Goodreads | Flowers in the Attic (Dollanganger, Book 1) by V.C. Andrews

rating	frequency	%
5		23%
4		30%
3		29%
2		12%
1		4%

topics	replies	views	last activity
Room 110, Period 2: Letter Two - Due 10 /24/08	17	23	8 days ago, 10:17AM
Room 110, Period 3: Vocabulary	30	29	13 days ago, 02:22PM
A Book Club: favorite book?	5	51	27 days ago, 05:33AM
REMEMBER WHEN?	1	21	09/28/2008 08:17PM

Stephanie rated it:

(review of isbn 0743496310)

10/12/07

bookshelves: balletomanes, mommiedearest, sicksicksick

Read in January, 1982

recommends it for: reluctant readers of the premenstrual persuasion

These days, I'm always hearing people opine, "Say what you want about Harry Potter, at least it's getting kids to read." Well, you could make a very good argument that Flowers in the Attic did the same thing for a generation of pre-teen girls. When I was 12, everybody was sneaking this novel under the covers or behind their math books. I remember a girl actually got in trouble for bringing it to free reading period in English class. Seemed a little hypocritical to me, sin...more These days, I'm always hearing people opine, "Say what you want about Harry Potter, at least it's getting kids to read." Well, you could make a very good argument that Flowers in the Attic did the same thing for a generation of pre-teen girls. When I was 12, everybody was sneaking this novel under the covers or behind their math books. I remember a girl actually got in trouble for bringing it to free reading period in English class. Seemed a little hypocritical to me, since the whole idea of a free reading period was to instill reading for pleasure, but whatever. If I had a dime for every hypocrisy I witnessed in school, I'd be writing this review from my villa in France.

While the incest angle of this story held undeniable appeal for me, I have to say that it was really the premise that captured my attention. The whole notion of a mother who hides her children away in an attic was fascinating to me. I've always loved stories about people who are forced to survive in abnormal surroundings, whether it's Anne Frank or Patty Hearst or Pocahontas. The sick, twisted conditions that the Dollanganger kids endured made for great reading, especially as a preteen undergoing her own hellish circumstances. Contrary to what a lot of other readers have said here, it isn't just the sex that accounts for this book's popularity...the plot is also a strong point in its favor.

Although it's been many years since I've read this story, its characters remain vivid. This is definitely a sign that the author did something right. I particularly enjoyed the two villians: the glamorous, narcissitic mother and the pious, sadistic grandmother. Looking back, I still hate those bitches! They were sort of like Godzilla vs. Mothera. (Speaking of good stories...)

It may seem like a small point, but I remember enjoying the ballet angle of this book. I loved how Cathy used to practice her ballet moves in the attic with the elaborate costumes her mother bought her. I also remember how the bodice on one of them was too tight, because dear old mom hadn't recognized that her daughter had developed breasts. This scene may seem salacious to some, but I actually appreciated it on a whole different level. As a young girl venturing into adulthood, I could really identify with Cathy's desire to be acknowledged as a young woman, only to be treated like a little kid.

Believe me, I'm not saying this is a great work of genius...the writing is so bad it's good...even at 12 I laughed at expressions like "Great golly lolly!" Still, Flowers in the Attic is the literary equivalent of a Krispy Kreme doughnut. It's delicious on the way down, but its lingering effects are vaguely sickening. Still, that won't stop you from having another...and another...until the whole box is gone and you're left bloated and groaning on a smelly old mattress, only to be raped by your brother.

Sorry, I got my metaphors mixed there for a second. Anyway, taken in the right spirit, Flowers in the Attic is a decent read, especially when you're being force fed rubbish like My Brother Sam is Dead and Where the Red Fern Grows. Get thee behind me, sixth grade!

...less

Like this review? yes (24 people liked it)

7 comments

Marie rated it:

(review of isbn 0743496310)

07/01/07

bookshelves: confused-or-informed-my-sexuality, read-by-virtue-of-proximity

I read this book in grade school (maybe middle school) and I don't remember much except being in total awe that someone would write down such naughty things. I seem to remember a scene where the grandma walks in while they're having sex and they can't stop because they are so enraptured with the experience and I remember thinking damn! Sex must be awesome if it makes you lose your mind and not be able to control your senses. Note to any young person that may be reading this: sex is actually no...more

Like this review? yes (9 people liked it)

4 comments

Linnea rated it:

(review of isbn 0743496310)

09/20/07

bookshelves: time-i-can-never-have-back

Read in January, 2004

recommends it for: time wasters

I have this unfortunate penchant for ugly things; I buy ugly jewlery, I go out with slightly unatractive men, and I read books like this.

It's awful, and yet there is something about how awful it is that made me enjoy it. I have a relationship with VC Andrews that goes way back. In my junior high days these awful books were all the rage, along with body glitter and peel off nail polish. Reading this book again was like going back to a simpler time; a time when there were no bills, no laundry ...more

Like this review? yes (7 people liked it)

1 comment

Anne-Marie rated it:

10/26/07

bookshelves: back-in-the-day

Read in January, 1987

I read Flowers in the Attic when I was 11 or 12 years old. I'm pretty sure the copy I had was borrowed from my BFF's older (and cooler) sister without her permission. This book was creepy and scary and erotic enough to make me feel rebellious. I knew that parents would not want me to be reading about child abuse and incest (they wouldn't even let me watch Purple Rain on HBO, for Christ sakes!) so that made Flowers in the Attic all the more alluring. This was one of the first books of many that I...more

Like this review? yes (3 people liked it)

add a comment

Yumi rated it:

(review of isbn 1416510885)

02/18/08

admit it: everyone goes through a v.c. andrews phase, devouring every word of her ghost-written books and all the anguished incest-y desires that jump off the page in horridly written prose. if jerry springer and tyra banks ever had a lovechild and turned it into text, v.c. andrews books would be it.

that being said, i did enjoy the hell out of this book when i first read it, simply because it was so tawdry. im beginning to wonder when and if the hipsters will bring her back, and then it can...more

Like this review? yes (3 people liked it)

add a comment

Carolanne rated it:

(review of isbn 0743496310)

06/20/07

How can you not love a book about a brother and sister who have sex because they are foced to live in the attic while their grandma slowly poisions them with rat poision in doughnuts?

Like this review? yes (3 people liked it)

2 comments

Beth rated it:

(review of isbn 0743496310)

03/07/08

Read in January, 1982

Flowers in the Attic did something wonderful for my generation of pre-teen girls. It allowed us to explore our sexuality. When I was 12, everybody seemed to be sneaking this novel under the covers or behind their school books. I remember a girl brought it out during our free reading period in English class and received some not so nice looks from the teacher. He didn’t say anything, but then again, he didn’t have to. We knew how most of the faculty viewed the series.
I give it ten stars for...more

Like this review? yes (2 people liked it)

add a comment

Stephanee added it (review of isbn 0743496310)

03/26/08

I cannot rate this book. I really can't say whether I loved it or hated it. So I'd have to give it a 3 for being right in the middle, but that really doesn't describe it either.

I read it in 7th grade, and I remember not being able to stop reading it. This book was a train wreck with lots of carnage. So awfully horrible and yet at the same time completely fascinating. And then you feel guilty for being so absorbed in something so terrible. I ended up reading the whole series, plus a few...more

Like this review? yes (2 people liked it)

1 comment

treehugger added it (review of isbn 0743496310)

12/11/07

Like others have said in their reviews, this is was one of the books that launched me out of young adult novels into the adult world of 'pretty much anything goes' fiction. The first book I ever read that had sex in it, and, 15 years later, I'm still disturbed by the incest (and the author's continuing theme of this circumstance throughout other of her novels). If a book hangs with you that long, especially with the poor writing style, someone did something right in creating the characters and...more

Like this review? yes (2 people liked it)

add a comment

Neva rated it:

(review of isbn 0743496310)

08/15/07

Read in January, 2001

recommends it for: People who like weird crap

Oh, VC Andrews. I love how you've been dead for 20 years and somehow found the time to write 600 new books. This isn't one of those books, though. You actually wrote it! This is a magical tale of Cathy and her magical romance with her brother. Intrigued? Of course you are. It also features a money hungry mother, a crazy grandma who whips them and poisons them with arsenic, and a dead kid (died from ARSENIC poisoning! Who did THAT? Oh, right. It was the mother that poisoned them, not the grandma....more

Like this review? yes (2 people liked it)

add a comment

Kristen rated it:

(review of isbn 0743496310)

09/03/07

Read in June, 2007

recommends it for: No-one

I really hate this book. I also hate "Petals on The Wind", "If There Be Thorns" and "Seeds of Yesterday". I say this having just re-read each of the above 17 years after I first read them (they were heady stuff to a 12 year old), and I was appalled at the predictability of the plot, the characters, the obsession Virgina Andrews appeared to harbour for incestuous relationships.
I hate the fact that characters are so stereotypically physically stunning, but must shou...more

Like this review? yes (2 people liked it)

4 comments

Juushika rated it:

(review of isbn 0743496310)

09/20/08

bookshelves: borrowed

Read in June, 2008

The four Dollanganger children have perfect suburban lives—until their father is killed in a car accident and, unable to support her children alone, their mother returns to her abusive parents. Their grandmother orders the children kept secret, locked away in a single abandoned room with access to the attic. As their seclusion builds from day into years, the older children must become parents for their younger siblings even while they go through their own turbulent, unaided adolescence them...more The four Dollanganger children have perfect suburban lives—until their father is killed in a car accident and, unable to support her children alone, their mother returns to her abusive parents. Their grandmother orders the children kept secret, locked away in a single abandoned room with access to the attic. As their seclusion builds from day into years, the older children must become parents for their younger siblings even while they go through their own turbulent, unaided adolescence themselves. This contrived isolation also leads the older siblings into incest, and for both the isolation and incest Flowers in the Attic is something of a guilty pleasure: a fairy-tale world of children without parents, fending for themselves and falling innocently into society's sins. However, the writing style, concept, and plot are so painfully unskilled, predictable, and clichéd that they suck even the guiltiest pleasure out of the book and, instead, render it just plain bad. The concept is intriguing, but the book itself is a waste of time, and I don't recommend it.

So many of the concepts of this book are secretly intriguing: the sequestered isolation of the children, haunted by the presence of their forbidding grandmother, creates a fairy-tale world where children take the place of adults and build their own rule and structure; the slowly developing romance between the older siblings Chris and Cathy, who have no one else to turn to for support or for love, is forbidden and at the same time genuinely sympathetic. As such there is the barest bit of pleasure in the concepts of the book, and in reading to the next page, the next chapter, to see how the story unfolds and how the characters come together. For these reasons, a number of reviews call Flowers in the Attic a guilty pleasure.

I would take no issue with the book if it were a titillating novel with no redeemable value, just as long as the book were still fun to read. However, Flowers in the Attic is far from enjoyable to read—instead, Andrews's writing style and storytelling verge on painfully bad. Cathy, second child and oldest sister, is the narrator; although intended to be an adult reflecting back on her early adolescence, the narrative voice sounds like a child. She approaches her story with wide-eyed exclamation points and italics, repeated obvious facts, and exclamations like "golly gee!", and this immature narration becomes quite annoying—and strips the character of the premature aging that she is supposed to undergo. Preceded by blatant foreshadowing, most pieces of the plot are visible from a long way off. Rather than creating a tense journey to their revelation, the book's "dark secrets" become laughably predictable. Combined with simplistic clichés such as an entire family with great beauty, flaxen blond hair, and names beginning with C, the novel's construction and writing style strip it of any joy. Guilty pleasure or no, redeeming value or no, the book is horribly written. It's not impossible to read, but it is an unenjoyable waste of time.

Novels about incest intrigue me, sometimes for the thought and sympathy they provoke, sometimes for the sympathy and guilty pleasure. But even as an interested reader I still have standards—although not always high, I at least prefer a book whose writing does not make me grimace or inadvertently laugh. Flowers in the Attic has intriguing premise, and the plot twists are interesting if not skillful, but I can't get past the horrible writing. Some readers may not dislike Andrews's style quite as much as I did, but I still don't recommend this book. There are better novels out there—even frivolous ones—that don't bog down their potential by skilless writing....less

Like this review? yes (1 person liked it)

add a comment

Denys L.H. rated it:

(review of isbn 0743496310)

09/18/08

Read in September, 2008

recommends it for: anyone with an open-mind

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

Ever watched the 1980 movie adapted from the book? I have. That is how I stumbled upon this story about four siblings locked in an attic by their selfish mother and bitter grandmother. After years of finding this book, I finally encountered it in my high school library and right away, started reading. And this wasn't only one book--- it was a series! This meant something to keep me busy for days to come...

We are introduced to Catherine Dollanganger(but called Cathy for short). She is the 12 ...more Ever watched the 1980 movie adapted from the book? I have. That is how I stumbled upon this story about four siblings locked in an attic by their selfish mother and bitter grandmother. After years of finding this book, I finally encountered it in my high school library and right away, started reading. And this wasn't only one book--- it was a series! This meant something to keep me busy for days to come...

We are introduced to Catherine Dollanganger(but called Cathy for short). She is the 12 year old narrator (telling the story as if she was some 40 year old widow). Along with her older brother Christopher (Chris), her two younger sibling twins Cory and Carrie, and last, her BEAUTIFUL mother and father. They all have blond hair and blue eyes, making it all see as if they come from one generation (foreshadow be warned). They are all happy, reaching dreams determined to accomplish, and having a perfect, carefree life... that is, until the father dies of a tragic car accident on his birthday.

They are all horrified at what happened, mourning the loss of their beloved father (especially Cathy, who was looked upon as his favorite). We start to realize that Corinne (the mother) is incapable of taking care of her children, since she has no useful skills to help her whatsoever. The codependent doll then, writes letters to her estranged parents that were presumed dead. After writing a lots of them, pleading to help her out, they are finally answered by the grandmother instructing her to bring along her children. They pack what they can and leave behind what hasn't been fully paid (mortgage/financial reasons). Suspiciously, you can see the mother puts herself first (she packs two suitcases for herself and gives two to her four children) and then thinks about her family.

Suddenly, the secrets start pouring out. Their name isn't Dollanganger, but actually Foxworth. That isn't explained until later on. They reach it to their mother's home--- a huge mansion that probably has twenty rooms everywhere. They might their grandmother thinking she would be one of those sweet old ladies, but it turns out she's as rotten as a spoiled apple to the core. A real bitch at that too. Just for that, she quickly sends them to the attic, where their mother explains the children have to hide in because their grandfather does not know about them. This is so, because the mother actually married her half-uncle (long story; won't tell) and her parents disowned her from the household name. If the grandfather ever finds out, then he might not write his daughter in the will, since she's the only one who can inherit his money (her two brothers died and can't be able to).

Corinne keeps telling her children the grandfather will die soon, bringing them false hope every-time she visits them in the attic. Together, the four siblings have to survive with the help of each other. Pretty soon, they decorate the attic, making it seem more creative and artistic and are attended to with meals, but are also given ridiculous rules that forbid any of them to develop lustful, "sinful" incestuous relationships with one another. And the mother starts visiting her children less often over the course of two years they're stuck inside the attic. The two older children start to develop--- Cathy gets her period and becomes a little woman, while Chris has urges of sexual desires. And that's when trouble arrives and they start feeling attracted to one another, the grandmother starts punishing them for an incident she falsely assumed happened, and the twins are getting less healthy by the month. Their mother isn't even caring anymore, but tries to hide it with useless gifts and acting as if all this pressure is put upon her and SHE'S the one having fun from it all.

From reading and finishing the novel, and also looking forward to finding the second one, I've realized one thing from all this. Love is love. The relationship between Cathy and Chris made me root for them the whole way, even though Chris raped Cathy (and she liked it). Of course it's seen as taboo for our modern society, but what if two people of the same blood really did love each other as much as they did? And it wasn't their fault either. It was the grandmother's and their mother's for leaving them inside the attic while they naturally develop hormones. Who can really blame them?

My heart went out to the four of them. I cried in the sad parts, and I felt very sympathetic with Carrie and Cory, and when Chris and Cathy were whipped. What I really bawled for was the death of Cory's ( :( ). The narrating of Cathy's was so beautifully told and very explicit. You will also hate the mother and the grandmother for taking away the childhood they deserved. Your heart will be yanked by these "Dresden dolls" and most likely follow them throughout their journey through the next series...

...less

Like this review? yes (1 person liked it)

add a comment

Amber rated it:

(review of isbn 1416510885)

07/13/08

Read in September, 1998

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

I read this in 9th grade, which I think is the average (or possibly required age) people start reading VC Andrews. I had no idea what I was about to read when I picked it up and looking back, I don't know how I feel about my mom recommending it to me. In retrospect though, when I go back and read review and excepts of these books, I remember the tiiiniest percentage of raunchiness- the idea of it sticks with you more than the actual events in the books.

So, ok here is the deal: There is a bea...more

Like this review? yes (2 people liked it)

add a comment

Bex rated it:

(review of isbn 0743496310)

05/18/08

Read in May, 2008

recommends it for: People who read it in the 1980s

I have no perspective on this book. I can't separate it from my teenage self.

For the first 200 pages I was amused to be re-reading a book I had loved as a teenager. I LOVED this book in the 1980s and I'm guessing that had something to do with the titillating subject matter but it might also have been because I was desperate to get away from my hometown and start my life and there is a theme of isolation and a desperation to get out into the world and be free. It's a theme lots of teens coul...more

Like this review? yes (1 person liked it)

2 comments

Tori rated it:

(review of isbn 0743496310)

05/04/08

bookshelves: horror

Read in January, 1988

recommended to Tori by: My middle school best friend
recommends it for: People who dig stories with incestuous nuances

I think this was a staple "taboo" book for middle school girls in the late 80s. If I could give less than one star, I would. I read it because all of my little friends were reading it. Then, I had to watch the movie over and over at various slumber parties because everyone (except me) was morbidly fascinated with the weird incestuous stuff that went on in both.

I didn't just dislike the movie and the book, by the way. I hated them. With a passion. The book was dumb a...more

Like this review? yes (1 person liked it)

9 comments

Audrarose rated it:

(review of isbn 0743496310)

03/01/08

Read in January, 1982

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

Like this review? yes (1 person liked it)

add a comment

Jessica Ng rated it:

(review of isbn 0743496310)

01/13/08

bookshelves: 10thgrade

Read in November, 2007

recommends it for: teenagers

To my opinion, this book was different, but worth reading.

Flowers in the Attic is about 4 children that end up being locked in the attic of the grandmother's attic. The grandmother set rules for the 4 of them-Christopher, Cathy, Carrie, and Cory Dollanganger. Most of the rules were on how the female sex and the male sex should not participate in behavior even though Christopher and Cathy were siblings. In the beginning, they knew they wouldn't do anything. In the end, they ended up having se...more

Like this review? yes (1 person liked it)

add a comment

Amy rated it:

(review of isbn 0743496310)

03/02/07

bookshelves: bookclubbook

Read in August, 2006

recommends it for: People who like simple stupid books

This book just was not good. That said, it did exceed my expectations, which were that it would be total trash and unreadable. It was readable - laughable- but readable. You might want to invest in a book cover so people on the train can't see what you are reading. Besides the ultra-simplistic, juvenile writing style, the personalities and behavior of the characters are not believable at all. It's like V.C Andrews (or whoever wrote this book) had the crazy twisted plot in mind and paid no a...more

Like this review? yes (1 person liked it)

1 comment

Jaclyn rated it:

(review of isbn 0743496310)

06/20/08

At the time that I was reading V.C. Andrews, about 15 years ago at the age of 12 (I don't think these books are written for that age group, though I do believe that is the one who reads these books most), I loved these books. I read every single book that had been written by Andrews at the time, though I have not read any since, and LOVED them. They were so JUICY--full of love, sex, incest, backstabbing, murder-- and I know my mother would not have approved!

If you know any teenage girls ...more

Like this review? yes (1 person liked it)

add a comment

title link
avg rating
small image
med image
large image

Flowers in the Attic (Dollanganger, Book 1)

book data

new topic
discuss this book

friend reviews

lists with this book

other reviews (showing 1-20 of 6325)

blog this book

combine
other editions (41)

Flowers in the Attic (Dollanganger, Book 1)

book data

new topic discuss this book

friend reviews

lists with this book

other reviews (showing 1-20 of 6325)

blog this book

combine other editions (41)

new topic
discuss this book

combine
other editions (41)