Butterfly

Orphans #1

by V.C. Andrews

All she wanted was to be someone's little girl... Fate made her a lonely orphan, yearning for the embrace of a real family and a loving home. But a golden chance at a new life may not be enough to escape the dark secrets of her past...

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

170 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1998

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

[Lexy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Oh my God VC Andrews always has a way of blowing my mind every time I read her books I know she writes hard topics but I love her writing style and I enjoy reading her books.

[Courtney · Rating 1 out of 5]

Buckle up, this is going to be a doozy.

Confession: I'm a sucker for ballet and ballerina books. I can't help it. So when Butterfly was sitting in my neighborhoods Little Free Library, I picked it up and took it home knowing nothing about it. I wish I had read the cover more carefully. "Orphan Ministries" is not something I would say is up my alley as far as reading material, because of how overly stereotyped it can be.

This book personifies all stereotypes.

Note: I'm a mother through adoption, worked for Adoption.com, and now work at an adoption agency. I wouldn't say I know everything, but I know a lot about adoption. Not as much about foster adoption, but some. So when I read this, my heart dropped:

"You children are orphans, looking for some nice people to come snatch you up and make you members of their families. You must be better than other children, children with parents and homes. You must be healthier, smarter, more polite, and most certainly more respectful. In short, you must become desirable. Why would anyone want you to be their daughter or son?"

"She was right. Who would ever want me?"

Oh my gosh.

Granted, this book was written in the 90's so despite how awful these opening lines are, they do depict some of the traditional close mindedness of the history of adoption and during that time.

My first thought was where does this book take place? The US uses the Foster System. There are case workers assigned before, during, and after placement. Orphanages haven't really been used in decades. So therefore, this story must take place outside of the US (where orphanages are prevalent). Wrong. This story is set in New York. So... that doesn't add up. Then I thought maybe it was a different time period (perhaps early 1900s). Wrong. Though a date is not given, there are many references to modern day amenities. Therefore, from the opening lines (and even the subtitle) this author proved to do little research into the story they were writing and (I'm assuming) wrote based off of stereotypes. Lovely.

So Janet gets adopted by a wealthy couple. The wife is in a wheelchair from a car accident. The husband owns a glass factory. The wife was once a ballerina and picked Janet out of the group of children available for adoption based on... love? No. Personality? Nope. Graceful, ballet-like movements? Bingo. They adopted Janet because they saw potential in her as a dancer.

Where in the world are the social workers?! Any professional with 15 minutes of conversation with this woman would know that's she's coo-coo for Cocoa Puffs, attempting to live vicariously through Janet's potential as a dancer and not approve her (or have her instead go through adoption education courses and training, etc).

So Janet is whisked off into a wealthy and beautiful but empty life of living up to her new moms expectations. The dad is a complete wimp and never stands up for himself, so Janet continues to be emotionally manipulated into believing that she's not worth anything if she doesn't become the dancer her new mother once was. I kept thinking when will this get better? When will the character arch take place and things take a change for the better (this is after all teen book so I anticipated a happy-ish outcome). The book even addresses sexual assault without any resolution. A boy ballet dancer touches her breasts and exposes himself to her while she's attempting to shower. And she does nothing. Why? Because if she complains it'll mess up their ballet plans.

Oh my gosh.

So we've got adoption stereotypes, poor self worth, sexual assault, characters who are manipulative, characters who are cowards, and characters who are desperate... where the heck is the silver lining? The glimmer of hope? The comic relief? (There is SOME comic relief in her new uncle, albeit very little relief compared to the overall gloom of the book.)

Spoiler: In the end the adoptive mother has a mental breakdown and we learn she will be institutionalized. On top of that, the adoptive father doesn't feel the home is a safe place for Janet and he sends her back to the orphanage.

And that's how it ends.

And, through all of that, the reader is supposed to WANT to read the next book? Why on earth would they want to? There's no glimmer of hope. Not even a teaser of better times ahead. Probably because there isn't. Just more Lifetime Movie drama.

So would I recommend this book? Do you have to ask?

No.

All of the awful stereotypes and adoption related content aside... this book is full of gloom. And don't forget sexual assault that is never reported or dealt with. Just ignored. And no happy ending.

Do yourself a favor, do your children a favor, and skip this one. Ignore the cute ballerina on the cover. This book was not good.

[Bee Skuta · Rating 3 out of 5]

Butterfly, by V.C. Andrews, is the first of four books in the "Orphan" series. I had read "Flowers in the Attic", by the same author, in the past. I found the Orphan series at a local thrift store and bought them immediately. I had expected the series to be just as odd and disturbing (in a good way), as Flowers in the Attic was... maybe the series gets better, but Butterfly wasn't as good as I had expected.

Don't get me wrong; it's not bad... it's just not fantastic either.

The read itself is short. I had finished it in one sitting. The story itself kept my interest but the ending was extremely quick. As you read through the book, you are expecting something really intense to happen... You assume that the slower story line is building up to something that's going to blow your mind. Or, at least, that's what I've come to expect with V.C. Andrews writings. Sadly, this book didn't deliver that.

The ending of the book is a disappointment. It leaves you with a bunch of questions unanswered. Sometimes this can be a good thing but in the case of this book, it's not.

[Kris (My Novelesque Life) · Rating 1 out of 5]

When I read these novels back in the day I would have given them 3-3.5 STARS and now would say about one Star


I started reading VC Andrews books in the 1991 and stopped about 2003.

I have read:
-Dollanganger Series
-Casteel Series
-Cutler Series
-Landry Series
-Logan Series
-Orphans Series
-Wildflowers Series
-Hudson Series
-Shooting Stars Series
-DeBeers Series
-Broken Wings Series

As a preteen reading these novels was a rebellion and the gothic theme also seemed cool. I stopped reading this author because the novelty wore off, the novels are too formulaic that I could not tell one book from another and gothic aspect was lost.

[Ashley W · Rating 3 out of 5]

- There was a great contrast among all the characters. Janet. Celine. Daniel. Sanford. They were all different and all realistic in how they acted toward each other.
- The story was more character than plot driven, which is my favorite kind of story.


- A little melodramatic at times. Pretty much worse case scenario in every part.

[Lisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 1.2****

[NiWa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Janet, schüchtern und zerbrechlich, soll den Traum ihrer ehrgeizigen Adoptivmutter leben, und dieser schwebt eine glänzende Karriere als Ballerina vor. Doch der Erwartungsdruck lastet schwer und droht, sie zu zerbrechen.

„Dunkler Schmetterling“ ist der Auftaktband der fünfteiligen Orphan-Saga von V. C. Andrews. In dieser Reihe geht es um Waisenkinder, die adoptiert werden und für die das Schicksal dramatische Wendungen bereithält.

Wenn man einmal in eine Geschichte von der Autorin hineingerät, dann ist es wie ein dunkler Strudel, der einen mitreißt. Auch „Dunkler Schmetterling“ entfaltet einen solchen Sog. Andrews erzählt von düsteren Fügungen mit psychologischer Tiefe und mit feinen Facetten ausstaffiert.

Im Zentrum der Handlung steht die zarte Janet, die nach vielen Jahren im Heim endlich adoptiert wird. Auf den ersten Blick scheint ihr ein extravagantes Leben bevorzustehen, denn ihren privilegierten neuen Eltern ist nichts zu teuer und sie bieten dem Mädchen jeden Luxus, den man sich erträumen wagt.

Schnell wird klar, dass ihre neue Mutter Celine dabei nur ein Ziel verfolgt. Sie will mit Janet nachholen, was ihr selbst verwehrt geblieben ist. Als ehemalige Ballerina sitzt sie im Rollstuhl und überträgt mit erbarmungsloser Härte ihre gescheiterten Träume auf ihre Adoptivtochter. Man merkt, dass sich Celine nicht für Janets Persönlichkeit interessiert. Weder ihre Ängste, Wünsche oder Bedürfnisse werden von ihr wahrgenommen. Alles dreht sich um Disziplin, Eleganz und Ballett.

„Ich möchte, dass du stets vom Tanz umgeben bist - ihn schläfst, isst und trinkst …“ (eBook, 19 %)

Beim Lesen hat man fast das Gefühl, dass Celine die Hauptfigur sei. Ihr Wahn wird so übermächtig, dass Janet an den Rand gedrängt wird, obwohl die Geschichte aus ihrer Sicht erzählt wird. Celine als Adoptivmutter ist wie ein Schatten, der alles überlagert. Ihre Besessenheit ist erschreckend und gleichzeitig faszinierend. Äußerst konsequent verfolgt sie ihr verzerrtes Ideal, wobei sie ihre Adoptivtochter formt und verbiegt, dass es beim Lesen wehtut. Dabei gelingt es der Autorin exzellent, die Tragik dahinter spürbar zu machen.

Daneben gibt es den Adoptivvater Sanford, der im Gegensatz zu Celine unscheinbar wirkt. Er lässt seine Frau gewähren, was wie eine Mischung aus Schuld, Hilflosigkeit und vielleicht sogar Feigheit wirkt. Seine Figur ist vielschichtiger, als man auf den ersten Blick vermuten würde. Am Ende ist er es, der einen stillen, beinahe versöhnlichen Moment schafft, auch wenn der gesamte Hergang schmerzt.

Was Celine Janet antut, überschreitet meiner Meinung nach Grenzen. Die Tanzstunden gleichen einem Martyrium. Je fortgeschrittener diese werden, umso offensichtlicher wird, wie tief diese Grausamkeit reicht. Es wird wenig Rücksicht auf Janets Verfassung und ihr Alter genommen, was in einer grotesken Zuspitzung einen erschütternden Abschluss findet.

Immerhin fiel mir Janets Ballettlehrerin, so streng sie auch ist, positiv auf. Sie ist ein Charakter mit Ecken, Kanten und Würde, die sie ihrer Schülerin spüren lässt.

Sämtliche Figuren sind mit bemerkenswertem Gefühl für Nuancen gezeichnet. In all diesen Facetten, blendenden Antlitzen, verborgenen und offensichtlichen Abgründen liegt, neben der tragischen Handlung, die Stärke des Romans. V. C. Andrews veranschaulicht, wie vielschichtig das Grauen sein kann. Die Hölle präsentiert sich in unterschiedlichem Gewand, und manchmal hat sie Ballettschuhe an.

Für mich war es ein starker Reihenauftakt. Es war erschütternd, bitter und gleichzeitig brillant erzählt. Ich freue mich auf den nächsten Band.

Die Orphan-Saga:
1) Dunkler Schmetterling
2) Geliebte Crystal
3) Spiegel der Schatten
4) Haus der Tränen
5) Die Flucht der Waisen

[Brooklyn Tayla · Rating 2 out of 5]

Actual rating 2 and a half stars.

I must admit; this started out really well! The premise was great and atmospheric and I had high hopes that it would be spooky and full of tragedy.

Alas, it was not to be. I was disappointed by the lack of spookiness throughout and kept reading in the hopes that something crazy scary and sad would happen, but it didn't.

However, I'll keep reading this author, because I have enjoyed her primary works.

[Liz · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the book that started it all... I remember shopping with my mom in Bradlees and convincing her to buy me this book. I devoured it and ended up loving the craziness of V.C. Andrews' world. This is the book that taught me it's ok to read whatever you want!

[Julia Ray · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love all V.C. Andrews book. In this book I was rooting for Janet all the way through. I really want to know what happens to her after this. Excellent writing as always. Great characters with lots of emotion.

[Julie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Short enough to read in one sitting which was a bonus. However, I don't have anything great to say about this book just an interesting way to waste an hour or so.

[Ronnie · Rating 1 out of 5]

I was not expecting much from this novel, written by a man (Andrew Neiderman) using a dead woman's name to sell his books, and I was not disappointed.

Janet has never known her biological mother or father. All she remembers is living in the orphanage, and for 12 years she remains there, I adopted. Until Céline and Sanford, a very rich couple, come to adopt her. Celine had once been a ballerina, but her dreams were shattered after she got into a car accident that left her in a wheelchair, and she is bound and determined to relive that life through Janet.

The story was entertaining enough, I suppose. I am, I guess, going to read the next book in the series because I was entertained? I guess? But aside from "this book was entertaining so I guess it did its job," I don't actually have much positive to say about this.

- Somehow, every woman in this novel (the orphanage director, Celine, Celine's mother) are the worst people you have ever met in your life. But it's okay! All the men are fine! Sanford's got all the backbone of a wet cardboard box, and the grandfather isn't much more than a friendly piece of set dressing, but whatever.

- There were so many potential plot points that were mentioned and then just never brought up again? Sanford says don't take the rowboat out unattended. Janet's crush asks to take the rowboat out unattended. Janet says she her father told her not to, so they do not. And that is the end of that entirely pointless diversion.

- There's an older boy that sexually assaults Janet (who is twelve) a couple of times, and then is just completely written out of the story, never go appear again. The sexual assault, likewise, is never mentioned or alluded to again. Guess it just exists to exist or something. Whatever.

- Just a whole bunch of casual ableism, where the main antagonist of the story is both in a wheelchair and mentally ill, both of which are depicted incredibly shallowly.



Anyway. Like I said, I guess I'm reading the second book in this mini-series, even if I don't really know why.

[Yvi · Rating 4 out of 5]

3,5/5

[Marcos “MSMDragon” · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not great, but not bad.

[Jennie smallenbroek · Rating 4 out of 5]

Af en toe is het heerlijk om “even” in een paar uurtjes een verhaaltje te lezen. Toch door de eenvoud van woorden en verhaal bekroop me het gevoel zelf nog een tiener te zijn. Verveling kwam snel boven drijven.

[Lane · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have read a couple of V.C. Andrews books, and this is my least favorite so far. The whole book was very predictable. In Andrews' other book i could never guess what was going to happen in the next scene. In butterfly i completely guessed the ending after the first 3 chapters. This is the first book in the Orphan series. I haven't started to read the 2nd book, but hopefully that book is more upbeat and interesting. Butterfly took me awhile to get through, because jt was very slow and predictable.
Even though the book was very predictable, i still enjoyed this read for the most part. The book does show real world struggles for children and i really enjoy the story behind the book. When i was reading this book i did get really vivid pictures in my head, because Andrews used very descriptive words and described everything completely and fully.
I really expected this book to be more dark than it was. A lot of his other books are all dark and mysterious. For the most part the book was happy moods until the end. This leads me to believe he gets more dark in the next book in the series. I also liked how he left the book in a cliff hanger. Most readers would absolutely hate them, but i love them. I love the intense anticipation of waiting to get the next book in your hands to find out what happens.
I rated this 3 stars mostly because i could predict the end of the book. If the book wasn't so predictable i would most likely have liked this book ten times more.

[Nette · Rating 4 out of 5]

"Butterfly" van Virginia Andrews is het eerste boek in "The Orphans Series" en vertelt het verhaal van Janie, een 14 jarig meisje dat in verschillende pleeggezinnen opgroeit. Janie voelt zich vaak eenzaam en zoekt naar een plek waar ze echt thuis is. Vanaf het begin wordt duidelijk dat Janie een moeilijke jeugd heeft gehad. Elk pleeggezin waarin ze terechtkomt, brengt problemen met zich mee, waardoor Janie zich steeds moet aanpassen en vechten om haar eigenwaarde te behouden.

Het boek is spannend en droevig, je kunt altijd goed volgen wat Janie voelt en denkt.

Hoewel het verhaal soms voorspelbaar is, blijft het interessant door de sterke karakterontwikkeling en de herkenbare thema's van verlies en hoop.

Ik heb erg genoten van dit boek, vooral door de schrijfstijl van Virginia Andrews, die zo prettig is dat ik het in één keer heb uitgelezen. Het plot is zowel boeiend als ontroerend, vol met diepe emoties. Het boek zit vol met verschillende emoties: blijheid, verdriet, geluk, en nog veel meer. Dit zorgt ervoor dat het verhaal echt tot leven komt en je helemaal wordt meegezogen in het verhaal.

[Emcwriter12 caltiere · Rating 5 out of 5]

So far I am on the second book of the mini orphan series. Butterfly has been the best book I've ever read since I was born. I highly recomend this book to any who likes a twist. If you are the peppist girl or boy in the world I suggest you go for something happy like How I changed my life by todd strasser. Butterfly is about an orphan who is adopted by celine and sanford. Her mom was injured in a car accident and could no longer live her dream. Celine adopted butterfly to live her dream. Which was to dance. After a few falls unexpeted people that did unexpected actions....... Well lets just say its not the happiest book in the world and should not be read after a depressive mode or after a huge nevous bresk down. OVER AND OUT!

[RJ · Rating 4 out of 5]

It has been nearly 18 years since I first read this book. (Wow, that makes me feel old!) I first picked up this book as 12 year old in 1998 - it was my first foray into the world of VC Andrews.
'Butterfly' follows the typical VC Andrews formula - the scandal, the beautiful but ill fated protagonist, disapproving grandparents, the riches and glamour and a whole lot of crazy in the form of tyrannical parent figure Celine.
This book still holds up nearly 20 years later. No, it's not great literature, but I am looking at it for what it is - a quick and easy read. The storyline was a times predictable and read like YA, but I got through it quickly - twice!

[Alexa Nichols · Rating 3 out of 5]

I absolutely adore most V.C. Andrews books, and when I discovered the five-book Orphans miniseries I quickly bought the entire collection and tore into them.

It did not start out with a bang. I'm not sure how I feel about this book, to be honest. It was definitely well written, but the story had a constant haze of depression and darkness about it, with very little relief. And I absolutely hated the ending. Out of all the books in this series, I would have to say this is the worst entry, which is a shame because the series is really rather good. Hopefully, people can keep reading and look past this story, because the series as a whole is definitely worth the time.

[Jessica Banker · Rating 3 out of 5]

The orphans series is a wonderful drama series by vc andrews. she knows how to twist a tail of deception lies lust love drama sadness fear and many other emotions. you will know the main character as if she was you... quite enjoyable!

[Jane Argentaro · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent Series of books, feel sorry for these Orphans

[Jill Madsen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love easy reads... wonder how many people have or adopt children with the hopes of them living out the dreams they couldn't fulfill and what impact that has...

[Erin · Rating 3 out of 5]

WHAT AM I EVEN READING

This is what I get when I try to re-read all of the books I remember from my childhood. And my mother handed me these!

Will I stop? Absolutely not.

[Amanda Ho · Rating 5 out of 5]

Doing a reread of my very first chapter book series as a “tween” just to see if I still love it, reading the Orphans series! think I love it even more now!

[Gabriella Wood · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book is a quick read that is filled with zero hope and left me wanting to burn it or write a better ending. I can't decide which.

[Aimee Minalga · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a really fast read and entertaining in a dramatic way but it was dark and the ending very depressing. The Delorice's adopt Janet, a 12yr old girl that Celine (the wife) had spied on and believes would make a most wonderful prima ballerina. The husband, Sanford, got into a car accident with Celine years prior and the wreck ruined her legs and her own ballet future. She chose Janet to live through vicariously and she insists on pushing Janet as hard as possible to the point where this girl has no social life and no free time. Janet is expected to perform at a recital and trips on another girl, disappointing Celine and causing her to push Janet harder. When Janet is supposed to audition for a Summer dance school she wakes up the morning of the audition and has found to her horror that her first period has started and she can't hardly move and ends up passing out from the pain. Celine is sent into a rage and hides herself away from Janet. Celine has a mental break and goes crazy, thinking she's a capable ballerina again and lost in her past. Sanford, Janet's ally since she was brought to their home, decides he cannot care for Celine and Janet both and regretfully places Janet back into the Foster care system where he keeps assuring her that she'll be snatched up real soon by a great family.
Oh, and the boy she practiced ballet with )under the instruction of Madame Malisorf) sexually assaults her by touching her breast and making her dance naked with him against her will, his leverage being that if she entertains his whims that he'll make her look better at practice.
This entire book is just this poor Janet character being used and abused despite her efforts to please everyone and her desire to just be loved and feel like she belongs. The story has merit but it's not a pleasant read to finish.
As another reviewer said though, this book does point out the importance of loving a child unconditionally instead of just trying to focus on their potential or qualities, and the other important takeaway of doing things because you love them instead of doing them to gain someone else's admiration/ not forcing a child into your own interests and instead letting them find their own.

[Kamilla · Rating 4 out of 5]

Resenha de releitura - 24/10/2022

Começo dizendo que esse livro deixou algumas marcas eternas no meu subconsciente, ele foi o meu livro de transição da literatura mais infantil e segura para uma literatura que começasse a tratar de temas que provocassem o meu desconforto. Eu peguei essa coleção na biblioteca do ginásio, então vou estipular que minha primeira leitura foi com 11 ou 12 anos.

O primeiro livro da série órfãs nos apresenta Janet, que depois de anos de espera, finalmente sai do sistema de adoção para fazer parte de uma família, mas desde o início fica claro que nem tudo serão flores.

A nova mãe de Janet teve uma brilhante carreira no ballet permanentemente interrompida após um acidente de carro que a deixou paralítica, e desde o início deixa claro que o seu plano é ter uma nova 'prima ballerina' na família.

A obsessão de sua nova mãe torna a história progressivamente mais desconfortável, pois fica claro que qualquer amor que Janet possa receber é condicionado a sua obediência cega e ao seu desempenho como bailarina.

O livro também mostra o novo pai, que por mais que demonstre interesse em Janet se torna omisso e permite o comportamento abusivo da esposa, a exposição de Janet a situações de assédio sexual, preconceitos e a cena de primeira menstruação que me traumatizou por anos.

Foi muito bom reler o livro, lógico que hoje em dia eu noto algumas incoerências, como a rapidez da adoção e a falta de um acompanhamento da situação de Janet por algum assistente social, mas a história ainda manteve a sua força em mim, tudo que eu queria era entrar no livro e proteger a Janet.

Provavelmente a minha nota é mais pelo valor sentimental do que pela escrita em si, mas eu sei que algumas cenas vividas por Janet irão morar no meu inconsciente para sempre.

"Quando as pessoas envelhecem, perdem a memória. Assim, não se lembram do que não podem mais ter." [p.155]

[Matthew · Rating 3 out of 5]

Butterfly is the first book in the Orphans series—originally a four-book collection, each featuring a stand-alone story about an orphaned girl, with a fifth book added later to tie things together. In this installment, thirteen-year-old Janet is adopted by a couple: a man who comes off as a puppet husband to his wife, a once-renowned dancer now confined to a wheelchair. The woman sees Janet as a chance to relive her own lost glory, molding her into the dancer she can no longer be—regardless of Janet’s own desires.

Despite the melodrama, I found the book surprisingly readable. Though credited to V.C. Andrews—famed for Flowers in the Attic—this book was written by a ghostwriter after Andrews’ death, continuing her signature themes. The prose is smooth and the pacing brisk; I found myself turning pages quickly, curious to see where the story would lead.

Some readers might find the portrayal of adoptive parents troubling or extreme, but as someone who is adopted myself, I didn’t read it that way. To me, it offered a compelling look at how adults—regardless of biological ties—sometimes project their own dreams onto children, shaping them into mini versions of themselves rather than nurturing their individuality. That dynamic isn’t exclusive to adoptive families; it’s a broader human impulse.

That said, I did feel the book could’ve used a few more pages to tie up loose ends. Without spoiling anything: Dimitri never returns, and the lake—introduced with symbolic weight—never plays a role later on. It reminded me of Chekhov’s famous principle: if you introduce a gun in Act I, it should go off by Act III.

All in all, I’m intrigued enough to continue with the series. The story was quick, well-paced, and filled with fascinating characters and twisty turns. As someone new to V.C. Andrews (or at least the ghostwriter behind her name), this was a fun and surprisingly thoughtful read—and I’m curious to see what happens to the other orphans.

[Tinstamp · Rating 5 out of 5]

Die dreizehnjährige Janet ist ein zartes und kleines Mädchen, welches seit vielen Jahren im Waisenhaus lebt und immer wieder von Paaren, die adoptionswillig sind, abgelehnt wird. Sie wird als kränklich oder kleinwüchsig empfunden. Umso erfreuter ist Janet, als endlich ein Paar sie zu sich nach Hause holen will. Das Ehepaar ist reich und bietet ihr jeden Luxus, den sie sich nie zu erträumen wagte. Doch dafür soll Janet Ballettunterricht nehmen, denn ihre neue Mutter Celine möchte sie zur erfolgreichen Primaballerina ausbilden lassen. Damit möchte sie sich ihren eigenen Traum erfüllen, der durch einen schweren Autounfall verhindert wurde. Celine geht mit großer Härte vor. Janet muss jeden Tag trainieren und bekommt eine der erfolgreichsten Ballettlehrerinnen zugewiesen. Als auch diese Celine zu bremsen versucht, macht diese einfach weiter. Janet versucht ihre Eltern glücklich zu machen und möchte endlich geliebt werden. Dafür nimmt sie alles in Kauf....bis sie zusammenbricht.

Celine ist richtig besessen davon ihren Jugendtraum nun mit Janet zu erleben. Dabei kennt sie keine Grenzen. Es ist erschütternd zu lesen, wie sie Janet quält und keinerlei Rücksicht nimmt. Ihr Mann Sanford schreitet kaum ein, denn er ist von Schuldgefühlen zerfressen. Er fuhr damals das Auto, welches Celines für immer an den Rollstuhr band.

Obwohl diese Geschichte nur etwa 177 Seiten lang ist, ist sie extrem intensiv und ein starker Reihenauftakt.