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Shooting Stars #1-4
Shooting Stars
FOUR GIRLS TOUCHED BY SPECIAL GIFTS.
FOUR STUNNING NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLERS -- -
TOGETHER FOR THE FIRST TIME
Cinnamon...She escaped her family's turmoil by dreaming of imaginary worlds. But it's her talent for the theater that gives Cinnamon a chance...to truly escape.
Ice...To her mother's dismay, she was a silent wallflower, not a social butterfly. Now, her secret gift -- her solid-gold singing voice -- may become her saving grace.
Rose...When she danced, she could dream -- and when her father's secrets threatened to destroy her world, a most unlikely person gives Rose the courage to follow her heart.
Honey...Raised on her strict grandfather's farm, her natural-born talent for the violin gave her a new life -- and love with a handsome soul mate. Will a shocking revelation shatter her newfound happiness?
656 pages, Mass Market Paperback
First published January 1, 2001
100 people are currently reading
1312 people want to read
About the author
V.C. Andrews
370 books9,206 followersBooks 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
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
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 33 reviews
December 28, 2014
Let me do something different with this review by talking about metaphors here. There are 112 metaphors in Ice and 124 in Rose. Those might not seem like large numbers, you might think, because readers don't normally take note of how many metaphors there are in stories. But it's impossible not to become aware of them in V.C. Andrews books. The worst examples aren't from the two novellas I mentioned above, but I collected the worst from the other two.
Honey has the smallest metaphor count, at 67 metaphors total, but this awful metaphor makes up for that:
"Her lips softened and spread like two strips of butter in a frying pan."
Cinnamon, the first of these novellas, ends up with about 114 metaphors, and also the most laughable. Take, for example, this one mixed metaphor that's actually painful to read:
"...her eyes glittering like little knives, her wry lips squirming back and into the corners of her cheeks like worms in pain."
Mixed metaphors are the absolute worst. The following one takes the cake:
"You'll end up looking like my sister Lucille who popped children out like a rabbit and ended up looking like a baby elephant."
Yes, who could forget great-aunt Lucille, the rabbit/baby elephant hybrid?
There's one character who gets the honor of receiving the most metaphorical descriptions in this novella...Cinnamon's Grandmother Beverly. Reading them all put together really brings out the ridiculousness of the metaphors:
1. "Grandmother nagged and nipped at her like a yapping poodle..."
2. "...her snipping words coming at her from every direction like a pack of hyenas..."
3. "She was a spider weaving its web..."
4. "She always fixed herself on her purpose or destination as if she were a guided missile."
5. "Grandmother Beverly could spread droplets of poison frustration on everyone around her like a lawn sprinkler."
6. "She paused finally and turned to me, hoisiting those small shoulders like a cobra prepearing for a deadly strike."
7. "...I spat and left her glaring out at me like some owl in the darkness waiting for easier prey."
So from those seven sentences, we've gathered that Grandmother Beverly is a yapping poodle, a pack of hyenas, a spider, a guided missile, a lawn sprinkler, a cobra, AND an owl. What an interesting woman!
I really think Neiderman, the V.C. Andrews ghostwriter, has a ready list of awful metaphors next to him for when he's writing.
The awfulness of the metaphors aside, this omnibus of novellas is one of the best books released under the ghostwriter (V.C. Andrews's original-done books blow the posthumous ones out of the water), which is probably saying something not-so-good. It still retains some of the formulaic V.C. Andrews characteristics...beautiful protagonists, all of them gifted, who have to go through some family tragedy. And there's the usual love interest for each of them. This book's a bit different, though, in that the conflicts are resolved with everyone being happy...other V.C. Andrews books wouldn't end without something awful happening which can't be overcome or undone.
Of all the novellas inside, my favorite is Ice's story. She's more different than the usual V.C. Andrews protagonists because she's very introverted (no matter whether other protagonists, including the one in Honey, maintain that they're shy...they aren't), and her love interest is a chubby guy, unlike the other generic love interests that the other protag's have.
The story I dislike most is probably Cinnamon's. The way she seduces that boy is so unrealistic. I know guys would love an excuse to get it on with a girl, but even if she's acting like a total kook by saying all of a sudden that they're both reincarnations of people who've lived in the past, and insisting they pretend they ARE those same people while they're having sex? What? That's really out there and random; I know she liked the idea of the house having ghosts, but her character didn't seem so obsessed with the spiritual world to do something like that...and I think most guys in that situation would step back with their hands up saying, "haha, okaaay crazy girl...I'm out of here."
Honey has the smallest metaphor count, at 67 metaphors total, but this awful metaphor makes up for that:
"Her lips softened and spread like two strips of butter in a frying pan."
Cinnamon, the first of these novellas, ends up with about 114 metaphors, and also the most laughable. Take, for example, this one mixed metaphor that's actually painful to read:
"...her eyes glittering like little knives, her wry lips squirming back and into the corners of her cheeks like worms in pain."
Mixed metaphors are the absolute worst. The following one takes the cake:
"You'll end up looking like my sister Lucille who popped children out like a rabbit and ended up looking like a baby elephant."
Yes, who could forget great-aunt Lucille, the rabbit/baby elephant hybrid?
There's one character who gets the honor of receiving the most metaphorical descriptions in this novella...Cinnamon's Grandmother Beverly. Reading them all put together really brings out the ridiculousness of the metaphors:
1. "Grandmother nagged and nipped at her like a yapping poodle..."
2. "...her snipping words coming at her from every direction like a pack of hyenas..."
3. "She was a spider weaving its web..."
4. "She always fixed herself on her purpose or destination as if she were a guided missile."
5. "Grandmother Beverly could spread droplets of poison frustration on everyone around her like a lawn sprinkler."
6. "She paused finally and turned to me, hoisiting those small shoulders like a cobra prepearing for a deadly strike."
7. "...I spat and left her glaring out at me like some owl in the darkness waiting for easier prey."
So from those seven sentences, we've gathered that Grandmother Beverly is a yapping poodle, a pack of hyenas, a spider, a guided missile, a lawn sprinkler, a cobra, AND an owl. What an interesting woman!
I really think Neiderman, the V.C. Andrews ghostwriter, has a ready list of awful metaphors next to him for when he's writing.
The awfulness of the metaphors aside, this omnibus of novellas is one of the best books released under the ghostwriter (V.C. Andrews's original-done books blow the posthumous ones out of the water), which is probably saying something not-so-good. It still retains some of the formulaic V.C. Andrews characteristics...beautiful protagonists, all of them gifted, who have to go through some family tragedy. And there's the usual love interest for each of them. This book's a bit different, though, in that the conflicts are resolved with everyone being happy...other V.C. Andrews books wouldn't end without something awful happening which can't be overcome or undone.
Of all the novellas inside, my favorite is Ice's story. She's more different than the usual V.C. Andrews protagonists because she's very introverted (no matter whether other protagonists, including the one in Honey, maintain that they're shy...they aren't), and her love interest is a chubby guy, unlike the other generic love interests that the other protag's have.
The story I dislike most is probably Cinnamon's. The way she seduces that boy is so unrealistic. I know guys would love an excuse to get it on with a girl, but even if she's acting like a total kook by saying all of a sudden that they're both reincarnations of people who've lived in the past, and insisting they pretend they ARE those same people while they're having sex? What? That's really out there and random; I know she liked the idea of the house having ghosts, but her character didn't seem so obsessed with the spiritual world to do something like that...and I think most guys in that situation would step back with their hands up saying, "haha, okaaay crazy girl...I'm out of here."
June 6, 2015
I originally reviewed this back in 2011 (almost four years to do the date- started June 19), though I was all over this books (bar Honey's, as I never managed to get a copy) when it was released in 2001. I'm going to review each of these books separately, which I didn't do the first time round.
Cinnamon
So Cinnamon is apparently a gothic-styled girl, who lives with her mother, father and grandmother. Her mother is expecting a baby, which starts off all the drama. Cinnamon is also a would-be actress who, up until this point, has apparently never taken an acting class or stepped onstage. Right.
Cinnamon was always my least favourite novella in this series. She was just... weird. You know the general cliche, of 14-year-old weaboo otherkin creatures who live in their own fantasy world? That's what I felt Cinnamon was, just in the days before Myspace, Tumblr and what have you. She starts off sane enough, when she talks about the stories her mother and her made up about the previous owners of the house. But she suddenly believes it's all real, and her and her boyfriend, Clarence have sex- as all the girls experiment with- are 'possessed' and act out the previous tenants actions.
Look, I know the boy wants to get his dick wet, but, uh, I'd have gone with Grandmother Beverly in this case.
I find it a little hard to swallow that the school would accept a girl with no formal training to the school. No Stanislavsky, no Meisner, none of it. Sure, there's naturally gifted actors, but on her resume, it would appear that she hasn't had any real interest in acting up until the school play in her graduating year. This did rub me the wrong that. In saying that, I found this less grating than Rose's story.
There's also a trend of C-based names in this series. Here we have Cinnamon, Clarence, Carlson (surname) and Carolyne.
Rating for super weird girl: 2/5
Ice
Ice's story is, without a doubt, my favourite... which isn't saying much. While I wouldn't say her story is the most relatable (the elective mutism is a bit hard to swallow), it's the most engaging in my opinion. Unlike Cinnamon, Ice has had some formal training in her artistic pursuit: singing. While all the girls claim they're shy and/or withdrawn, I also fully believe it with Ice.
Ice's boyfriend in this book bucks the trend in that he's initially overweight. He's also genuinely sweet, and seems bewildered that Ice wants to spend any time with him. I did find the subplot involving his father a bit over the top (which is saying something for these books), and him giving Ice money in front of Balwin a little ridiculous.
Continuing the trend for C-based names, Ice's father is named Cameron.
Rating for super silent girl: 3/5
Rose
Ahh, Rose. The book that, while I don't dislike the most, is certainly the book I want to rant about the most.
First off, something I picked up while reading this the third? time, is that everyone comments on how weird her name is. Yes, because it's so strange, compared to Cinnamon, Ice and Honey. Yes, ROSE is the name that's the strangest. OBVIOUSLY. You'd think her name was HerptyDerptyDoo. Please, tell me more about how unusual her name is.
Secondly, her dancing. When it's initially mentioned that she came second in a beauty competition (her picture on the front cover strikes me as her being very average), it's said that her talent was a hula dance, which she memorised from a video. Okay, that I can deal with, because this was a small town. Everybody else's talents probably involved them skinning a squirrel or something. But she had no formal training otherwise, until she moved schools and their phys ed topic that term was, drum roll please, dancing. Who'd'a thunk it! And this is the only formal training she receives, and it's by a phys ed teacher who wants to be a choreographer. There's absolutely no mention on the style of dance she's learning, so if it's anything like the dancing I did in high school, it's probably a mishmash of the Hucklebuck and ballroom.
That's right, Rose gets into this highly regarded performing arts school by doing the Hucklebuck.
This was so frustrating to read for someone who loves dancing. I studied ballet, and it was hard work. I'm not expecting Rose is doing ballet here- most likely modern or contemporary- but it shows Neiderman's like of understanding about the complexities of dance here. I know acting requires just as much skill and there's extensive training involved, but it's one thing to learn how to act, and another to learn to dance. I've done both, and dancing is harder in my opinion.
The rest of the story I don't have much of a problem with, though I kept expecting, even now, for Evan to become unhealthily obsessed with Rose and there to be the old VC Andrews incest at play.
For C-based names in this part of the novel, we have: Charles, Charlotte, Carol and Curtis (surname).
Rating for the girl with no training: 2/5
Honey
And Honey, the book I've only read twice. I never know who has the stranger name- Honey or Ice (I can take Cinnamon as a name- that was actually to be my sister's name). While there's a movie with the main character called Honey, I feel like Ice would be a more suitable name. Honey just strikes me as a pet name.
Incidentally, like Ice, Honey is the other girl with formal training on her $45 million dollar violin??? Okay, I have a beautiful instrument, and it cost ~$2000. Why the fuck does she have a $45,000,000 instrument? Where did they get the money? Who has that much money lying around? Once again, Neiderman shows his lack of understanding.
Furthermore, Honey didn't start playing until she was 10. Okay, that happens. I started playing the flute at 10. But... I had been playing the violin since I was 5. They make her out to be a prodigy, but she doesn't have any other signs of being a child prodigy.
Honey's story doesn't bother me all that much aside from this huge hurdle to cross ($45mil?!). If they'd left out that small detail about the name of her instrument, I'd be okay. Hell, maybe her uncle just told her that, and really it's a cheap ass block from down the street, and cost $45. I can handle that.
I did find it a little odd, though, that Honey's mother, who was a mail order bride from Russia, spoke such good English. Did she learn in Russia, or did she just pick it up quickly once she got to America? Does she have a thick accent? It's never explained.
This story is more old school VC Andrews. There's no incest, but it's more a family saga in ~150 pages. In this way, it's quite different to the other girls stories.
List of C-based names: Chandler, Clarence.
Rating for the $45 million dollar violin: 3/5
So I've reduced my rating from 4/5 to 2/5. That's what I break will do to you, I suppose. Will I read Falling Stars? Eh, maybe, if I find it for cheap at a second hand store.
I'm keeping my first review up for posterity.
*
Ahhh, gotta love me a VC Andrews book. I started reading the Shooting Stars series when I was twelve, but I never got around to finishing the last book- Honey. It had been nagging on my mind for a while, and eventually I caved and bought a cheap copy. I'm glad I did- it's just as engrossing and slightly bad as I remembered.
These books are very formulaic, and reading each of these in succession really brings it out. Rose's story is the only one that veers off the track a bit as her artistic ability- dancing- isn't something she's every really worked on and it's not discussed in as great detail as the other three girls. There threatening grandmother/older female relative that each Andrews book has is also rife in this series. Cinnamon's grandmother, Ice's mother, Rose's half-brother's aunt. Honey's grandfather fits the bill, too.
It bugs me a little that Rose didn't need much dance training to get into the school. She received no formal education in her early youth, and most of her dancing was limited to a few months at her new school, and I'm supposed to believe she'll become a professional dancer? Also, what's with Honey's Stradivarius violin? Seriously?
Anyway, for a little bit of mindless reading, I did like these.
Cinnamon
So Cinnamon is apparently a gothic-styled girl, who lives with her mother, father and grandmother. Her mother is expecting a baby, which starts off all the drama. Cinnamon is also a would-be actress who, up until this point, has apparently never taken an acting class or stepped onstage. Right.
Cinnamon was always my least favourite novella in this series. She was just... weird. You know the general cliche, of 14-year-old weaboo otherkin creatures who live in their own fantasy world? That's what I felt Cinnamon was, just in the days before Myspace, Tumblr and what have you. She starts off sane enough, when she talks about the stories her mother and her made up about the previous owners of the house. But she suddenly believes it's all real, and her and her boyfriend, Clarence have sex- as all the girls experiment with- are 'possessed' and act out the previous tenants actions.
Look, I know the boy wants to get his dick wet, but, uh, I'd have gone with Grandmother Beverly in this case.
I find it a little hard to swallow that the school would accept a girl with no formal training to the school. No Stanislavsky, no Meisner, none of it. Sure, there's naturally gifted actors, but on her resume, it would appear that she hasn't had any real interest in acting up until the school play in her graduating year. This did rub me the wrong that. In saying that, I found this less grating than Rose's story.
There's also a trend of C-based names in this series. Here we have Cinnamon, Clarence, Carlson (surname) and Carolyne.
Rating for super weird girl: 2/5
Ice
Ice's story is, without a doubt, my favourite... which isn't saying much. While I wouldn't say her story is the most relatable (the elective mutism is a bit hard to swallow), it's the most engaging in my opinion. Unlike Cinnamon, Ice has had some formal training in her artistic pursuit: singing. While all the girls claim they're shy and/or withdrawn, I also fully believe it with Ice.
Ice's boyfriend in this book bucks the trend in that he's initially overweight. He's also genuinely sweet, and seems bewildered that Ice wants to spend any time with him. I did find the subplot involving his father a bit over the top (which is saying something for these books), and him giving Ice money in front of Balwin a little ridiculous.
Continuing the trend for C-based names, Ice's father is named Cameron.
Rating for super silent girl: 3/5
Rose
Ahh, Rose. The book that, while I don't dislike the most, is certainly the book I want to rant about the most.
First off, something I picked up while reading this the third? time, is that everyone comments on how weird her name is. Yes, because it's so strange, compared to Cinnamon, Ice and Honey. Yes, ROSE is the name that's the strangest. OBVIOUSLY. You'd think her name was HerptyDerptyDoo. Please, tell me more about how unusual her name is.
Secondly, her dancing. When it's initially mentioned that she came second in a beauty competition (her picture on the front cover strikes me as her being very average), it's said that her talent was a hula dance, which she memorised from a video. Okay, that I can deal with, because this was a small town. Everybody else's talents probably involved them skinning a squirrel or something. But she had no formal training otherwise, until she moved schools and their phys ed topic that term was, drum roll please, dancing. Who'd'a thunk it! And this is the only formal training she receives, and it's by a phys ed teacher who wants to be a choreographer. There's absolutely no mention on the style of dance she's learning, so if it's anything like the dancing I did in high school, it's probably a mishmash of the Hucklebuck and ballroom.
That's right, Rose gets into this highly regarded performing arts school by doing the Hucklebuck.
This was so frustrating to read for someone who loves dancing. I studied ballet, and it was hard work. I'm not expecting Rose is doing ballet here- most likely modern or contemporary- but it shows Neiderman's like of understanding about the complexities of dance here. I know acting requires just as much skill and there's extensive training involved, but it's one thing to learn how to act, and another to learn to dance. I've done both, and dancing is harder in my opinion.
The rest of the story I don't have much of a problem with, though I kept expecting, even now, for Evan to become unhealthily obsessed with Rose and there to be the old VC Andrews incest at play.
For C-based names in this part of the novel, we have: Charles, Charlotte, Carol and Curtis (surname).
Rating for the girl with no training: 2/5
Honey
And Honey, the book I've only read twice. I never know who has the stranger name- Honey or Ice (I can take Cinnamon as a name- that was actually to be my sister's name). While there's a movie with the main character called Honey, I feel like Ice would be a more suitable name. Honey just strikes me as a pet name.
Incidentally, like Ice, Honey is the other girl with formal training on her $45 million dollar violin??? Okay, I have a beautiful instrument, and it cost ~$2000. Why the fuck does she have a $45,000,000 instrument? Where did they get the money? Who has that much money lying around? Once again, Neiderman shows his lack of understanding.
Furthermore, Honey didn't start playing until she was 10. Okay, that happens. I started playing the flute at 10. But... I had been playing the violin since I was 5. They make her out to be a prodigy, but she doesn't have any other signs of being a child prodigy.
Honey's story doesn't bother me all that much aside from this huge hurdle to cross ($45mil?!). If they'd left out that small detail about the name of her instrument, I'd be okay. Hell, maybe her uncle just told her that, and really it's a cheap ass block from down the street, and cost $45. I can handle that.
I did find it a little odd, though, that Honey's mother, who was a mail order bride from Russia, spoke such good English. Did she learn in Russia, or did she just pick it up quickly once she got to America? Does she have a thick accent? It's never explained.
This story is more old school VC Andrews. There's no incest, but it's more a family saga in ~150 pages. In this way, it's quite different to the other girls stories.
List of C-based names: Chandler, Clarence.
Rating for the $45 million dollar violin: 3/5
So I've reduced my rating from 4/5 to 2/5. That's what I break will do to you, I suppose. Will I read Falling Stars? Eh, maybe, if I find it for cheap at a second hand store.
I'm keeping my first review up for posterity.
*
Ahhh, gotta love me a VC Andrews book. I started reading the Shooting Stars series when I was twelve, but I never got around to finishing the last book- Honey. It had been nagging on my mind for a while, and eventually I caved and bought a cheap copy. I'm glad I did- it's just as engrossing and slightly bad as I remembered.
These books are very formulaic, and reading each of these in succession really brings it out. Rose's story is the only one that veers off the track a bit as her artistic ability- dancing- isn't something she's every really worked on and it's not discussed in as great detail as the other three girls. There threatening grandmother/older female relative that each Andrews book has is also rife in this series. Cinnamon's grandmother, Ice's mother, Rose's half-brother's aunt. Honey's grandfather fits the bill, too.
It bugs me a little that Rose didn't need much dance training to get into the school. She received no formal education in her early youth, and most of her dancing was limited to a few months at her new school, and I'm supposed to believe she'll become a professional dancer? Also, what's with Honey's Stradivarius violin? Seriously?
Anyway, for a little bit of mindless reading, I did like these.
August 22, 2023
4 different girls so 4 different stories. Thought is would be quick read but stories dragged on and kinda same theme for each. Next book I believes pulls them all together and picks up the story. Maybe that will be better!
August 20, 2013
The only good thing I can say about this book is that I'm glad it was free. For the first time ever, I could not finish a book. After reading the first 2 stories, I was so miserable I just left the book sitting there for an entire day, debating with myself whether I could actually continue. I found other, more enjoyable things to do instead. Like folding the laundry. And cleaning the bathrooms. And vacuuming. This morning I decided to dig in and try again, since the house was clean and I'd already gone grocery and school supply shopping. Reading this book was now a chore and I managed to crawl through the third story with no interest and major effort. Maybe that 4th story was the pièce de résistance. I guess I'll never know.
I read VC Andrews when I was a 13 or 14 years old; The series with Heaven in it. I thought it was fantastic. It was the first book I'd ever read that provoked an emotional response. I have no idea if that series is actually good or not or if it was just my reaction to something completely different from what I'd ever read. In any case, when I saw this book sitting on a 'free' pile, I remembered reading VC Andrews 20 years before, let nostalgia and curiosity guide my hand, and snatched it up.
So disappointing. I'm not a critic; just a girl who reads a lot. A whole lot. Most books I read, I enjoy, although they don't always measure up. But this was just awful. I don't even know how to explain why it was so bad, but I'll give it a shot. The characters were flat, nothing to make them remotely interesting, with the exception of one remarkable talent that made them so darn exceptional, they just had to be chosen for some ultra exclusive academy. The agent of this academy would just happen to available in some laughable fit of plot convenience at whatever small random venue at which these girls happened to be performing. Then, there was the romantic interest, because we couldn't have a VC Andrews story without that. But, Jesus. They seemed like they were added in just so that box could be checked off the Andrews formula list. The names. I know I'm just kind of being an asshole now, but the names of the characters just irritate me. And I understand that the names are part of that which makes VC Andrews distinctive. and truth be told, I'm not even sure they would have bothered me at all if I wasn't already so irritated just with the writing. The metaphors. Oh, the metaphors. Wow. Not even good ones. Mixed metaphors that don't make any sense. Just enough to boost that word count. The writing sucked. I'm not saying I could write a better book (I could write a better book), but I'm not a writer, and I've never had anything published. So VC Andrews ghost writer clearly wins the one-up. But I am a reader, and I read enough to recognize when something is of such poor quality that I can't even make myself waste my time finishing it. I never even thought that could happen. I once powered through a 12 book series that was so terrible I wanted to burn them during the reading (not really; I would never burn books)...but I actually read them all with the hope they'd eventually get better. Giving up on a book or books just seems like I'M failing, so I just power on through. And that really doesn't happen that often. Most books have already passed enough rigorous inspection by the time they get published that I feel it's fair to give them a shot. Not this book. So awful. So awful. I'm absolutely dumbfounded by the good reviews it has received. I'm not judging; I'm just confused. Maybe they've never read anything better than this? How is that possible? Just about everything available to read is better than this. I've never read anything WORSE than this! If they've actually never read anything better than this, I feel so, so bad for them. That is a tragedy. 3.86 stars? Out of 5?! Even out of 10 I would question that high of a rating. I guess at least now I have something to judge other books by. I can always say, "We'll, at least it wasn't THAT bad."
I read VC Andrews when I was a 13 or 14 years old; The series with Heaven in it. I thought it was fantastic. It was the first book I'd ever read that provoked an emotional response. I have no idea if that series is actually good or not or if it was just my reaction to something completely different from what I'd ever read. In any case, when I saw this book sitting on a 'free' pile, I remembered reading VC Andrews 20 years before, let nostalgia and curiosity guide my hand, and snatched it up.
So disappointing. I'm not a critic; just a girl who reads a lot. A whole lot. Most books I read, I enjoy, although they don't always measure up. But this was just awful. I don't even know how to explain why it was so bad, but I'll give it a shot. The characters were flat, nothing to make them remotely interesting, with the exception of one remarkable talent that made them so darn exceptional, they just had to be chosen for some ultra exclusive academy. The agent of this academy would just happen to available in some laughable fit of plot convenience at whatever small random venue at which these girls happened to be performing. Then, there was the romantic interest, because we couldn't have a VC Andrews story without that. But, Jesus. They seemed like they were added in just so that box could be checked off the Andrews formula list. The names. I know I'm just kind of being an asshole now, but the names of the characters just irritate me. And I understand that the names are part of that which makes VC Andrews distinctive. and truth be told, I'm not even sure they would have bothered me at all if I wasn't already so irritated just with the writing. The metaphors. Oh, the metaphors. Wow. Not even good ones. Mixed metaphors that don't make any sense. Just enough to boost that word count. The writing sucked. I'm not saying I could write a better book (I could write a better book), but I'm not a writer, and I've never had anything published. So VC Andrews ghost writer clearly wins the one-up. But I am a reader, and I read enough to recognize when something is of such poor quality that I can't even make myself waste my time finishing it. I never even thought that could happen. I once powered through a 12 book series that was so terrible I wanted to burn them during the reading (not really; I would never burn books)...but I actually read them all with the hope they'd eventually get better. Giving up on a book or books just seems like I'M failing, so I just power on through. And that really doesn't happen that often. Most books have already passed enough rigorous inspection by the time they get published that I feel it's fair to give them a shot. Not this book. So awful. So awful. I'm absolutely dumbfounded by the good reviews it has received. I'm not judging; I'm just confused. Maybe they've never read anything better than this? How is that possible? Just about everything available to read is better than this. I've never read anything WORSE than this! If they've actually never read anything better than this, I feel so, so bad for them. That is a tragedy. 3.86 stars? Out of 5?! Even out of 10 I would question that high of a rating. I guess at least now I have something to judge other books by. I can always say, "We'll, at least it wasn't THAT bad."
December 25, 2019
Cinnamon
This felt really short. It was hard to warm to Cinnamon at times. I didn’t like it when she made stuff up to tell to Clarence. He was supposed to be her best friend but I wasn’t feeling it from her. She slept with him and then suddenly has no feelings for him when he gets sent to boarding school. I did feel sorry for her with regards to her Grandmother and her mums mental illness. Surprisingly for an Andrew’s book, there is no incest! Hopefully we get more of a rounded character in story with all four of the girls. (3/5)
Ice
I found it easier to warm to Ice than I did Cinnamon. She had a difficult relationship with her mum, who didn’t seem to appreciate Ice's personality. Her mum was also a typical Andrew’s mum. A beautiful woman who had married to young and felt trapped after having her baby. I was almost expecting her to run after Ice's father had the accident. (4/5)
Rose
I had been surprised that no incest had showed up in any of the stories so far as it is a staple of every single Andrew’s book. When Evan is introduced as Rose's socially awkward and disabled half brother, I thought they were going to go down the typical creepy brother route. Especially after he calls her beautiful a lot and then its implied that he might have been watching Rose and her boyfriend. But it turns out he was just a nice brother and not a creeper! What a twist! (4/5)
Honey
The shocking family secret in this tale, turns out to be, not that shocking. I honestly thought that maybe it would be revealed that Honey was the product of her Granddad raping her mum. But no. It’s just that the step son he treats like dirt is his actual son. Its described in the book as a sinful act between her Granddad and his wife’s sister. I’m not sure why it mentions at some points that Honey's uncle might have been watching her naked. And then he is naked in front of her at one point. Her granddad also implies that Honey's other uncle was inappropriate with her. None of these points are touched upon again so I’m not really sure why they were mentioned.(4/5)
This is a good collection of stories, better read at once than in the original four mini books. It’s not the most spiciest of Andrew novels but its not bad and will satisfy a fan. I have a feeling this was aimed at a younger audience.
This felt really short. It was hard to warm to Cinnamon at times. I didn’t like it when she made stuff up to tell to Clarence. He was supposed to be her best friend but I wasn’t feeling it from her. She slept with him and then suddenly has no feelings for him when he gets sent to boarding school. I did feel sorry for her with regards to her Grandmother and her mums mental illness. Surprisingly for an Andrew’s book, there is no incest! Hopefully we get more of a rounded character in story with all four of the girls. (3/5)
Ice
I found it easier to warm to Ice than I did Cinnamon. She had a difficult relationship with her mum, who didn’t seem to appreciate Ice's personality. Her mum was also a typical Andrew’s mum. A beautiful woman who had married to young and felt trapped after having her baby. I was almost expecting her to run after Ice's father had the accident. (4/5)
Rose
I had been surprised that no incest had showed up in any of the stories so far as it is a staple of every single Andrew’s book. When Evan is introduced as Rose's socially awkward and disabled half brother, I thought they were going to go down the typical creepy brother route. Especially after he calls her beautiful a lot and then its implied that he might have been watching Rose and her boyfriend. But it turns out he was just a nice brother and not a creeper! What a twist! (4/5)
Honey
The shocking family secret in this tale, turns out to be, not that shocking. I honestly thought that maybe it would be revealed that Honey was the product of her Granddad raping her mum. But no. It’s just that the step son he treats like dirt is his actual son. Its described in the book as a sinful act between her Granddad and his wife’s sister. I’m not sure why it mentions at some points that Honey's uncle might have been watching her naked. And then he is naked in front of her at one point. Her granddad also implies that Honey's other uncle was inappropriate with her. None of these points are touched upon again so I’m not really sure why they were mentioned.(4/5)
This is a good collection of stories, better read at once than in the original four mini books. It’s not the most spiciest of Andrew novels but its not bad and will satisfy a fan. I have a feeling this was aimed at a younger audience.
April 22, 2021
This is four books in one really as each story is about a different girl, although they eventually all end up in the same place. The stories are interesting but do fall into the same pattern so it gets a bit repetitive the more you read.
I would really have liked a fifth part of the book where the girls all meet at school and share their experiences but it just ends with the fourth story which is a bit disappointing.
I would really have liked a fifth part of the book where the girls all meet at school and share their experiences but it just ends with the fourth story which is a bit disappointing.
January 13, 2018
This book follows a similar style to Wildflowers, but these girls have a specific music/acting talent that eventually gets them admitted to a special talent school. Not as good as Wildflowers, but still a fairly compelling read.
July 23, 2009
This was a surprisingly good book. And all of the stories ended happily. That rarely happens completely in VC Andrews books.
This book is 4 short stories in 1 big book.
Cinnamon: A gothic dressing girl who has hopes of becoming a famous actress.
Ice: A very quiet girl who is very soft spoken. She does however possess the ability to sing, and sing well enough to mesmerize all that hear her lovely voice.
Rose: A girl with the ability to dance. It comes by quite a surprise in a way, along with the long lost half brother she never even knew existed.
Honey: The girl with the golden violin. From a corn farm in Ohio, this girl can play the violin like no other.
Each girl overcomes some type of family tragedy and is picked to continue their schooling after graduation at a performing arts school in New York. The four girls meet in the sequel to this book, Fallen Stars, which I am currently reading. I'd recommend this book to all VC Andrews lovers. It was entertaining and as I said before, all four stories ended happily, which makes me eager to believe that tragedy will befall these four in the sequel.
This book is 4 short stories in 1 big book.
Cinnamon: A gothic dressing girl who has hopes of becoming a famous actress.
Ice: A very quiet girl who is very soft spoken. She does however possess the ability to sing, and sing well enough to mesmerize all that hear her lovely voice.
Rose: A girl with the ability to dance. It comes by quite a surprise in a way, along with the long lost half brother she never even knew existed.
Honey: The girl with the golden violin. From a corn farm in Ohio, this girl can play the violin like no other.
Each girl overcomes some type of family tragedy and is picked to continue their schooling after graduation at a performing arts school in New York. The four girls meet in the sequel to this book, Fallen Stars, which I am currently reading. I'd recommend this book to all VC Andrews lovers. It was entertaining and as I said before, all four stories ended happily, which makes me eager to believe that tragedy will befall these four in the sequel.
August 5, 2007
This is a 4-series book, all wrapped up in one. It was about four different girls - Cinnamon, Ice, Rose, and Honey, who came from dysfunctional (who doesn't) families and their talents were their way out. In the end of each stories, their unique acting or musical talents had gotten them a spot in a prestige musical and performing school in New York City. That is where everyone eventually ended up in the 5th book, which I will start today.
I noticed that there were patterns in V.C. Andrews' writing - that there were always some kind of poor/rich thing, and nearly every teenager had their sexual experience, family secrets which carried through generations, and their "talents" were their way out - like with Ruby and her paintings in the Landry family series....
I noticed that there were patterns in V.C. Andrews' writing - that there were always some kind of poor/rich thing, and nearly every teenager had their sexual experience, family secrets which carried through generations, and their "talents" were their way out - like with Ruby and her paintings in the Landry family series....
August 9, 2013
None of the stories are really remarkable, and the romance parts progress too quickly. Cinnamon and Honey are my favorites, probably because they deal with strict and mentally unstable grandparents, something I have experience with. Nonetheless Cinnamon probably has the most realistic end of them all, and also the most emotional one. Not a book to die for, but a decent collection of stories to pass the time.
October 22, 2014
I love V.C. Andrews. I mean, let's face it, this is literary genius, but it's oh-so-fun to read. However, these short stories were a little bit of a let down. They seemed to have a common theme, but there just wasn't enough...how do I say it....soap opera drama that is in her other stories. The stories came off as a little bland and some of the plots were just down right stupid.
September 18, 2012
I enjoyed this book, but it was the first of V.C's shorter stories I'd read and it left me wanting more from the girls stories. I'm excited to read the last book with all of them together, but as a rule I seem to like her longer novels better.
January 31, 2016
This was my first VCA as a kid. I expected there to be woman topics and some enjoyment from the read. After I read it though I immediately knew this was not VCA, or one of her best works, and I was a kid then. Yet these are still a little better than his newer published books.
August 11, 2015
Liked it very much. Great to have all four books in one edition as well.
April 9, 2008
4 stories in one, some better than others. Not as good as when she wrote them herself.
July 21, 2008
Tragic, LOADS of romance.
April 1, 2009
I really enjoyed the four stories in this book. I am not always a huge fan of V.C. Andrews books, but this one was quite surprising. I look forward to reading the conclusion.
December 19, 2008
This book was a little different then what I am used to from this "author". I thought it ok but not a easy to love as the others
July 28, 2010
Re-visiting V.C. Andrews, a favorite from my teenagehood. Great book, can't wait to read the sequel. I love how 1980's sexy she is. It's hilarious.
February 27, 2011
ok vc sure knows how to create a story !!
April 17, 2012
V.C. Andrew books has always been one of my little guilty pleasures!
May 30, 2012
I haven't read all of this book I decided to stop 138 pages in. The story line was good but It just wasn't for me.
July 4, 2024
The characters became less developed as the series continued. The ghostwriter has a very simple formula but it gets monotonous and boring when you read them one right after the other.
Also, all of these characters who were in high school in the late 90s-early 00s calling their parents “Mommy” and “Daddy” infantilizes them and makes reading it very weird. Besides the mention of computers these probably would’ve been better set in a different time where this was socially acceptable and normal.
I read these books in high school and I found them as cheesy then as I do now, but I’m older and it’s more cringeworthy. I just don’t think the writing rates very high.
Cinnamon- 3
Star- 2.5
Rose- 1
Honey- 2
Also, all of these characters who were in high school in the late 90s-early 00s calling their parents “Mommy” and “Daddy” infantilizes them and makes reading it very weird. Besides the mention of computers these probably would’ve been better set in a different time where this was socially acceptable and normal.
I read these books in high school and I found them as cheesy then as I do now, but I’m older and it’s more cringeworthy. I just don’t think the writing rates very high.
Cinnamon- 3
Star- 2.5
Rose- 1
Honey- 2
August 31, 2018
Inspiring short stories
Each character struggled to achieve acceptance in their art form & earn admission into a performance arts school that could continue their strive for excellence in the future. The characters were developed well & true to their physical age & were written in a very true to life, age appropriate, way. I did feel let down that I was left with four girls beginning their journey & no insight into "what next".
Each character struggled to achieve acceptance in their art form & earn admission into a performance arts school that could continue their strive for excellence in the future. The characters were developed well & true to their physical age & were written in a very true to life, age appropriate, way. I did feel let down that I was left with four girls beginning their journey & no insight into "what next".
January 19, 2018
I really enjoyed reading this book. I can't wait to see whats in store for the girls at Senetsky's school.
April 12, 2018
I loved this book it had a little bit of everything for everyone!
June 14, 2025
interesting!!
March 22, 2026
Livres assez datés avec des relations très années 90'. Pas beaucoup de surprises. Le seul intérêt est que c'est écrit en anglais.
November 19, 2021
Can't say I really enjoyed it. VC Andrews and I go WAY back, but I just couldn't really get into these characters as much as some of the others.
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