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Summary: A shocking novel of betrayal
Review: I love Flowers in the Attic. It's so haunting, and beautifully written, I couldn't put it down. Here is a short synopsis.At first, it's a happy beginning. Four beautiful children, a loving father and mother. Twelve-year old Cathy who is a talented dancer, fourteen-year-old Chris is a aspiring doctor. Then there is the beautiful little five-year-old twins, Carrie and Cory. Their mother, the beautiful and poised Corrine, and their handsome, warm loving father Christopher. But one horrific night, everything changes when Christopher dies in a car accident. Leaving Corrine, a unskilled beauty, left alone with her four children. She writes to her parents, religious zealots who disowned her for marrying Christopher, (who turns out to be her half-uncle/half-brother). Her rich father is dying, and she wants to move back and win his affection. But there's one condition. The children must stay in the attic until he is dead. The children do so, thinking they'll only be in there a week. But the week turns into two, and the two turns into a month, and... This is a shocking tale of love and betrayal. You have to read it to find out how powerful it really is.
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Summary: V.C. Andrews Has a Flare For Captivation
Review: I loved this book. It was a strange story of a family broken apart by the death of their father and the tragic tale of the four children who paid the consequenses of their mother's greed and their grandmother and grandfather's cruelty. I didn't really think of it as a horror novel, though, and it wasn't suspensful, just frustrating. The incest in the book makes it more interesting and you can definately see it coming. Over all, though, it was interesting and very hard to put down because you wanted to see what would happen!
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Summary: What a great book!
Review: I usually don't read books that were written many years ago, but I decided to read this 'cause I've heard about it, I've seen people in high school reading it for classes, and I know it's a classic. It was so beautifully written from the first page to the last. I was a little worried that it was part of a series. I didn't realize that when I first started the book. I usually just read books that aren't a part of the series 'cause it makes it easier for me. But series aren't so bad, and thanks to this book, I plan to read more (as well as the rest of the books in the Dollanganger series). The characters are wonderfully described and you feel like you know them yourself personally. It's a wonderful read, and although it deals with sad subjects, it really makes you think and wonder just how far some people will go when money is involved. This book won't disappoint you. I can't wait to start reading the next Dollanganger story.
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Summary: SKELETONS IN THE ATTIC, NOT CLOSET. ZERO STARS!
Review: I wish I could rate this no stars because it is singularly atrocious. What mother in her right mind would willingly allow her children to be locked away for three years in an attic, terrorized and brutalized by their evil grandmother? And what mother would stand back, doing nothing to find her children once they fly the coop? Implausible story and sickening plot. Evil grandmother puts tar on Cathy's hair, beats the children, threatens and starves them. How's THAT for a loving household? I've heard of skeletons in the closet, but not the attic. Chris rapes his sister, Cathy allows Chris to maintain an incestuous relationship with her and of course we have twins. Standard V.C. Andrews fare is an incestuous or quasi-incestuous relationship among siblings and more often than not we can count on twins being added to the mix. This installment was the first to feature a villainess named Olivia. V.C. Andrews must have really hated the name or really known an odious person named Olivia. This book belongs in the wastebasket.
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Summary: VC Andrews best book ever!!!
Review: I first read this book many years ago and have since, reread it many times. This book makes my heart ache. Having children myself and then reading how a mother, with the grandmothers help, locks her 4 children in the attic so her father (the childrens grandfather) will not know about them. It's a real tearjerker at times. When one of the twins dies from arsenic poisoning, courtesy of their grandmother sprinkling arsenic on their pancakes! The two oldest of the children, begin to experience teenage feelings and don't understand what is happening to their bodies. This book is truly exceptional. It's a thriller, tearjerker, funny (rarely), sad story rolled into one and it'll keep you on the edge of your seat from beginning to end. I recommend everyone read this one.
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Summary: Do not over look this amazing book, it's a must read!
Review: This book was introduced to me whilst on holiday in teneriff. All I wanted to do was sunbathe, relax and have no hefty tasks to endure. But then my older sister suggested I try reading the novel. At first I had a pessimistic view, and I thought why oh why am I even bothering. After reading the back, I was reeled in. Everybody probably says the same thing in these reviews but it is true! I am aware that Virginia Andrews other series of books are supposedley predictable, typical etc, but this series of the Dollanganger family is such of a master piece, and not to be over-looked. The book has quality plus quantity and shows real depth of the terror these poor children went through. I could write much more then I have and give away the plot. But all I can say is- you will cry and cry, then run out to the book store (not the library cause you will want your own copy,lol) and buy the whole series. Its a classic and I would definitely reccommend.
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Summary: Disturbing but amazing book
Review: I read this book a while ago, and lemme just give you some background. I'm just not easily interested by books, but if it's a really good book, I'll read it like that <snap>. And this book took me two days to read. It was really weird how the grandmother and mother could do uch a horrible thing, to lock four kids in a bedroom for 4 years! And I liked how Andrews twisted around the mother's character to be really nice and caring in the beginning and then basically a mean, evil woman in the end. I was glad that Andrews was able to tap into their state of mind, and realize what the kids would do in that situation. It was a very surreal book, and I could not believe how something like this could actually happen, but the more I thought about it, I realized it could. I was awestricken when Cathy was staring at herself in the mirror and the grandmother walked in and did such awful things to her. And I was so amazed when Cory died from arsenic on the donuts. I started reading Petals on the wind immediately after, and can't wait to see what happens between that nice doctor in it and beautiful Cathy..... Anyone with a half a brain can enjoy this book. I reccomend it highly.
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Summary: A Story Of Love, Passion, Tragedy, Lust & Betrayal
Review: Well, first of all i don't know what to say. this is the most amazing book i have ever read. it has all possible human emotions in it. it just drags you in. i never thought that a book could do that. it just makes you realise what love could do to all of us. they were a normal family in the beggining, just like anyone else, but the things that followed changed their lives forever. a very unique book.
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Summary: And fourteen years later, she read it again . . .
Review: I first read this book when I was ten years old, after a friend did a sixth-grade book report on another V.C. Andrews book, Heaven, and mentioned Flowers In the Attic as a favorite. In retrospect, I think the girl only liked the book because of it's sexual themes, for I don't remember this classmate as being particularly bright enough to really appreciate the book. I recently saw the movie version of the book on cable (which I do not recommend -- very tame and rather silly, though Louise Fletcher is quite good as the grandmother, Olivia. Think Nurse Ratched, but not as nice.), which prompted me to buy a copy of the book and re-read it. It was as I remembered (I found I could recite some passages almost verbatim), but I read it with a renewed interest and captivation for the characters and the originality of the story. The first book of Andrews' best series (though I only read through the Ruby series, I'm quite confident in my appraisal), Flowers In the Attic is, indeed, the horror that other reviewers have claimed. The incestuous theme is quite compelling, and is furthered in the later books of the series. Forgive me for mentioning the rest of the series, but it's difficult to do this book justice without mentioning it. Andrews knew what she was doing by giving us the first four books that tell the tale from the present (relative present, since it begins in 1957, but you know what I mean, I hope), then closing with a "prequel," that gives the history of the grandmother and Corrine (the children's mother). The "Garden" theme is well substantiated without being overdone throughout the series. The other series' were not nearly so well done, and their plots are predictable. Unpredictability and originality are what make this book (and the series) so intriguing. When I first read Flowers In the Attic, I was ten, as I said, and re-reading it as an adult makes me realize that this is not a children's book (though it was very popular with the pre-teen set in the late 80s, and seems to be still -- seems young people love to read about other young people's misfortune). If you've shied away from V.C. Andrews because of the ghostwriters' lack of creativity and overused plot devices, treat yourself to Flowers In the Attic and the rest of the books in the series.
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Summary: Goodness golly! What twaddle, what tripe, what ...!
Review: You know...it's books like this that make me understand why some men think women are stupid and inferior. The stilted writing, contrived plotline and complete lack of logical progression from one event to another just made my head hurt. The dialogue and behavior of the characters is not at all believable. I mean, really. Have you ever heard children speaking like the ones in this book? Puh-leeze.
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