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A review by freshlybakedbread
Petals on the Wind by V.C. Andrews
3.5
The other reviews for this book are annoying and complain about Cathy's bad decisions, ignore them
This is an essential sequel in the sense that it truly fleshes out and demonstrates the themes that were introduced in Flowers in the Attic, namely the cyclical nature of familial trauma, which the gothic genre is especially attuned to.
I do have to admit the first and particularly the second section are a bit of a slog to get through. Cathy's teenage and young 20s voice is obviously annoying and misguided. These first two acts are more heavy on the soap drama elements and I was pining for the dark gothic aspects I loved from the first book.
Thankfully the third act kicks it up a notch and the narrative returns to the gothic fairytale structure that was absolutely batshit and worth the slog through the silly second act. We witness Cathy's transformation fuelled by her quest for revenge and unwillingness to free herself from the past. The doll/doppelganger motif (evident in their fashioned 'Dollanganger' surnames) grows to light.
Virginia Andrews has a very episodic method of writing which keeps you reading onto the next chapter in the similar vein to a television show, and Cathy becoming absolutely unhinged is delicious and horrifying to read through. Rotten entertainment I love it
This is an essential sequel in the sense that it truly fleshes out and demonstrates the themes that were introduced in Flowers in the Attic, namely the cyclical nature of familial trauma, which the gothic genre is especially attuned to.
I do have to admit the first and particularly the second section are a bit of a slog to get through. Cathy's teenage and young 20s voice is obviously annoying and misguided. These first two acts are more heavy on the soap drama elements and I was pining for the dark gothic aspects I loved from the first book.
Thankfully the third act kicks it up a notch and the narrative returns to the gothic fairytale structure that was absolutely batshit and worth the slog through the silly second act. We witness Cathy's transformation fuelled by her quest for revenge and unwillingness to free herself from the past. The doll/doppelganger motif (evident in their fashioned 'Dollanganger' surnames) grows to light.
Virginia Andrews has a very episodic method of writing which keeps you reading onto the next chapter in the similar vein to a television show, and Cathy becoming absolutely unhinged is delicious and horrifying to read through. Rotten entertainment I love it