Reviews with content warning for Murder - Flowers in the Attic

Utterly heartbreaking and truly disturbing.

I decided to read this book because i’m a big fan of Nicole Dollanganger and i know she takes a lot of inspiration from this series. I knew what to expect when going into this, but it didn’t make it any less horrific. I didn’t, however, anticipate this to be so sad. I ended up feeling really connected to the characters by the end, and Cory’s death made me cry.

I think this book can go in the same category as Lolita, they’re both beautifully written but contain dark content

Content Warnings

stars_and_stags's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

3.75

I really enjoyed this book. I understand why it is controversial, but the main characters were making the best of a horrific situation.

Generational trauma is a curse that plagues so many families.

Overall, well written and very accurate to how teenagers would speak. I am glad I read it though parts were hard to get through.

Content Warnings

mistyknights's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark emotional 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? Yes

3.75

don't remember how old I was when I first read this, but it was too young to properly process the religious horror, physical/sexual/psychological abuse, misogyny, and whole lot of other trauma themes littered throughout the text. Add a poltergeist and a small town in Maine and this would be a Stephen King book. Not saying it was a mistake for me to read it as a pre-teen but I still would not jump up and offer it as an option to pre-teen as an adult woman.

That said, everything that made this a classic is still there. It's better written than I expected it to be, though it does meander in the middle and could have been 100 pages shorter

. Also, the incest is at times romanticized by the main character ( it's first person and intentionally mirrors her parent's experience) and shown as twisted because it is always manifested within violence and mental abuse.

But trigger warnings for that and for a brief moment of spontaneous racism just in case you forget this book was published in 1979.

Content Warnings

cecypdel's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark sad medium-paced

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

Content Warnings

mhh831666's review against another edition

Go to review page

dark emotional sad medium-paced

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

4.25

Content Warnings

kaitlynleigh's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging dark sad 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

4.0

I liked this so much more than I thought I would! Once the time started picking up in the book, I was truly captivated and wanted to know how it ended! I'm excited to read the rest of the series !

Content Warnings

More...