Reviews tagging 'Blood'

Flowers in the Attic by V.C. Andrews

36 reviews

favvn's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

"But how can you read this? It's  the literary equivalent of garbage!"

Because VC Andrews is the queen of mixing intergenerational familial trauma and creating messed up families in general with a side of Southern Gothic horror, and seeing the 1980s movie for the first time in eons made me realize that I never read the book. Big fun to hit parts the movie cut.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Incest, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Confinement, Child abuse, and Child death

Moderate: Rape, Blood, and Suicidal thoughts

greatexpectations77's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

This was a really interesting book to read and imagine young gals reading this years ago. Because god, is it intense. I was prepared for the incest, but not for the

assault </>, and I think it's really interesting to consider the author kind of excusing it and the time and ideas in which she was raised. I'm probably going to keep reading this book series, but def f Christopher. He can fall off a cliff.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Death of parent, Rape, Religious bigotry, Toxic relationship, Classism, Incest, Child abuse, Confinement, and Abandonment

Moderate: Child death, Domestic abuse, Grief, Sexism, Emotional abuse, Terminal illness, Cancer, Chronic illness, Gaslighting, Death, Injury/Injury detail, and Sexual content

Minor: Alcohol, Body shaming, Animal cruelty, Murder, Pregnancy, Animal death, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Excrement, Medical content, and Self harm

bashsbooks's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

Honestly, My Sweet Audrina will always be the darling of my VC Andrews heart. But I still greatly enjoyed Flowers in the Attic, and I completely understand why people love it. Andrews is a master at the gothic novel, and even when she is predictable, it's just so compelling that you have to keep reading. Cathy is a fascinating narrator, and I could write a dissertation on the impact of her first-person perspective alone - and then a whole second one about Christopher's character development.

I am interested to see how much Andrews' writing will hold up outside of a confined space in Petals on the Wind.

Also, what the fuck is up with how Simon & Schuster reprints are marketed? The covers suck and the tagline for this book -"The Classic Story of Forbidden Love" - seems wildly off-target. Yes, there is sibling incest, but I wouldn't say that's the primary thing that this about.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Confinement, Death, Incest, Murder, Physical abuse, Chronic illness, Classism, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Misogyny, Blood, Child abuse, Child death, Death of parent, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Self harm, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Vomit

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Medical content, Sexual harassment, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Abandonment, Ableism, Body horror, Body shaming, Domestic abuse, Excrement, Sexual content, and Sexual violence

Minor: Eating disorder, Xenophobia, Alcohol, Cursing, Fatphobia, and Racism

hez30's review against another edition

challenging dark sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Rape, Self harm, Blood, Child abuse, Child death, Emotional abuse, Grief, Forced institutionalization, Incest, Physical abuse, Animal death, and Car accident

violetturtledove's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Well this was a wild ride and I can see why it made such an impression on those who read it as young adults. I thought at first that the YA writing style might be a little grating, the kids are all so annoyingly perfect (golly-lolly!) And i wasn't sure if such a long story (three years with just one setting) might drag. But I was soon gripped.
The writing style and the subject matter are quite a contrast, i wouldn't argue that young teens SHOULDN'T be reading about this stuff, but I do wonder what their parents would think if they realised what their kids were actually reading 😄
I also found the 'morals' of the story interesting (if a little dated now) - incest isn't treated as a big deal, but sex outside of marriage is unthinkable, for instance, plus the idea that women are responsible for 'tempting' men.
Neither of these things are criticisms, YA fiction can should go to dark places, and it's inevitable that a story like this one would have some moral ambiguity, it's nice to have something not clear-cut that makes you think.
There were enough twists to keep it interesting after what i assumed was going to be the main mystery was revealed a couple of chapters in, i felt genuinely infuriated, horrified and heartbroken at the appropriate moments, and I've also started immediately on the sequel which really tells you I liked it.
Maybe I should have started with that?

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse and Incest

Moderate: Gaslighting

Minor: Animal death, Blood, Child death, and Death of parent

manonschuur's review against another edition

dark medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I have no words. This book is just disgusting and horrible that at some point I really wanted to puke. It is so traumatizing that I give it 5 stars. I will never forget this book

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Confinement, Abandonment, Murder, Physical abuse, Violence, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Blood, Death, Emotional abuse, Incest, Rape, and Torture

jessicafacchinigould's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Blood, Child abuse, Rape, Death of parent, Incest, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Religious bigotry, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, and Torture

mbryo's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

The author wrote so passionately in defense of incest you'd think they were incestuous themself 😭 VERY well-written though, and a compelling (albeit nauseating) read.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Grief, Violence, Emotional abuse, Incest, Religious bigotry, Sexual assault, Physical abuse, Rape, Child abuse, Death, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Child death, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Torture, Abandonment, Murder, and Cannibalism

Minor: Ableism, Medical content, Vomit, Adult/minor relationship, Car accident, Death of parent, Excrement, Pregnancy, Sexism, Body shaming, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Animal death, Misogyny, Suicide attempt, and Sexual harassment

dontforgetthelights's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Incest, Car accident, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Vomit, Sexual harassment, Suicide attempt, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Mental illness, Religious bigotry, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Abandonment, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Death, Death of parent, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Murder, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, and Sexual content

hayleyvharrington's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Murder, Physical abuse, Rape, Religious bigotry, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Animal death, Blood, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Incest, Mental illness, Misogyny, Abandonment, and Death