Rating: 
Summary: A good prequel to Flowers in the Attic
Review: Garden of Shadows held many strengths - it was dramatic, interesting, and answered several questions on why things come to be later on in the series. Being in Olivias head was different, to say the least. If you're a tragedy hound and want to experience heartbreak, then this is your book.
For negatives, some of the writing was a bit too flowery, even for Andrews. Some of the writing was a bit repititive, which interrupted the flow. Also, the beginning was pretty slow to get through, even though it was still eventful.
I recommend this to anyone starting the series - it explains a lot and packs a lot of punch.
Rating: 
Summary: An excellent prequel, but doenst satisfy me
Review: While I enjoyed the book, Olivia's plight against Malcom and society by no means justifies what she does to the Dollanganger children in FITA. While I do have a great deal of symapthy for her(losing her children,living without love etc) torturing innocent children because of what their parents did is inexcusable. Perhaps she was miss guided my her cousin John Amos, her only ally after the death of her sons. Perhaps if she had been more mature and not been so jealous of Corrinne 1/2 the bad things that occured in the book would have never happened-but then we wouldnt have a story now would we?
Rating:
Summary: How the whole mess started in the first place...
Review: This was quite a nice ending to the Dollanganger series, as it explained what happened in the first place. It gave me a better understanding of the entire mess. Spinsterish Olivia longs for the love of a man, but thinks it is out of her realm, until handsome Malcolm Foxworth comes to dinner. Although he takes her out on dates and acts like prime marriage material, Olivia doesn't realize what a ruthless snake he really is, and how she is heading for nothing but disaster, scandal, betrayal, and cruelty.
In short, this was a good ending to a good series. You find out why Olivia turned out the way she did. But one thing that kind of bothered me was how shallow and stupid women were betrayed to be. It seemed as if Olivia was the only bright one and that everybody else of the female population was dull. Whether Neiderman wrote this or not, I don't know, but I wouldn't be surprised. But then, this took place in 1918 or so, and I can kind of get an understanding.
But this is a good book, otherwise, and I suggest you read it last.
Rating: 
Summary: Garden Of Shadows
Review: Garden of Shadows endures in the reader's mind as a tragic novel. It is a despairing tale that speaks of betrayed love, twisted perspectives, and ... well, to put it in a blunt manner, pain.
Olivia - the protagonist and narrator for Garden of Shadows - suffers silently.
On the exterior, she is cool, composed and dispassionate, aloof and perfect. And yet, on the inside, she is the woman who keeps that exquisite dollhouse her father gave to her when she was only a little girl. (and isn't it especially ironic that Corinne speaks of Olivia being punished as a child that caused her claustrophobia (In Flowers in the Attic) and Olivia herself refers to " ... dainty things ... always at peril in my hands ... " being the reason for the case around her dollhouse?) Also, Olivia is the woman who was decreed by her son to be, "You'll be the Queen of the Mums, Mother!" and, in FitA, she presents her grandchildren with a ceramic pot of yellow flowers...
She is a betrayed woman. She believes that she was betrayed by her mother, when she was too young to understand; betrayed by her father, whose subtle machinations twisted her adolescence and adulthood; and, worst of all, betrayed by her husband.
Malcom's treatment of Olivia borders on the downright cruel. He is bitter and jaded, yes. He has done terrible things, yes. And the way he treats his own wife - as if she is some cheap commodity - is disgusting.
Perhaps she is a villainess, Mrs. Olivia Winfield Foxworth.
Or maybe she is just a warped sort of heroine.
Rating:
Summary: Intense!!!
Review: The Garden of Shadows is a prequel to the Flowers in the Attic series or Dollaganger which ever you prefer I would read this book before any of the others because to me this is the begining of the books 5 in all in this book you can learn why Oliva (grandmother) is so evil in FITA It comes from years of neglect and abuse not phyiscal abuse but mental and emotional she marries a man who isn't faithul to her he doesn't love her and it isn't until the middle of the book that she starts to learn to stand on her own take up for herself then you pretty much see the transformation that makes her the evil grandmother known throughout FITA to me as the reader I could tell that Oliva is eaily influenced by the likes of her butler John Amos it seems to me that she just can't do anything without the guy and truth be known things might have been differnt of he hadn't been around it's almost like he is the guy pulling the strings and Oliva just does what he says I gave the book 5 stars simply because I couldn't put it down I was just so engrossed in it but it's a very good read from start to finish and yes it does have a little incest....actaully alot but thats what makes the book what it is....
Rating:
Summary: Great read
Review: Before I begun the Dollenganger series with, Flowers in the Attic, I decided to read the prequal Garden of Shadows. I saw the movie to Flowers in the Attic, and I wondered why the Grandmother was so cruel. So I decided to the prequal to find out.
Olivia really was a decent person, who just wanted love and happiness. Unfortunately her father felt she couldn't get a men, since she was so "plain looking". She ends of marrying Malcom Foxworth, who gives her nothing but pain.
Especially when he practically causes his fathers death, in the attempt to seduce his young and beautiful wife, Alicia. Then soon afterwords, he gets Alicia pregnant. All the while he cuts down Olivia for not looking like her.
Olivia should have just divorced Malcom and lived a happy life, with her two sons. But she doesn't.
This book shows just how much pain she had to suffer living with Malcom. You will really love Olivia. You won't be mad at her for being a mean grandmother. It's a good read.
Rating:
Summary: Garden of Shadows
Review: Review of Garden of Shadows
Reviewer: Shannon Carey from WVHS Spokane, WA
The Answers to All the Dollanganger Secrets!!! April 12, 2004
Garden of Shadows is a thrilling novel written cleverly by V.C. Andrews.
When I first started this book I couldn't put it down until I finished it. Garden of Shadows was the last book of the Dollanger series although it was the pre-quell to the series. The book was twisted and unraveled a lot of secrets that were kept from the previous books. The other four books of this series were written from her granddaughter's point of view but in this story the grandmother portrayed her part of the story. It gave more of an understanding of why she seemed so evil.
Olivia Foxworth is plain, masculine woman who grows up without a mother, learning nothing of how to flirt or how to be attractive to men. To say the least she had absolutely no social skills so her father tried numerous times to hook her up with young suitors that he knew, but none were drawn to her gawky, tall, anti-socialism, until Malcolm Foxworth. Malcolm shows interest in her during their first encounter and returns for a second, even a third date. After a short week or two of courting he asks her to marry him. Olivia fantasizes of a romantic honeymoon and life thereafter but little does she know of the lonesome future of death, betrayal and scandal that she has coming her way.From day one Olivia began to notice peculiar things about the handsome Malcolm. When Olivia started to see Malcolm on dates she anticipated a kiss and thought it weird when she never got one. That was the first warning sign she saw of how the relationship was going although she was in denial about it and made up excuses for his "shyness." The next sign she noticed was when she spied on Malcolm (followed by many occasions of her spying on people) asking her father for her hand in marriage when he never once mentioned his love for her. Not until the night of her wedding reception did she take the rose-colored glasses off and realize that Malcolm had not married her for love but for the facts that she would be faithful, she would be getting her father's inheritance and she was to be able to provide him with healthy children. This started Olivia onto her path of bitterness that would increase with every tragedy and scandal, thus turning her into the stern, hateful grandmother that she became in the rest of the series. Garden of Shadows dished out the secrets of the mean grandmother of the Dollanger's giving a better, but unjust, reasoning to why she had been the way she had. Seeing how Olivia once dreamed of a perfect life with happiness and love is hard to believe from reading the previous books, but bitterness and hatred in her heart is almost understandable considering how Malcolm had crushed all hope of her ever being loved by a man. If Olivia had had a mother things may not of turned out the way they did. To me, it is hard to understand why she never considered getting a divorce. How could she bear to stand the heartbreak and loneliness? Although we did gain an understanding and history of Olivia, what had happened to Malcolm? How had he become so bitter and cold? I would also of liked to see more of the children's point of view through out the story. Overall, I really did enjoy this intriguing novel and hope to read more from V.C. Andrews!
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