deceptions about the whole situation. Don't get me wrong, she was at first as naive as the rest of them, believing her mother's lies and the things that their mother did, but she saw through their mother's fakeness first.
While the relationship between Chris and Cathy was incestous and wrong; they were each others support system and in those years they were all that they had. They really developed those thoughts and feelings of love for each other. Corinne and Olivia were really the ones to blame because if they hadn't been locked up like animals and had to care for the twins, this would have never happened. Overall this novel was like watching a car crash, you can't help but not put it down. I give this book five stars. This book is not for everyone but if you love a great dark, twisted novel, this is the book for you.

Petals on the Wind:
The second installment in the Dollanganger series opens up just after Chris, Cathy, and Carrie escape Foxworth Hall. On their way to Florida, they meet a wonderful woman named Henny, who helps them with Carrie, by taking them to Dr. Paul. He helps Carrie back to health after being poisoned with arsenic, from their mother. Dr. Paul takes in Chris, Cathy, and Carrie and makes them feel as if they are his own children.
Cathy ends up romantically involved with Dr. Paul and starts a relationship with him. Chris is still in love with Cathy and also a man named Julien ends up falling in love with her.
Cathy is so hell-bent on revenge though, she spends most of her time trying to ruin her mother's and grandmother's lives like they had ruined theirs. Cathy gets even more determined after Carrie committed suicide because of the things her grandmother said and the things her mother did. Cathy does get her revenge on her mother by starting an affair with her husband, Bart.
Overall, this book was not as good as the first. I would only give this three stars.

[Raquel Armendariz · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love this book for it's original dark plot line that differs from what any author I ever read has written. It keeps me wanting more, and that is a good thing! I applaud the work of V.C Andrews she did for this book. I can't wait to read the whole saga.

Right so, the start off of this story was normal, and good -- not boring, but not as enthralling. However, as the story climaxed it was pure amazement of what is written. I was left with suspense and hatred! V.C explained the characters so well! Though, I do admit, I hated Cathy at times -- as she is the narrator, and is told from first person. So, she wasn't always such a reliable source. But yes, I quickly grew a relation ship with the characters. And when you read only the dialogue you could tell who was who and I loved that. As I have said before, I grew relationships with the characters; I had ones I loved and hated. I loved Christopher, and Cory, and you could see how one grew from the beginning to end.
But, I hated how many lovers Cathy had -- it pissed me off. She fell in love with everyone too quickly. I totally despise the relationship she between Paul. But yet, somehow her love for Chris seemed so natural, so I liked it much better. I didn't mind J-- what's his name? Ah, Julian... & much to say, I was astonished by her last one with Bart.

There's many deaths here, and I actually was on the verge of tears when the mouse, Mickey, died. Some were even shocking too, like Carries. I felt so sad when Cory died, for he was one of my favorites.
I think the book ended quite well, to leave you hanging, but if you don't want to read more, it ended well.

My, oh my, this book was one of the biggest I ever read. 869 pages, jeez. I read them in a term of five day; and I've already ordered for the next one.

This is a book you'll love if you have the same taste as me... because I honestly did love it.
It's that kind of book who has romance, twisted plot, good relationships, and much more, it's almost hard to explain.

P.S To read this book you must, or might want to have a open mind for it does have a plot different then anything else I've ever read.

Good job, V.C Andrews!


Oh and don't be scared of how big it is, it's quite enjoyable, and makes you laugh at times. :D

[LBK · Rating 2 out of 5]

Flowers in the Attic has been around for a long time. I've straightened enough bookshelves to see it at least 3-5 times a week for 4 years. As such, I decided it was time to give it a try when I found a bargain version of a collection of the first two books.

If you haven't read Flowers in the Attic, you should probably stop reading this. Let me say first off, it's not really the plot that had me disgusted enough to stop reading this book.

Quick summary: awesome dad dies, mom takes kids to parents' home & locks them in attic so grandad doesn't know, lies to kids, is a horrible mother, etc.

My biggest problems were Cathy, mom, & grandma. First, Cathy is startlingly naive. She grew up in a loving home, not knowing hardship or the word no. She gets angry when her brother refuses to see the negative in their mother, but honestly she blocks it herself for most of the first book. Mom & grandma are special kinds of awful, leaving four children locked in the same room for years.

I will say this, V.C. Andrews knew how to write hateful characters. I disliked almost all the main characters though, so probably not what she was going for.

The main issue here is that Mother and Father were not-so-distantly related, got married and had children. Grandma warns Cathy & Chris against it, but seriously who are you going to look at when you're stuck in an attic with just your siblings? Call it fate if you must, but there aren't many options. So when Cathy & Chris "discover" each other, it doesn't feel like a surprise or even gross. It's expected. Not one of my problems with the book (although it could have been foreshadowed a little less).

The writing. How do I describe the writing? One of the things I hate the most is when an author decides that the audience is less intelligent. No. I'm sorry but no. Better writing could have greatly improved this book, but it seems like the editor was more focused on the "shocking" plot.

After hearing so much & seeing this book so often, I was disappointed with what I read. Unfortunately, I stopped reading the second book after just a few chapters.

[Marva Whitaker · Rating 2 out of 5]

Okay. Stumbled upon the Lifetime movie version of Flowers in the Attic a few weeks ago, and found myself thinking - that didn't happen in the book, did it? Looked it up online only to find the Lifetime movie was pretty true to the story, then I noticed most copies of the book as pictured online looked a lot thicker than what I remembered the book I read looking like.

Anyway - I think I got a condensed version the first time around. And only now that I've read the full version, I get why it was so risqué.

It's not a bad idea for a story. It was the stuff of horror. The only thing that's in the way of it being great is that the narrator is kind of whiny and not particularly bright. While I think Andrews did a good job getting into the head of a girl at that age who's been treated that way, at the heart of things, even if the character hadn't been dealt those cards, she would be an unlikeable protagonist. The villains of the piece are stunningly evil, but the protagonist is so whiny and she takes so long to evolve from a passive character to an active one, that you can't really feel sorry for her at all. Halfway through the first book, all I could think was - "Leave the attic or don't. Just stop whining about it."

The second book is mostly about her taking control of her life and finally making active choices. -Of course, this ends up being an epic fail. This character sucks at life basically, and by the time they're finally out of the attic, there's not even anything really interesting about them. I did wonder what would happen to the villains of the first book and whether there would be revenge, but the eventual revenge was silly and short-lived. -Not exactly worth reading the entire book for.

Overall, if not for the unlikeable protagonist and her siblings, this could have been a really interesting couple books. The story was compelling. But as it was, I spent of lot of time annoyed and frustrated that they were all so stupid.

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

When I bought this, I barely scanned through the summary and just bought it right away. I've heard that V.C. Andrews was a legendary classic teen novel writer, so I decided to give her a try.
For an author's debut novels, this was written spectacularly. I was very pleased with how it ended up- one word in my mind stayed with me throughout the novel- addicting. This book got me so addicted, I didn't want to put it down and I was stuck reading it late into the night.

The first one was the one that caused the rest of the books to unfold. The whole main story happened in the first book, and the second revolved from there.
I hated Cathy's mother, she was such a bitchy person. She didn't care about them at all, she just wanted fortune and romance. The children were probably an accident. Marrying your half-uncle? What was that? I guess that's where Cathy got that... scandalous personality from.

I hated Cathy so much. In the first book, she was okay, and an okay storyteller/narrator. But in the second, oh my. She basically ruined it, even though I liked the second book better than the first. Cathy was so... fictional. She never had friends because she was too busy running after men... who weren't even her age. She didn't know what she wanted, she went off cheating on different men, and they all still adored her, like how could that happen in reality? How did she have any friends? I'm sorry, but she didn't deserve to live, her younger sister and her younger brother did, and they were left dying. Come on, kissing your older brother? Ugh, I was so frustrated with that chaos it kept me up half of the night.

Although most of the characters were a mess, V.C. Andrews did a stunning job with this one. The idea and concept weren't scary... just thrilling in a way. I'd really like to see where the series would head next.

[Donna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just finished reading “FLOWERS IN THE ATTIC” by V.C. ANDREWS . I read this book while listening to the audible version narrated by the actress MENA SUVARI.
This is #3 in my AROUND THE YEAR IN 52 BOOKS CLUB (a book about a nontraditional family). This is #14 in my STEPHEN KING Non-King Club Picks.
A major Lifetime movie event—the novel that captured the world's imagination and earned V.C. Andrews a fiercely devoted fanbase. Book One of the Dollanganger Family series. At the top of the stairs there are four secrets hidden. Blond, beautiful, innocent, and struggling to stay alive… They were a perfect family, golden and carefree—until a heartbreaking tragedy shattered their happiness. Now, for the sake of an inheritance that will ensure their future, the children must be hidden away out of sight, as if they never existed. Kept on the top floor of their grandmother’s vast mansion, their loving mother assures them it will be just for a little while. But as brutal days swell into agonizing months and years, Cathy, Chris, and twins Cory and Carrie realize their survival is at the mercy of their cruel and superstitious grandmother…and this cramped and helpless world may be the only one they ever know. Book One of the Dollanganger series, followed by Petals in the Wind, If There be Thorns, Seeds of Yesterday, and Garden of Shadows. I read this a lon, long time ago and watched the accompanying movie as well. It is really very sad but don’t want to spoil it for others. Though sad, you can’t put it down.

[Alyssa Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well that was a wild ride from start to finish.
These books are intense, dark and twisted but I couldn't put them down.
There was absolutely nothing off limits in either book. I found myself cringing when Cathy and Chris' romance was first introduced and then found myself cringing again (at myself) when I preferred their romance over all of Cathy's other interests.
This book was terrifying at some points in the aspect of human nature and just how far some people are willing to go under the charm of money. While completely unrealistic it was also terrifyingly believable.
I found myself becoming more and more excited for the revenge I knew was coming from Cathy. I could not have asked for anything better than their mother being locked away just as they had.

[Shelley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Had read these several years ago but decided to revisit them. I still enjoyed them and am going to work my way through the series. Yes it is a little trite and longwinded in places but it is a fictional novel, not a classical piece of literature. Sometimes I have to put the heavy serious books down and hit something a little lighter and less realistic. I mean, come on, do you really believe ANY kid would stay locked in the attic over 3 years when they could have climbed down numerous times and taken off, money or no money. Kids today would not hesitate to climb down that bedsheet ladder and head for the nearest phone to call DHR. :) At least, mine would...lol.

[Karen Desjardin · Rating 5 out of 5]

When I read this book I just felt as though I was so much apart of this heart wrenching story,there were even moments when I cried especially when little Cory got sick and his Big brother tried to save him.Even by slicing his own arm to give him blood.The saddest part was not knowing what there mother's intentions were to be...and that was to slowly but surely try to kill her own children,lil Cory would be her 1st victim...totally heartfelt and heartbreaking,this book and the whole series can be read over and over again...gotta love V.C.Andrews

[Dena Wilkins · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved every single page of this book! I was never bored at all! In the beginning you were lead to believe the mother was oh so holy, but as the book(s) progressed you learn that's not the case... Many twists and turns, tears, erotic chapters unfold as the children grow. Never did I expect the ending to be as it was. The only reason I give it four stars is because I got a little annoyed of how Cathy became obsessed with many men, though yes I do understand that the author was trying to show she is a woman of desire as we saw with Corrine. I am ready for the next three!

[Jocelyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the first "adult" books I ever read. Probably pretty inappropriate for a 10year old, but at least I was reading something.
I have re-read this series a couple of times since then and can't say I ever get tired of it. It certainly belongs in the horror section at the bookstore: Incest galore. Murdering mothers. Sociopathic sons.
This is the only VC Andrews series actually written by Virginia and is certainly the best and creepiest.