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A review by violetturtledove
Flowers in the Attic by V.C. Andrews
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
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? Yes
5.0
Well this was a wild ride and I can see why it made such an impression on those who read it as young adults. I thought at first that the YA writing style might be a little grating, the kids are all so annoyingly perfect (golly-lolly!) And i wasn't sure if such a long story (three years with just one setting) might drag. But I was soon gripped.
The writing style and the subject matter are quite a contrast, i wouldn't argue that young teens SHOULDN'T be reading about this stuff, but I do wonder what their parents would think if they realised what their kids were actually reading 😄
I also found the 'morals' of the story interesting (if a little dated now) - incest isn't treated as a big deal, but sex outside of marriage is unthinkable, for instance, plus the idea that women are responsible for 'tempting' men.
Neither of these things are criticisms, YA fiction can should go to dark places, and it's inevitable that a story like this one would have some moral ambiguity, it's nice to have something not clear-cut that makes you think.
There were enough twists to keep it interesting after what i assumed was going to be the main mystery was revealed a couple of chapters in, i felt genuinely infuriated, horrified and heartbroken at the appropriate moments, and I've also started immediately on the sequel which really tells you I liked it.
Maybe I should have started with that?
The writing style and the subject matter are quite a contrast, i wouldn't argue that young teens SHOULDN'T be reading about this stuff, but I do wonder what their parents would think if they realised what their kids were actually reading 😄
I also found the 'morals' of the story interesting (if a little dated now) - incest isn't treated as a big deal, but sex outside of marriage is unthinkable, for instance, plus the idea that women are responsible for 'tempting' men.
Neither of these things are criticisms, YA fiction can should go to dark places, and it's inevitable that a story like this one would have some moral ambiguity, it's nice to have something not clear-cut that makes you think.
There were enough twists to keep it interesting after what i assumed was going to be the main mystery was revealed a couple of chapters in, i felt genuinely infuriated, horrified and heartbroken at the appropriate moments, and I've also started immediately on the sequel which really tells you I liked it.
Maybe I should have started with that?
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse and Incest
Moderate: Gaslighting
Minor: Animal death, Child death, Blood, and Death of parent