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Dollanganger #7
Echoes of Dollanganger
Picking up where Christophers Diary: Secrets of Foxworth leaves off, Kristin Masterwood and her boyfriend up the ante by going into her attic to re-enact scenes described in Christopher Dollangangers journal. Jealousy, tragedy, survival, and revenge& the discovery of Christopher's diary in the ruins of Foxworth Hall brings new secrets of the Dollanganger family to light and obsesses a new generation. With Flowers in the Attic and Petals on the Wind both now major Lifetime TV events, the first new Dollanganger stories in nearly thirty years is a timely look at the events in the attic from teenage Christophers point of view. Christopher Dollanganger was fourteen when he and his younger siblings Cathy and the twins, Cory and Carrie were locked away in the attic of Foxworth Hall, prisoners of their mother's greedy inheritance scheme. For three long years he kept hope alive for the sake of the others. But the shocking truth about how their ordeal affected him was always kept hidden until now.
Seventeen-year-old Kristin Masterwood is thrilled when her father's construction company is hired to inspect the Foxworth property for a prospective buyer. The once grand Southern mansion still sparks legends and half-truths about the four innocent Dollanganger children, even all these decades later. Foxworth holds a special fascination for Kristin, who was too young when her mother died to learn much about her distant blood tie to the notorious family. Accompanying her dad to the forbidden territory, they find a leather-bound book, its yellowed pages filled with the neat script of Christopher Dollanganger himself. Her father grows increasingly uneasy about her reading it, but as she devours the teen's story page by page, his shattering account of temptation, heartache, courage, and betrayal overtakes Kristin's every thought. And soon her obsession with the doomed boy crosses a dangerous line.
Seventeen-year-old Kristin Masterwood is thrilled when her father's construction company is hired to inspect the Foxworth property for a prospective buyer. The once grand Southern mansion still sparks legends and half-truths about the four innocent Dollanganger children, even all these decades later. Foxworth holds a special fascination for Kristin, who was too young when her mother died to learn much about her distant blood tie to the notorious family. Accompanying her dad to the forbidden territory, they find a leather-bound book, its yellowed pages filled with the neat script of Christopher Dollanganger himself. Her father grows increasingly uneasy about her reading it, but as she devours the teen's story page by page, his shattering account of temptation, heartache, courage, and betrayal overtakes Kristin's every thought. And soon her obsession with the doomed boy crosses a dangerous line.
357 pages, Paperback
First published January 27, 2015
470 people are currently reading
6353 people want to read
About the author
V.C. Andrews
369 books8,950 followersBooks published under the following names - Virginia Andrews, V. Andrews, Virginia C. Andrews & V.C. Endrius. Books since her death ghost written by Andrew Neiderman, but still attributed to the V.C. Andrews name
Virginia Cleo Andrews (born Cleo Virginia Andrews) was born June 6, 1923 in Portsmouth, Virginia. The youngest child and the only daughter of William Henry Andrews, a career navy man who opened a tool-and-die business after retirement, and Lillian Lilnora Parker Andrews, a telephone operator. She spent her happy childhood years in Portsmouth, Virginia, living briefly in Rochester, New York. The Andrews family returned to Portsmouth while Virginia was in high school.
While a teenager, Virginia suffered a tragic accident, falling down the stairs at her school and incurred severe back injuries. Arthritis and a failed spinal surgical procedure forced her to spend most of her life on crutches or in a wheelchair.
Virginia excelled in school and, at fifteen, won a scholarship for writing a parody of Tennyson's Idylls of the King. She proudly earned her diploma from Woodrow Wilson High School in Portsmouth. After graduation, she nurtured her artistic talent by completing a four-year correspondence art course while living at home with her family.
After William Andrews died in the late 1960s, Virginia helped to support herself and her mother through her extremely successful career as a commercial artist, portrait painter, and fashion illustrator.
Frustrated with the lack of creative satisfaction that her work provided, Virginia sought creative release through writing, which she did in secret. In 1972, she completed her first novel, The Gods of the Green Mountain [sic], a science-fantasy story. It was never published. Between 1972 and 1979, she wrote nine novels and twenty short stories, of which only one was published. "I Slept with My Uncle on My Wedding Night", a short fiction piece, was published in a pulp confession magazine.
Promise gleamed over the horizon for Virginia when she submitted a 290,000-word novel, The Obsessed, to a publishing company. She was told that the story had potential, but needed to be trimmed and spiced up a bit. She drafted a new outline in a single night and added "unspeakable things my mother didn't want me to write about." The ninety-eight-page revision was re-titled Flowers in the Attic and she was paid a $7,500 advance. Her new-generation Gothic novel reached the bestseller lists a mere two weeks after its 1979 paperback publication by Pocket Books.
Petals on the Wind, her sequel to Flowers, was published the next year, earning Virginia a $35,000 advance. The second book remained on the New York Times bestseller list for an unbelievable nineteen weeks (Flowers also returned to the list). These first two novels alone sold over seven million copies in only two years. The third novel of the Dollanganger series, If There Be Thorns, was released in 1981, bringing Virginia a $75,000 advance. It reached No. 2 on many bestseller lists within its first two weeks.
Taking a break from the chronicles of Chris and Cathy Dollanganger, Virginia published her one, and only, stand-alone novel, My Sweet Audrina, in 1982. The book welcomed an immediate success, topping the sales figures of her previous novels. Two years later, a fourth Dollanganger novel was released, Seeds of Yesterday. According to the New York Times, Seeds was the best-selling fiction paperback novel of 1984. Also in 1984, V.C. Andrews was named "Professional Woman of the Year" by the city of Norfolk, Virginia.
Upon Andrews's death in 1986, two final novels—Garden of Shadows and Fallen Hearts—were published. These two novels are considered the last to bear the "V.C. Andrews" name and to be almost completely written by
Virginia Cleo Andrews (born Cleo Virginia Andrews) was born June 6, 1923 in Portsmouth, Virginia. The youngest child and the only daughter of William Henry Andrews, a career navy man who opened a tool-and-die business after retirement, and Lillian Lilnora Parker Andrews, a telephone operator. She spent her happy childhood years in Portsmouth, Virginia, living briefly in Rochester, New York. The Andrews family returned to Portsmouth while Virginia was in high school.
While a teenager, Virginia suffered a tragic accident, falling down the stairs at her school and incurred severe back injuries. Arthritis and a failed spinal surgical procedure forced her to spend most of her life on crutches or in a wheelchair.
Virginia excelled in school and, at fifteen, won a scholarship for writing a parody of Tennyson's Idylls of the King. She proudly earned her diploma from Woodrow Wilson High School in Portsmouth. After graduation, she nurtured her artistic talent by completing a four-year correspondence art course while living at home with her family.
After William Andrews died in the late 1960s, Virginia helped to support herself and her mother through her extremely successful career as a commercial artist, portrait painter, and fashion illustrator.
Frustrated with the lack of creative satisfaction that her work provided, Virginia sought creative release through writing, which she did in secret. In 1972, she completed her first novel, The Gods of the Green Mountain [sic], a science-fantasy story. It was never published. Between 1972 and 1979, she wrote nine novels and twenty short stories, of which only one was published. "I Slept with My Uncle on My Wedding Night", a short fiction piece, was published in a pulp confession magazine.
Promise gleamed over the horizon for Virginia when she submitted a 290,000-word novel, The Obsessed, to a publishing company. She was told that the story had potential, but needed to be trimmed and spiced up a bit. She drafted a new outline in a single night and added "unspeakable things my mother didn't want me to write about." The ninety-eight-page revision was re-titled Flowers in the Attic and she was paid a $7,500 advance. Her new-generation Gothic novel reached the bestseller lists a mere two weeks after its 1979 paperback publication by Pocket Books.
Petals on the Wind, her sequel to Flowers, was published the next year, earning Virginia a $35,000 advance. The second book remained on the New York Times bestseller list for an unbelievable nineteen weeks (Flowers also returned to the list). These first two novels alone sold over seven million copies in only two years. The third novel of the Dollanganger series, If There Be Thorns, was released in 1981, bringing Virginia a $75,000 advance. It reached No. 2 on many bestseller lists within its first two weeks.
Taking a break from the chronicles of Chris and Cathy Dollanganger, Virginia published her one, and only, stand-alone novel, My Sweet Audrina, in 1982. The book welcomed an immediate success, topping the sales figures of her previous novels. Two years later, a fourth Dollanganger novel was released, Seeds of Yesterday. According to the New York Times, Seeds was the best-selling fiction paperback novel of 1984. Also in 1984, V.C. Andrews was named "Professional Woman of the Year" by the city of Norfolk, Virginia.
Upon Andrews's death in 1986, two final novels—Garden of Shadows and Fallen Hearts—were published. These two novels are considered the last to bear the "V.C. Andrews" name and to be almost completely written by
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 333 reviews
October 23, 2017
Oh my god. OH MY EFFING GOD.
The blatant disrespect that Neiderman has for the VCA legacy reaches a level I didn't think was possible, until now. I swear. it's like Neiderman wrote this book as a big EFF you to V.C. Andrews for the fact that she was a more successful author in her shorter author career than he has ever been in over 40 years of his own career.
Seriously, he pulled a retcon to end all retcons. What is that, you may ask?
Cory is alive. That's right. The reveal in Petals in the Wind where Cathy discovers the nasty smell is brushed away by Neiderman as some animal that crawled into the walls and died there. One of the biggest, driving plot points of the Dollanganger series has been nulled out by someone hired to carry on the VCA Legacy but is in fact doing the opposite.
The parts of the book with Kristin and Kane are disturbing enough - they even get wigs and go up to their attic and recreate the relationship between Chris and Cathy. Neiderman tries to pass this off as sexy, but I found it creepy and squicky and nasty and disgusting and an abomination, and above all, in utterly poor taste to the VCA Legacy, the author herself, and her fans.
But the real stinker was the retcon Neiderman pulled with Cory. Like, I don't even. The only way to explain this book is that Neiderman is deliberately dumping on the VCA Legacy and a poor dead woman out of his sheer jealousy, and the best way for him to show his spite is by "adding" to the Flowers in the Attic series with this garbage.
It's like going up to the picture of the Mona Lisa and drawing a mustache on it to "add" to it, only the mustache wasn't drawn with a Sharpie, it was smeared on with SHIT. Fucking excrement, which is all this book is.
I thought the vampire and ghost junk that Neiderman wrote under the VCA name was bad enough. I thought that Neiderman couldn't get any grosser than he did with the diapers in 'Midnight Flight'. I didn't think he could get any more ridiculous with 'Black Cat'.
But this book manages to top everything in terms of awfulness, ridiculousness, and bad taste!
I have a mouth, and I must scream.
The blatant disrespect that Neiderman has for the VCA legacy reaches a level I didn't think was possible, until now. I swear. it's like Neiderman wrote this book as a big EFF you to V.C. Andrews for the fact that she was a more successful author in her shorter author career than he has ever been in over 40 years of his own career.
Seriously, he pulled a retcon to end all retcons. What is that, you may ask?
Cory is alive. That's right. The reveal in Petals in the Wind where Cathy discovers the nasty smell is brushed away by Neiderman as some animal that crawled into the walls and died there. One of the biggest, driving plot points of the Dollanganger series has been nulled out by someone hired to carry on the VCA Legacy but is in fact doing the opposite.
The parts of the book with Kristin and Kane are disturbing enough - they even get wigs and go up to their attic and recreate the relationship between Chris and Cathy. Neiderman tries to pass this off as sexy, but I found it creepy and squicky and nasty and disgusting and an abomination, and above all, in utterly poor taste to the VCA Legacy, the author herself, and her fans.
But the real stinker was the retcon Neiderman pulled with Cory. Like, I don't even. The only way to explain this book is that Neiderman is deliberately dumping on the VCA Legacy and a poor dead woman out of his sheer jealousy, and the best way for him to show his spite is by "adding" to the Flowers in the Attic series with this garbage.
It's like going up to the picture of the Mona Lisa and drawing a mustache on it to "add" to it, only the mustache wasn't drawn with a Sharpie, it was smeared on with SHIT. Fucking excrement, which is all this book is.
I thought the vampire and ghost junk that Neiderman wrote under the VCA name was bad enough. I thought that Neiderman couldn't get any grosser than he did with the diapers in 'Midnight Flight'. I didn't think he could get any more ridiculous with 'Black Cat'.
But this book manages to top everything in terms of awfulness, ridiculousness, and bad taste!
I have a mouth, and I must scream.
July 7, 2022
This is the second book of how Christopher's diary was found by our main character. She is continuing the read of his diary and his entries of life being stuck in the attic with his brother and two sisters.
While many readers despised the first book detailing Christopher's diary I liked it. Yes, it was basically a retelling of the famous story Flowers In the Attic. What sold me on the story was the parallel to Christopher and Cathy and our main character. Now onto this book where many readers continue to hate these new books and I have to side with them on this one. This one was bad. While we continue with the retelling I thought some of it changed the original story especially the twist. I did not like that at all. Also, like I said the parallel in the first book was good. In this one it did not work at all. It was so forced as the author tried to replicate it again. Also, to think when I am reading a book about an incestuous relationship between a brother and sister and that is not the creepiest thing about this book. Seriously, the main character's boyfriend is just weird and creepy and not in a good way. I have no idea what he was thinking or doing.
I don't expect this to be a five star read. I would like it to hold to the original idea of the novel that started it all. I feel that this book did not. I was going to give this a one star rating. I did like the relationship between the main character and her father. It is sweet so that is why I decided with the two stars. That being said, I would not want to read an entire book about that relationship. The reason and main idea of this book was real bad and now I understand why so many people dislike these books.
While many readers despised the first book detailing Christopher's diary I liked it. Yes, it was basically a retelling of the famous story Flowers In the Attic. What sold me on the story was the parallel to Christopher and Cathy and our main character. Now onto this book where many readers continue to hate these new books and I have to side with them on this one. This one was bad. While we continue with the retelling I thought some of it changed the original story especially the twist. I did not like that at all. Also, like I said the parallel in the first book was good. In this one it did not work at all. It was so forced as the author tried to replicate it again. Also, to think when I am reading a book about an incestuous relationship between a brother and sister and that is not the creepiest thing about this book. Seriously, the main character's boyfriend is just weird and creepy and not in a good way. I have no idea what he was thinking or doing.
I don't expect this to be a five star read. I would like it to hold to the original idea of the novel that started it all. I feel that this book did not. I was going to give this a one star rating. I did like the relationship between the main character and her father. It is sweet so that is why I decided with the two stars. That being said, I would not want to read an entire book about that relationship. The reason and main idea of this book was real bad and now I understand why so many people dislike these books.
February 16, 2016
I’m so scared for our lives. We have to get out of here NOW before we die! Let me just take some time to write 50 pages in my diary before we go.
This was the most long winded boring book I’ve ever read. If you removed all the unnecessary parts of this book and its prequel, it might make one, slightly interesting book. Most of this book is filler as the main teenage Protagonist Kristen, analyzes over and over again, how reading Christopher’s Diary effects every single part of her life. Her father is worried about her reading it because he doesn’t want it to uncover any of their family secrets, as she is a distant relative of the Foxworths. Since there is no real conflict in this book, her father’s concern, has to be mentioned at least 10 times per chapter, as does Kristen’s paranoia that one of her friends is going to find out about the diary. Besides that, the diary has no real impact on Kristen’s life and the plot is forced and ridiculous.
As Kristen and her boyfriend Kane read the diary, I kept waiting for some new mysteries about what happened to the Dollanganger children to be revealed. I was disappointed as Christopher’s Diary is a complete retelling of Flowers in the Attic. It offer’s absolutely NOTHING new. It seems like the author took a PDF of Flowers in the Attic, copied it into word and reversed all the male and female pronouns so it would be from a boys point of view. Christopher’s sexual feelings for his sister, are explored since this book is from his point of view. But since his feelings for Cathy are clearly obvious in Flowers in the Attic, this book offers NOTHING new about their relationship.
Also, during their last days in the attic, as Chris and Cathy were planning their escape, it is highly unlikely that Chris would have time to write page after page in a diary he was planning to leave behind.
Characters which have absolutely no impact on the plot, like Kristen’s aunts and uncles are introduced, but they only slow the narrative down as they have absolutely no impact on the story.
The last scene of the book is so ridiculous, and it makes the plots of all the Flower’s Sequels impossible, as a character whose death impacts every character in the original Dollanganger series, suddenly never really died.
This was the most long winded boring book I’ve ever read. If you removed all the unnecessary parts of this book and its prequel, it might make one, slightly interesting book. Most of this book is filler as the main teenage Protagonist Kristen, analyzes over and over again, how reading Christopher’s Diary effects every single part of her life. Her father is worried about her reading it because he doesn’t want it to uncover any of their family secrets, as she is a distant relative of the Foxworths. Since there is no real conflict in this book, her father’s concern, has to be mentioned at least 10 times per chapter, as does Kristen’s paranoia that one of her friends is going to find out about the diary. Besides that, the diary has no real impact on Kristen’s life and the plot is forced and ridiculous.
As Kristen and her boyfriend Kane read the diary, I kept waiting for some new mysteries about what happened to the Dollanganger children to be revealed. I was disappointed as Christopher’s Diary is a complete retelling of Flowers in the Attic. It offer’s absolutely NOTHING new. It seems like the author took a PDF of Flowers in the Attic, copied it into word and reversed all the male and female pronouns so it would be from a boys point of view. Christopher’s sexual feelings for his sister, are explored since this book is from his point of view. But since his feelings for Cathy are clearly obvious in Flowers in the Attic, this book offers NOTHING new about their relationship.
Also, during their last days in the attic, as Chris and Cathy were planning their escape, it is highly unlikely that Chris would have time to write page after page in a diary he was planning to leave behind.
Characters which have absolutely no impact on the plot, like Kristen’s aunts and uncles are introduced, but they only slow the narrative down as they have absolutely no impact on the story.
The last scene of the book is so ridiculous, and it makes the plots of all the Flower’s Sequels impossible, as a character whose death impacts every character in the original Dollanganger series, suddenly never really died.
January 29, 2015
Amazon does not let you give less than one star, so alas, one star it shall be.
I'm not sure where to even begin writing this.
Should it be the blatant oversexualization of Christopher?
Should it be the behavior of Kane, that quite frankly is disturbing on so many levels?
Or should it be the most obvious? The one thing every VCA fan thought when they read the end of this book? The bombshell that Cory is alive and well?
The original FITA series means a lot to a lot of people. Everyone I know grew up reading them... they were the books that you hid under your pillow because at 11 and 12 years old, you didn't want your parents to catch you reading them. It was more than the sex.
It was being introduced to characters and going on this journey with them. Struggling when they struggled, hurting when they hurt, growing with them.
To have Neiderman come in and change the original authors intent is disrespectful and a smack in the face to all VCA fans.
VCA killed little Cory and his death was a major plot point in all books that followed in the series. His death was critical for the character development of Chris, Cathy, and Carrie (which would of course lead to her own death)
I feel like it was always VCA's intent to never let the children have closure about Cory, and I suppose, they didn't if you take into account them dying having never known "the truth", but myself, as a reader, feel betrayed on their behalf.
Kane's actions were made out to be romantic, but honestly, they made me want to take a shower. It was disgusting.
As for Chris. Neiderman has made him out to be some sex-crazed pervert who couldn't keep his eyes off his mother or sister. He totally belittles the fact that they were victims of their circumstances.
And it's really not that hard to cross reference your facts with the existing stories. Seriously....
I beg you, if you have any love for these characters, do not read this book. Let your memories be sad and sweet and full of nostalgia.
Instead of full of something else, which is exactly what this book is.
I'm not sure where to even begin writing this.
Should it be the blatant oversexualization of Christopher?
Should it be the behavior of Kane, that quite frankly is disturbing on so many levels?
Or should it be the most obvious? The one thing every VCA fan thought when they read the end of this book? The bombshell that Cory is alive and well?
The original FITA series means a lot to a lot of people. Everyone I know grew up reading them... they were the books that you hid under your pillow because at 11 and 12 years old, you didn't want your parents to catch you reading them. It was more than the sex.
It was being introduced to characters and going on this journey with them. Struggling when they struggled, hurting when they hurt, growing with them.
To have Neiderman come in and change the original authors intent is disrespectful and a smack in the face to all VCA fans.
VCA killed little Cory and his death was a major plot point in all books that followed in the series. His death was critical for the character development of Chris, Cathy, and Carrie (which would of course lead to her own death)
I feel like it was always VCA's intent to never let the children have closure about Cory, and I suppose, they didn't if you take into account them dying having never known "the truth", but myself, as a reader, feel betrayed on their behalf.
Kane's actions were made out to be romantic, but honestly, they made me want to take a shower. It was disgusting.
As for Chris. Neiderman has made him out to be some sex-crazed pervert who couldn't keep his eyes off his mother or sister. He totally belittles the fact that they were victims of their circumstances.
And it's really not that hard to cross reference your facts with the existing stories. Seriously....
I beg you, if you have any love for these characters, do not read this book. Let your memories be sad and sweet and full of nostalgia.
Instead of full of something else, which is exactly what this book is.
February 4, 2015
And this, ladies and gents, is how an untalented asshat of a ghost writer proceeded to ruin the legacy of VC Andrews' most popular novel.
I AM RAGING. THIS RECEIVES NEGATIVE INFINITY STARS.
I AM RAGING. THIS RECEIVES NEGATIVE INFINITY STARS.
February 12, 2015
Terrible,Terrible. What is v.c.Andrews' family thinking letting these sloppy works be published? These are a disgrace to the Dollanganger saga.
January 31, 2015
I hate myself for buying and reading this! It was truly awful and not in sync with Christopher's personality from original FITA books.
November 23, 2015
Hoooollly crap. What did I do? Why did I allow myself to buy this book? I can't believe... okay. okay. I can do this. I can review this with some organized thoughts.
I hated this book. So much. God, I hate this book.
I gave up on reading the majority of the actual story involving Kristin, skipping around to the diary entries and skimming in between. Here's why I couldn't take it anymore:
The main character, Kristin is one dimensional and loves to hear herself talk.
The writing is long winded, pointless drivel. Characters and details are mentioned that aren't important in the slightest, and not interesting at all to the average reader. I'm assuming that the average reader is like me, who only picked up this waste of pressed tree pulp because they wanted more of the Flowers in the Attic story. Not Kristin. Kristin who? really...
God, I was bored to tears reading these books. Literally. I finished the first one at long last and was so frustrated that I was crying, promising myself I wouldn’t read the next books in the series. But I did. I bought the second one and made myself so frustrated again. I was desperate for more Flowers, but I didn’t get much of anything but irritation.
Also, for a series that has “Christopher’s Diary” in the title, there’s an embarrassing lack of Christopher’s diary. If I could give this book less than a star, to match the percentage of the book that was actually Chris’ diary, I would. Like, it’s so few and far between that I was actually considering typing up what little Diary we get and printing it for my own personal perusal, and getting rid of this book. But you know what? The diary wasn't anything special. It didn't elaborate or illuminate the original story at all. Which makes me wonder: does this Andrew Neiderman understand what the point of a retelling is, anyway?
Also, being the V.C. Andrews ghost writer doesn't mean you can mess with canon, man. That's not cool, and it didn't make anything any better at all.
I think it's pretty obvious that they've just decided they're not going to stop kicking this dead horse until it stops coughing out cash, but what's insulting is that they're not even trying anymore. I mean sure, piggyback on the Lifetime movies released last year, but sweet merciful heavens, can you make something of quality? Anything? Please?
This was horrible. Read the reviews, but please, don't waste your time or energy on this book.
I hated this book. So much. God, I hate this book.
I gave up on reading the majority of the actual story involving Kristin, skipping around to the diary entries and skimming in between. Here's why I couldn't take it anymore:
The main character, Kristin is one dimensional and loves to hear herself talk.
The writing is long winded, pointless drivel. Characters and details are mentioned that aren't important in the slightest, and not interesting at all to the average reader. I'm assuming that the average reader is like me, who only picked up this waste of pressed tree pulp because they wanted more of the Flowers in the Attic story. Not Kristin. Kristin who? really...
God, I was bored to tears reading these books. Literally. I finished the first one at long last and was so frustrated that I was crying, promising myself I wouldn’t read the next books in the series. But I did. I bought the second one and made myself so frustrated again. I was desperate for more Flowers, but I didn’t get much of anything but irritation.
Also, for a series that has “Christopher’s Diary” in the title, there’s an embarrassing lack of Christopher’s diary. If I could give this book less than a star, to match the percentage of the book that was actually Chris’ diary, I would. Like, it’s so few and far between that I was actually considering typing up what little Diary we get and printing it for my own personal perusal, and getting rid of this book. But you know what? The diary wasn't anything special. It didn't elaborate or illuminate the original story at all. Which makes me wonder: does this Andrew Neiderman understand what the point of a retelling is, anyway?
Also, being the V.C. Andrews ghost writer doesn't mean you can mess with canon, man. That's not cool, and it didn't make anything any better at all.
I think it's pretty obvious that they've just decided they're not going to stop kicking this dead horse until it stops coughing out cash, but what's insulting is that they're not even trying anymore. I mean sure, piggyback on the Lifetime movies released last year, but sweet merciful heavens, can you make something of quality? Anything? Please?
This was horrible. Read the reviews, but please, don't waste your time or energy on this book.
February 23, 2015
I loved it! I'm sorry but for those who think it was ruined, I disagree because if you paid attention to the actual book of flowers in the attic, there was no "valid proof" Cory died. their grandmother only said he did. she wanted to punish their mother and them as well
February 8, 2015
Garbage. Pure, stinking garbage from a hack of a ghostwriter who, from the looks of it, just doesn't give a fuck anymore and is pulling anything out of his ass and putting VCA's name on it.
February 8, 2015
God this book was awful.
I don't usually write reviews but firstly Christopher, who always was my favorite of the Dolls, is overtly sexualised in this series.
Secondly, every reasoning behind the original Flowers in the attic series has been destroyed right throughout this book - especially in the ending. I won't spoil it but what the hell?!
Then there is Kane, who is really freaking creepy.
I get that ghost writers keep writing V.C Andrews' book to make money but seriously couldn't they have left the biggest and by far the best series alone?
I don't usually write reviews but firstly Christopher, who always was my favorite of the Dolls, is overtly sexualised in this series.
Secondly, every reasoning behind the original Flowers in the attic series has been destroyed right throughout this book - especially in the ending. I won't spoil it but what the hell?!
Then there is Kane, who is really freaking creepy.
I get that ghost writers keep writing V.C Andrews' book to make money but seriously couldn't they have left the biggest and by far the best series alone?
January 29, 2015
Amazon does not let you give less than one star, so alas, one star it shall be.
I'm not sure where to even begin writing this.
Should it be the blatant oversexualization of Christopher?
Should it be the behavior of Kane, that quite frankly is disturbing on so many levels?
Or should it be the most obvious? The one thing every VCA fan thought when they read the end of this book? The bombshell that Cory is alive and well?
The original FITA series means a lot to a lot of people. Everyone I know grew up reading them... they were the books that you hid under your pillow because at 11 and 12 years old, you didn't want your parents to catch you reading them. It was more than the sex.
It was being introduced to characters and going on this journey with them. Struggling when they struggled, hurting when they hurt, growing with them.
To have Neiderman come in and change the original authors intent is disrespectful and a smack in the face to all VCA fans.
VCA killed little Cory and his death was a major plot point in all books that followed in the series. His death was critical for the character development of Chris, Cathy, and Carrie (which would of course lead to her own death)
I feel like it was always VCA's intent to never let the children have closure about Cory, and I suppose, they didn't if you take into account them dying having never known "the truth", but myself, as a reader, feel betrayed on their behalf.
Kane's actions were made out to be romantic, but honestly, they made me want to take a shower. It was disgusting.
As for Chris. Neiderman has made him out to be some sex-crazed pervert who couldn't keep his eyes off his mother or sister. He totally belittles the fact that they were victims of their circumstances.
And it's really not that hard to cross reference your facts with the existing stories. Seriously....
I beg you, if you have any love for these characters, do not read this book. Let your memories be sad and sweet and full of nostalgia.
Instead of full of something else, which is exactly what this book is.
I'm not sure where to even begin writing this.
Should it be the blatant oversexualization of Christopher?
Should it be the behavior of Kane, that quite frankly is disturbing on so many levels?
Or should it be the most obvious? The one thing every VCA fan thought when they read the end of this book? The bombshell that Cory is alive and well?
The original FITA series means a lot to a lot of people. Everyone I know grew up reading them... they were the books that you hid under your pillow because at 11 and 12 years old, you didn't want your parents to catch you reading them. It was more than the sex.
It was being introduced to characters and going on this journey with them. Struggling when they struggled, hurting when they hurt, growing with them.
To have Neiderman come in and change the original authors intent is disrespectful and a smack in the face to all VCA fans.
VCA killed little Cory and his death was a major plot point in all books that followed in the series. His death was critical for the character development of Chris, Cathy, and Carrie (which would of course lead to her own death)
I feel like it was always VCA's intent to never let the children have closure about Cory, and I suppose, they didn't if you take into account them dying having never known "the truth", but myself, as a reader, feel betrayed on their behalf.
Kane's actions were made out to be romantic, but honestly, they made me want to take a shower. It was disgusting.
As for Chris. Neiderman has made him out to be some sex-crazed pervert who couldn't keep his eyes off his mother or sister. He totally belittles the fact that they were victims of their circumstances.
And it's really not that hard to cross reference your facts with the existing stories. Seriously....
I beg you, if you have any love for these characters, do not read this book. Let your memories be sad and sweet and full of nostalgia.
Instead of full of something else, which is exactly what this book is.
March 5, 2015
Well, if you're a fan of the original and much beloved Flowers in the Attic and you haven't read this book yet,
My advice to you is this:
It's bad! It's like where bad goes to die...
I didn't give it one star because the "Christopher diary entry" sections were fine, even good at times. It's intriguing to reimagine the attic scenes from his perspective, even though you don't learn anything new. Christopher and Cathy are still beloved to me, so I'll take anything new that I can get.
The real error in judgment this ghost writer committed was letting Kristin, a young cousin to the original Foxworth clan, and her skanky boyfriend Kane, enter the universe of FitA folklore.
Let me be brief: Kristin is apparently whip smart (she's going to be a valedictorian, y'all) but she spends the entire story worrying about what people think of her, and not standing up to her creepy boyfriend Kane. Kane, who is so obsessed with the diary that he tells Kristin that they should read it aloud to each other in her attic while he wears a blond Christopher wig, and calls her Cathy. All these disturbing behaviors
And the big shocker
My advice to you is this:
It's bad! It's like where bad goes to die...
I didn't give it one star because the "Christopher diary entry" sections were fine, even good at times. It's intriguing to reimagine the attic scenes from his perspective, even though you don't learn anything new. Christopher and Cathy are still beloved to me, so I'll take anything new that I can get.
The real error in judgment this ghost writer committed was letting Kristin, a young cousin to the original Foxworth clan, and her skanky boyfriend Kane, enter the universe of FitA folklore.
Let me be brief: Kristin is apparently whip smart (she's going to be a valedictorian, y'all) but she spends the entire story worrying about what people think of her, and not standing up to her creepy boyfriend Kane. Kane, who is so obsessed with the diary that he tells Kristin that they should read it aloud to each other in her attic while he wears a blond Christopher wig, and calls her Cathy. All these disturbing behaviors
And the big shocker
June 22, 2022
6:45 AM- Saw this book available. Decided to use a credit to download because I simply "must have this"
6:56 AM downloaded the audio version. Listened
7:15 AM- First mention of Christopher. Lasts less than four minutes and it's back to the narrator's life.
7:21- FFS, I don't care about you and your stupid high school romance, you idiot, and I don't want to hear about how "real" or "deep" your love is. You're in goddamned high school.
7:25- Fast forwarding because I don't care about this little...
7:26- (12 minutes in) Will you shut up about how this diary is going to affect you?
7: 28- Are you seriously telling me about your dad cooking eggs? Riveting story telling.
7:29- Listen, I do. Not. *Care*. About some nobody getting together with a new husband minutes after her old husband died. Get to the diary.
7:30- (17 minutes in) When will this girl ever shut up about how life changing reading the diary will be and just read it already?
7:32- This girl will not shut the hell up about how she feels about reading this %&$# diary.
7:36- Ok! That's it! Returning the book and getting my credits back.
7:38- Yep, all the reviews on GooddReads confirm that this book is 90% vapid idiot talking about her vapid self, 8% ruining V.C's stories, 2% retelling of FITA. Eff this.
7:39- Downloaded Henry and Ribsy instead.
I don't know who this ghost writer is, but if he ever does a book signing anywhere near where I live, I'm going to attend and tell him "You have written a bad book and you should feel bad." Won't tell him that I hate him, but right now, I really do hate him.
6:56 AM downloaded the audio version. Listened
7:15 AM- First mention of Christopher. Lasts less than four minutes and it's back to the narrator's life.
7:21- FFS, I don't care about you and your stupid high school romance, you idiot, and I don't want to hear about how "real" or "deep" your love is. You're in goddamned high school.
7:25- Fast forwarding because I don't care about this little...
7:26- (12 minutes in) Will you shut up about how this diary is going to affect you?
7: 28- Are you seriously telling me about your dad cooking eggs? Riveting story telling.
7:29- Listen, I do. Not. *Care*. About some nobody getting together with a new husband minutes after her old husband died. Get to the diary.
7:30- (17 minutes in) When will this girl ever shut up about how life changing reading the diary will be and just read it already?
7:32- This girl will not shut the hell up about how she feels about reading this %&$# diary.
7:36- Ok! That's it! Returning the book and getting my credits back.
7:38- Yep, all the reviews on GooddReads confirm that this book is 90% vapid idiot talking about her vapid self, 8% ruining V.C's stories, 2% retelling of FITA. Eff this.
7:39- Downloaded Henry and Ribsy instead.
I don't know who this ghost writer is, but if he ever does a book signing anywhere near where I live, I'm going to attend and tell him "You have written a bad book and you should feel bad." Won't tell him that I hate him, but right now, I really do hate him.
April 6, 2015
Save yourself the trauma of reading this.
Or if you absolutely must read, borrow the book from the library.
I skimmed about 60% of the book. Because I got sick and tired of listening to some teenage girl (Kristin) and her creepy as hell boyfriend (Kane).
Summary: Basically my thoughts are what the f**k!! And the big reveal in the Epilogue, Pfft whatever!! It just doesn't seem plausible to me.
Virginia Andrews would be rolling in her grave with what the ghost writer has done over the past years. To me it's the same re-hashed story with different titles. And Virginia Andrew's family should be ashamed of themselves that they have let this tripe continue on and on and on!
Just another money grab to cash in I think. Very disappointing!
Or if you absolutely must read, borrow the book from the library.
I skimmed about 60% of the book. Because I got sick and tired of listening to some teenage girl (Kristin) and her creepy as hell boyfriend (Kane).
Summary: Basically my thoughts are what the f**k!! And the big reveal in the Epilogue, Pfft whatever!! It just doesn't seem plausible to me.
Virginia Andrews would be rolling in her grave with what the ghost writer has done over the past years. To me it's the same re-hashed story with different titles. And Virginia Andrew's family should be ashamed of themselves that they have let this tripe continue on and on and on!
Just another money grab to cash in I think. Very disappointing!
February 22, 2015
Not worth your time even for fans of the series. Spoiler at the end: Cory is alive and is having a new house built on the Foxworth land. Now you don't need to read it lol.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 10, 2015
TRIGGER WARNING: The book contains incest and rape. This review does not.
Flowers in the Attic didn't reveal all the secrets of Foxworth. Unless Virginia Andrews included this last secret in her personal papers before she died, we can claim Echoes of Dollanganger's tagline as false.
First, some background: With the FITA telemovie rights sold was the announcement of what some would call a shameless cash-grab of a book deal: two novels about Christopher Dollanganger's diary, to be found by a contemporary teen. These books were supposedly written to invoke feelings of nostalgia in readers, of when they first read FITA. On a scale of the ghost-writer keeping it 100 or weak tea (thank you, The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore), that "nostalgia" reason sounds a lot like weak tea.
But okay, EOD has one Foxworth secret never before revealed. Only it is kind of out. Bittersweet Dreams, an original novel, was pushed back a year or so to enable the author/publisher to capitalise on the renewed FITA popularity. At first, just for the two Christopher's Diary instalments. But then a third book sprung up, to be released this May. Considering its title, and that its summary does NOT name the lead character, it only took me one try to identify whom the book will be about.
EOD's epilogue confirms my theory. We had to wade through TWO ENTIRE BOOKS to get to the secret. Yes, I had a feeling these books would waste time; and they have. ONE book would've been much better. But two books...kind of insulting.
Let's face it: there's nothing of interest going on the contemporary storyline with Kristin Masterwood. She finds the diary, she reads it, she has feelings. That does not make a story.
I suppose you could call Kristin's boyfriend, Kane Hill, plot-worthy. But he sucks. He becomes jealous of the diary, that Kristin would rather spend more time reading it than with Kane. Yes, he's jealous of an inanimate object - CREEP FACTOR #1. And he manipulates Kristin into feeling guilty, so he worms his way into combining the activities (Kane and the diary) by suggesting that he and Kristin read aloud from, and re-enact, scenes from Christopher's diary - CREEP FACTOR #2.
Then he steals strands of Kristin's hair, and takes it to a wigmaker to show the exact shade of blond to make a wig for Kane to better role-play Christopher Dollanganger (with Kristin as Cathy, of course) - CREEP FACTOR #3.
Look, I'm not sure how much creepiness is acceptable in a relationship, but I'm pretty sure that third creep factor on its own would be enough to quit any relationship. Only Kristin doesn't dump him, and they continue role-playing Cathy and Chris until the diary ends.
Meanwhile, Kristin's going around thinking that because of their diary role-play, her relationship with Kane is "deeper" than other people's relationships. I would've said "creepier", but whatevs. (Oh, and if you're looking for a reason why Kane is so into this role-play? There isn't one - not even the VCA staple of "madness". He's just creepy. So there's no epic showdown or anything - it's just boring.)
The ghost-writer deals with the reveal of the final Foxworth secret rather well. What does it say about a book (two books, actually), when the best-written part is the epilogue? Epilogues are usually the worst (maybe "least enjoyable"), so this is actually a welcome reprieve.
Do I intend to continue with V. C. Andrews's releases? I have Fear of Missing Out, so yes. But hopefully they'll be less boring and time-wasting than these two Christopher's Diary entries have been.
Flowers in the Attic didn't reveal all the secrets of Foxworth. Unless Virginia Andrews included this last secret in her personal papers before she died, we can claim Echoes of Dollanganger's tagline as false.
First, some background: With the FITA telemovie rights sold was the announcement of what some would call a shameless cash-grab of a book deal: two novels about Christopher Dollanganger's diary, to be found by a contemporary teen. These books were supposedly written to invoke feelings of nostalgia in readers, of when they first read FITA. On a scale of the ghost-writer keeping it 100 or weak tea (thank you, The Nightly Show with Larry Wilmore), that "nostalgia" reason sounds a lot like weak tea.
But okay, EOD has one Foxworth secret never before revealed. Only it is kind of out. Bittersweet Dreams, an original novel, was pushed back a year or so to enable the author/publisher to capitalise on the renewed FITA popularity. At first, just for the two Christopher's Diary instalments. But then a third book sprung up, to be released this May. Considering its title, and that its summary does NOT name the lead character, it only took me one try to identify whom the book will be about.
EOD's epilogue confirms my theory. We had to wade through TWO ENTIRE BOOKS to get to the secret. Yes, I had a feeling these books would waste time; and they have. ONE book would've been much better. But two books...kind of insulting.
Let's face it: there's nothing of interest going on the contemporary storyline with Kristin Masterwood. She finds the diary, she reads it, she has feelings. That does not make a story.
I suppose you could call Kristin's boyfriend, Kane Hill, plot-worthy. But he sucks. He becomes jealous of the diary, that Kristin would rather spend more time reading it than with Kane. Yes, he's jealous of an inanimate object - CREEP FACTOR #1. And he manipulates Kristin into feeling guilty, so he worms his way into combining the activities (Kane and the diary) by suggesting that he and Kristin read aloud from, and re-enact, scenes from Christopher's diary - CREEP FACTOR #2.
Then he steals strands of Kristin's hair, and takes it to a wigmaker to show the exact shade of blond to make a wig for Kane to better role-play Christopher Dollanganger (with Kristin as Cathy, of course) - CREEP FACTOR #3.
Look, I'm not sure how much creepiness is acceptable in a relationship, but I'm pretty sure that third creep factor on its own would be enough to quit any relationship. Only Kristin doesn't dump him, and they continue role-playing Cathy and Chris until the diary ends.
Meanwhile, Kristin's going around thinking that because of their diary role-play, her relationship with Kane is "deeper" than other people's relationships. I would've said "creepier", but whatevs. (Oh, and if you're looking for a reason why Kane is so into this role-play? There isn't one - not even the VCA staple of "madness". He's just creepy. So there's no epic showdown or anything - it's just boring.)
The ghost-writer deals with the reveal of the final Foxworth secret rather well. What does it say about a book (two books, actually), when the best-written part is the epilogue? Epilogues are usually the worst (maybe "least enjoyable"), so this is actually a welcome reprieve.
Do I intend to continue with V. C. Andrews's releases? I have Fear of Missing Out, so yes. But hopefully they'll be less boring and time-wasting than these two Christopher's Diary entries have been.
August 24, 2015
I was not happy with the way this book played out. I think that the author went too far in their obsession with the diary. The wigs, and the scarf were a bit too much. And for Kristin and Kane to take over the roll of Chris and Cathy, was just too much. And for Kane and Kristin to compare everything in their lives with the attic children was too far. I don't think that this was a well thought out book. I had high expectations for this series, and now I am completely saddened with the thought of all the books being this bad. I hope that the next book is better. I am glad that I was left with a cliffhanger though, that at least makes it worth it to anticipate the next book.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
April 24, 2015
The book was painfully boring. Neiderman (ghostwriter) had the audacity to change a MAJOR part of V.C. Andrew's plot in her FITA series. I am rolling my eyes at Neiderman and his outright disrespect for V.C. Andrews at this point. There will never be another Virginia Andrews. He will always be inferior, and I hope it makes him cry. It's just never okay to change someone else's story line.
February 15, 2015
If I could give this book 0 stars, I would. I have read some terrible books in my day, but this actually might be the worst. I stuck with it because I loved the Flowers in the Attic series when I was younger, and also because I read a review that gave away a big reveal. The big reveal comes on the very last pages and gets no real explanation or attention. The majority of the book is spent with annoying Kristin and Kane, talking about how close she is to her father, how her father doesn't want her to read the diary, and how obsessed with the diary Kane is. Over. And over. And over. The characters of Kristin and Kane are extremely creepy, and not at all interesting. There is almost nothing redeeming about this book. Save your time. I will tell you the big reveal myself and save you the aggravation.
February 18, 2015
Did not enjoy the end. Felt like a slap in the face to all true V.C. Andrews' fans from when she was alive and wrote her own stories. I have always felt that there are certain aspects of her tales that she never meant to be altered and after finishing this book I fear she just may be turning somersaults in her grave at the sheer audacity of the liberties taken by Mr. Neiderman with her characters and story. I'm not going to say what happened because that is one of my biggest literary pet peeves; when someone reveals a huge spoiler as plain as day in a review without any warning whatsoever. But, just be warned, there's something that happens at the end that many will not enjoy and I was one of them.
March 29, 2015
Neiderman must be trying to get the Andrews heirs to fire him.
Those of you who loved these books--have you read the original Dollanganger series?
Current timeline--CREEPY protagonist and CREEPY boyfriend ACT OUT THE DIARY.
Diary timeline--I admit it, I read this entire piece of drivel to see how Neiderman was going to revise history. Chris raping Cathy--still rape, but do much leading up to it is Cathy deliberately "leading him on".
The epilogue? F#@! YOU NEIDERMAN AND F#@! YOU ANDREWS HEIRS. Revising history so that the scene where Cathy reveals what she smelled and found in the attic in Petals on the Wind never happened? F#@! YOU
Those of you who loved these books--have you read the original Dollanganger series?
Current timeline--CREEPY protagonist and CREEPY boyfriend ACT OUT THE DIARY.
Diary timeline--I admit it, I read this entire piece of drivel to see how Neiderman was going to revise history. Chris raping Cathy--still rape, but do much leading up to it is Cathy deliberately "leading him on".
The epilogue? F#@! YOU NEIDERMAN AND F#@! YOU ANDREWS HEIRS. Revising history so that the scene where Cathy reveals what she smelled and found in the attic in Petals on the Wind never happened? F#@! YOU
February 13, 2015
Horrible!
December 19, 2022
I am really giving this a 3.5 rating. This was slightly better than the first book. Guess I will read the next book.
June 22, 2015
So continues the saga of Kristin Masterwood's pursuit to over analyze every entry in Christopher Dollanganger's diary. But in this edition, we have a new player joining in: her boyfriend, Kane Hill. Perhaps all of this sounds a bit harsh, but trust me, I am just getting started.
Kane and Kristin begin their adventures into idiocy and crazy town with a journey up to Kristin's attic. Apparently, in this book, Kristin is responsible for keeping the attic pristine, despite having said it was her father in the previous book. Though they swear to stay away from making the reading of the diary into a play or book report, they spend an awful lot of time playing dress up. If you think I'm kidding, I'm not. Kane even goes as far as to purchase a wig that matches Kristin's hair (and even stole hair from her brush to do it. Creepy!) and forces Kristin to pull her hair back with a scarf.
As they delve deeper and deeper into the diary, Kane changes from the cocky, but overall good guy, into some shell of himself. Not only does he pretend to be Christopher in the attic, but he sometimes acts as if he's possessed (or haunted) by the spirit of him. But in truth, he's just some crazy asshat that Kristin has falling in love with. Despite the warning bells going off in her head every time he's in her house, she not only proceeds to date him, but even gives up her virginity.
Speaking of Kristin's virginity, I had wanted to make a snarky comment about her constantly referring to it as "Crossing the Rio Grande." However, I was far too stunned about when she lost it that I now have a bigger cross to bear. While I understand she's attracted to Kane and oddly not put off by his fantasizing about his hot sister, who the hell thinks because you read about someone losing their virginity, it's a sexy moment to throw down your V card and burn it?
Yes, you read that correctly. As Kane and Kristin discover how Christopher forcibly took his sister's virginity (i.e. rape), they decide this is the time to get down and dirty. Of course, I'm not surprised it happened. After all, he practically tries to talk her into it every time they are alone. Although he swears he's a virgin and he can wait (if he's a virgin, I'm the President of the United States), she ironically winds up partially or fully naked a lot. But come the freak on. Why would you want to coordinate your first time with the knowledge of finding out your incestuous distant whatever (they still haven't revealed her exact relationship to the family) raped his little sister when they were being imprisoned in an attic and slowly poisoned to death? Oh yeah, I guess I missed that chapter in the Joys of Sex.
And on to the last thing I feel the need to rant about. I decided to look ahead to see how far into the diary they get by the end of the book (in regards to the original story from Flowers in the Attic) and after scouring several of the last chapters and seeing no signs of the diary, my eyes fell upon a spoiler. Apparently the Dollanganger children didn't suffer enough. In fact, according to this book, their suffering was completely in vain. Because even though their mother locked them away and threw away the key. Even though she poisoned them. The villain is made out to be Olivia Foxworth because she fooled Corrine into believing Corey had died. Basically this ghost writer wants everyone to feel sorry for Corrine (Sorry, it didn't work) and even more sympathy for the fact the children had been tricked far worst than their imprisonment. Yes, that's right. Poor little Corey is alive and kicking and moving back to the Foxworth estate.
You know, I have so many other comments to make about this revelation, but honestly, I can't be bothered. The original series wasn't all that, but Kristin's story and the truth about Corey ruined any possible way a reader could enjoy this book. Do not read this unless you can deal with countless hours of teenagers psychoanalyzing a diary that is clearly only a few dozen pages long and yet, they are incapable of reading more than one entry at a time. If it takes a literary character over two weeks to read that little, then you probably should save yourself the headache and avoid this book.
Kane and Kristin begin their adventures into idiocy and crazy town with a journey up to Kristin's attic. Apparently, in this book, Kristin is responsible for keeping the attic pristine, despite having said it was her father in the previous book. Though they swear to stay away from making the reading of the diary into a play or book report, they spend an awful lot of time playing dress up. If you think I'm kidding, I'm not. Kane even goes as far as to purchase a wig that matches Kristin's hair (and even stole hair from her brush to do it. Creepy!) and forces Kristin to pull her hair back with a scarf.
As they delve deeper and deeper into the diary, Kane changes from the cocky, but overall good guy, into some shell of himself. Not only does he pretend to be Christopher in the attic, but he sometimes acts as if he's possessed (or haunted) by the spirit of him. But in truth, he's just some crazy asshat that Kristin has falling in love with. Despite the warning bells going off in her head every time he's in her house, she not only proceeds to date him, but even gives up her virginity.
Speaking of Kristin's virginity, I had wanted to make a snarky comment about her constantly referring to it as "Crossing the Rio Grande." However, I was far too stunned about when she lost it that I now have a bigger cross to bear. While I understand she's attracted to Kane and oddly not put off by his fantasizing about his hot sister, who the hell thinks because you read about someone losing their virginity, it's a sexy moment to throw down your V card and burn it?
Yes, you read that correctly. As Kane and Kristin discover how Christopher forcibly took his sister's virginity (i.e. rape), they decide this is the time to get down and dirty. Of course, I'm not surprised it happened. After all, he practically tries to talk her into it every time they are alone. Although he swears he's a virgin and he can wait (if he's a virgin, I'm the President of the United States), she ironically winds up partially or fully naked a lot. But come the freak on. Why would you want to coordinate your first time with the knowledge of finding out your incestuous distant whatever (they still haven't revealed her exact relationship to the family) raped his little sister when they were being imprisoned in an attic and slowly poisoned to death? Oh yeah, I guess I missed that chapter in the Joys of Sex.
And on to the last thing I feel the need to rant about. I decided to look ahead to see how far into the diary they get by the end of the book (in regards to the original story from Flowers in the Attic) and after scouring several of the last chapters and seeing no signs of the diary, my eyes fell upon a spoiler. Apparently the Dollanganger children didn't suffer enough. In fact, according to this book, their suffering was completely in vain. Because even though their mother locked them away and threw away the key. Even though she poisoned them. The villain is made out to be Olivia Foxworth because she fooled Corrine into believing Corey had died. Basically this ghost writer wants everyone to feel sorry for Corrine (Sorry, it didn't work) and even more sympathy for the fact the children had been tricked far worst than their imprisonment. Yes, that's right. Poor little Corey is alive and kicking and moving back to the Foxworth estate.
You know, I have so many other comments to make about this revelation, but honestly, I can't be bothered. The original series wasn't all that, but Kristin's story and the truth about Corey ruined any possible way a reader could enjoy this book. Do not read this unless you can deal with countless hours of teenagers psychoanalyzing a diary that is clearly only a few dozen pages long and yet, they are incapable of reading more than one entry at a time. If it takes a literary character over two weeks to read that little, then you probably should save yourself the headache and avoid this book.
October 9, 2016
I have to say I enjoyed reading this and the ending couldn't have been done better. I can't wait to read the next book and while I understand all the people that are upset about what they call ruining VC's original work how do you know it didn't really happen this way. How do you know that these aren't really notes that the ghost writers are working from and whose to say that Cory didn't live and grow up to be the only one who got to have happiness. We know the grandmother was crazy enough to put fake bones into a trunk and that Corrine was just as messed up. I'm a very big fan of the series and I don't think these new additions hurt it in anyway they simply add some more twists and turns to an already fascinating and disturbing story of what sadly somewhere is someone's reality.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
February 25, 2015
I didn't like this one as much as the first one. Kane ruined it for me. I don't think he should have been involved in reading the diary with Kristen.
I didn't like the way he acted with Kristen either. It seemed like at the end he really did care about her, but not so much to me throughout the book.
I will read the next one to see what happens.
I would like to know more about their family history and I just love Kristin's dad. It would be cool to read and his and her moms life before she died.
I loved/love Flowers in the Attic. I'm going to have to go back and read that series again :-)
I didn't like the way he acted with Kristen either. It seemed like at the end he really did care about her, but not so much to me throughout the book.
I will read the next one to see what happens.
I would like to know more about their family history and I just love Kristin's dad. It would be cool to read and his and her moms life before she died.
I loved/love Flowers in the Attic. I'm going to have to go back and read that series again :-)
May 6, 2015
Yikes. I picked this up at the library since I read the FITA series as a kid and was fascinated. It's been quite a few years since I've read them and have forgotten a good bit, so I didn't have quite the visceral reaction of horror that many reviewers seem to have had. Still, aside from the lack of conflict and the truly creepy, sexual role-playing-yet-virginal couple, the thing I found most annoying was the dialog between Kristin and Kane. No teenager I've ever met talks like that. Puh-leeze.
I skimmed the vast majority of this book with the Charlie Brown teacher echoing in my head "Wah, wah, wah." Won't make the mistake of picking up any more of these books!
I skimmed the vast majority of this book with the Charlie Brown teacher echoing in my head "Wah, wah, wah." Won't make the mistake of picking up any more of these books!
October 18, 2016
Okay, that was painful. I mean, the first one was amazing; this was meh to say the least. Kane's character constantly grinded me and Kristin became tiresome. The only parts I even remotely liked were Christopher's Diary entries. It's a shame because I loved book one, but now I can't say I'll bother about book 3 anytime soon.
February 20, 2015
Very disappointing, even the "shock" revelation at the end couldn't save it.
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