Book Review- Flowers in the Attic

Flowers in the Attic by V.C. Andrews

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Flowers in the Attic, is a horrific, suspenseful story that will keep you at the edge of your seat. I think I read this book in a week (and it's no tiny chapter book).



This story tells about a family in the midst of tragedy, and their assumptions that go terribly wrong. The narrator, Catherine, is one of four children (Chris, the oldest, and Carrie and Cory, twins and the youngest) in the Dollenganger household. They have the perfect family. A loving, beautiful, stay at home mom, and a handsome, smart, hardworking dad who brings them presents when he goes on business trips. But after their father's sudden and tragic death, the family is forced into a financial slump. They cannot afford the house, or anything in it, because they cannot make the monthly payments any longer. The children's mother, now desperate, contacts her wealthy parents whom she hasn't talked to since before she was married, and asks for help. The Grandmother agrees to let them stay on one condition: that the terminally ill Grandfather doesn't find out. The mother had done something terrible in the past to make him so angry that he had removed her from his will.

She brings the children to the house, leaving out the small detail that they should never have existed, telling them stories of a castle-like house on widespread property. When they arrive, the mother tells them her real plan- to win back her father's love so that they can all share in the wealth when she gets written back into the will.

Until the day that either mother wins back her father's love, or the Grandfather dies, the children are forced to live in the mansion's attic, ruled by the dictator-like, overly religious Grandmother (who calls them the devil's spawn), and one other small room to sleep in. The Grandmother gives the children food in the beginning of the day, enough to last them until the night, even though by then it is cold and dull. When the children misbehave, or talk back, no food comes for that day. Once, when she catches the children apparently being inappropriate, (Cathy is getting dressed and accidentally Chris walks in), she says that for a punishment, either Chris will cut all of Cathy's hair off, or they will receive no food for a week. Chris refused to cut his sister's long, beautiful hair, and so they unwillingly received the other punishment. "Look at you, standing there in your iron-grey dress, feeling pious and self-righteous while you starve small children!" Chris explodes. Eventually, the children get their food back, and learn how far the Grandmother will really go.

Eventually, their mother stops visiting every day, every week, every month. She always comes back with a nice tan, windswept hair, and presents galore, along with stories of her travels and adventures-all while her pale, lonely, and scared children, who have not seen sunlight for over a year watch from a distance as their mother doesn't even seem like the mother that they knew. The children start getting suspicious, especially Cathy. Chris always wants to think positive, and forgive her, but when Cory gets sick and dies without warning, something must be wrong-and they both know it. Cathy finally loses it on her mother, just before Cory dies. "You're not a woman! You're a monster! Something unhuman and inhumane!" she screams to her face. The mother wouldn't be seen for months after that. Only to take the body of her youngest son out of the house. Or does she?

The children must work together to survive, find out what Mother really has been hiding, and save their own lives, before it is too late.



I think that this was an absolutely AMAZING book. I challenged myself with reading it, because I don't usually go for the suspense-type novels, but this was a great read! I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who wants a book that keeps you thinking, and surprises you in the end. The book was very well written, and flows very nicely. There are a total of 5 books in the Flowers in the Attic series, Flowers in the Attic (#1), Petals on the Wind (#2), If There Be Thorns (#3), Seeds of Yesterday (#4), and Garden of Shadows (#5). I have read only the first two books, and I still think that the first one was the best. The second one had a good story line and plot, but dragged on and on. I started to read the third one, and did not like it at all, so I stopped reading it. The first one is always the best, especially in this series. I hope to read more from this author in the future, and hopefully her other books are as great as this one.



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