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3.9k reviews for:
Flowers in the Attic / Petals on the Wind / If There Be Thorns / Seeds of Yesterday / Garden of Shadows
V.C. Andrews
3.61 AVERAGE
3.9k reviews for:
Flowers in the Attic / Petals on the Wind / If There Be Thorns / Seeds of Yesterday / Garden of Shadows
V.C. Andrews
3.61 AVERAGE
dark
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
4/5 … I find I am the world’s most hopeful person. Despite the many red herrings, the shadowy dark cracks, that present themselves to me time and time again, though I take note and caution, I still proceed. Mostly, I think I am an optimist to a fault. Most times, I’m able to convince myself that it’s good that I am this way. So, as I passed through chapter after of this book, I managed to still hold out hope that the way the Dollanganger children were treated was, in some twisted way, justifiable. I just kept hoping that at some point, things would make sense. I would understand the mother and grandmother. The kids would have a happy ending. Something, anything. I’ve always loved reading about morally grey characters- villains that are conniving and capricious and captivating, but still so human in their thoughts and desires. I think that’s also why I felt so engrossed by the mother and grandmother, I wanted to understand… And then, I did understand. Money is the driving force behind inexplicable actions.
“People make the rules of society, not God.” V.C. Andrews, Flowers in the Attic
dark
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I read this when I was about 12 and I remember being riveted and it came up in a discussion about banned books with a colleague. I said "I read Flowers in the Attic when I was 12 and am fine". So I decided to reread it and see if it is as scandalous as I remember. Wow, there was a lot I forgot 😳. Book was still riveting but holy moly what a ride. And that ending, good gracious. V.C. Andrews, who hurt you? Like seriously, are you ok? My goodness.
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
I have no idea why this book is seen as trashy incest porn when it’s neither trashy nor pornographic. I love how it discusses religion as a tool for abuse, how incest develops as a result of generational failing within the family, how terrible it is to see yourself turn into the same monster your mother is. The protagonist Cathy will haunt me forever as another character who made me feel seen. Her sexual trauma, her survivor’s guilt, her protectiveness over her younger siblings, the codependency she had to embrace in order to survive. Every needless suffering these children faced hurts more when you find out that V.C. Andrews was drawing from her own lifetime of abuse under her mother.
V.C Andrews’ mother was ashamed of her disability and would keep her confined in the house to avoid having anyone see her “damaged” daughter. (And if V.C Andrews was allowed out on the front porch, the mother would have her hidden behind bushes, away from the eyes of their neighbors.) Her mother would lock her in her room without food if she was angry, would prevent her from forming romantic or sexual relationships (even past the age of 40!), would make her wear clothes that hid her wheelchair whenever they had visitors, and would not even allow V.C. Andrews to accompany her outside the house if shopping was needed. (V.C. Andrews would say at the age of 41 that the last time she was allowed outside to buy shoes, she was 17!!!)
No wonder this novel is so fixated on following the matriarchal path that abuse can take between generations. No wonder she wrote the dedication addressed to her mother (who, BTW, refused to read her novel or support her writing—not until it started earning them money!!!)
It genuinely hurts me when people don’t treat this book seriously, when it’s reduced to “degenerate incest porn” meant to titillate and titillate only. It’s such a harrowing tale of abuse, of having to grow up quickly to be the meat shield for your only family, of how children are seen as disposable in a society that values only wealth and power. And can’t we also consider it as an abused daughter’s letter to her mother, a way to make sense of the cruelty only a parent is capable of?
V.C Andrews’ mother was ashamed of her disability and would keep her confined in the house to avoid having anyone see her “damaged” daughter. (And if V.C Andrews was allowed out on the front porch, the mother would have her hidden behind bushes, away from the eyes of their neighbors.) Her mother would lock her in her room without food if she was angry, would prevent her from forming romantic or sexual relationships (even past the age of 40!), would make her wear clothes that hid her wheelchair whenever they had visitors, and would not even allow V.C. Andrews to accompany her outside the house if shopping was needed. (V.C. Andrews would say at the age of 41 that the last time she was allowed outside to buy shoes, she was 17!!!)
No wonder this novel is so fixated on following the matriarchal path that abuse can take between generations. No wonder she wrote the dedication addressed to her mother (who, BTW, refused to read her novel or support her writing—not until it started earning them money!!!)
It genuinely hurts me when people don’t treat this book seriously, when it’s reduced to “degenerate incest porn” meant to titillate and titillate only. It’s such a harrowing tale of abuse, of having to grow up quickly to be the meat shield for your only family, of how children are seen as disposable in a society that values only wealth and power. And can’t we also consider it as an abused daughter’s letter to her mother, a way to make sense of the cruelty only a parent is capable of?
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Incest
Moderate: Rape
dark
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Thats a fucked up book
Content Warnings
Graphic: Incest, Rape, Murder
¿Qué en el nombre de Cristo acabo de leer?
No tengo palabras para expresar como me siento y aunque es un buen libro, definitivamente no seguiré con la saga.
No tengo palabras para expresar como me siento y aunque es un buen libro, definitivamente no seguiré con la saga.
I first read this book at the age of 13 and was completely obsessed with it and the entire series (as well as the Heaven series, and My Sweet Audrina). I was browsing an old bookstore a few years back and was thrilled to discover some old copies which I purchased and gave to my similarly aged daughters. Turns out the books are again popular with this age group. My daughters also read them and felt as passionately about them as I had (even the daughter who reads science fiction almost exclusively and whose tastes are opposite to mine), and urged me to reread them. There was a small part of me that was a little reluctant to do so in case I was disappointed reading them through the eyes of an adult. WRONG! This book is the perfect example of a gothic horror in my opinion and Virginia Andrews was THE QUEEN. I didn’t look at any reviews because I know they would annoy me. I’m guessing there will be the standard criticism of the relationship between the main character and her brother BUT in this book it is completely in context and I simply won’t hear a word against this storyline. The 5 stars are part nostalgia I’ll admit, but nevertheless that’s my score and I’m sticking with it. Needless to say I’ll be rereading the whole series. Love love love
Loved it!! Have read this many times and still enjoy it.