Helpful Score: 4
I read this book when I moved away from home for the first time as a rebellious move. My mom always forbid me from reading VC Andrews when I was little and a teenager (though I was reading Jude Deveraux at age 10). It really wasn't as scandalous as I'd thought it would be...though it was scandalous. I tried to continue reading the series, but I couldn't get into it, and I thought the storyline was gratuitous.
Elaine (CrochetFaery) -
Helpful Score: 3
I love all of V C Andrews books, but my favorite will always be her first one "Flowers in the Attic". It's dark, it's gripping, it's suspenseful and I couldn't put the book down until I had read the last page!!!
Helpful Score: 3
Good trashy fun. You have incest, children held prisoner in an attic, a demonic grandmother - what more could you want.
Helpful Score: 1
This is great book loved it!
Helpful Score: 1
What to say about Flowers in the Attic, a book that's been written about multiple times....
It is the first in one of many series of books authored by V.C. Andrews, and since this series was written by Andrews and not her infamous ghostwriter, it is better, although it will never be mistaken for fine literature.
To sum up the story: four beautiful children live with their equally beautiful parents. When the father dies, the mother has no means of supporting herself, and throws herself on the mercy of her rich parents, who disowned her for marrying her half-uncle.
Because the children are the result of an incestuous relationship (although nothing is wrong with them) they are hidden away in an attic of the large mansion until the Grandfather, who doesn't know of their existence, dies.....or so they presume....
Yes, there is incest in here. It is not written erotically, but it's there and part of the storyline.
Although these days the books are being marketed toward younger readers, and despite having a young hero/heroine, the books are decidedly of adult subject matter.
This is book 1 of the 5 Dollanganger book series.
It is the first in one of many series of books authored by V.C. Andrews, and since this series was written by Andrews and not her infamous ghostwriter, it is better, although it will never be mistaken for fine literature.
To sum up the story: four beautiful children live with their equally beautiful parents. When the father dies, the mother has no means of supporting herself, and throws herself on the mercy of her rich parents, who disowned her for marrying her half-uncle.
Because the children are the result of an incestuous relationship (although nothing is wrong with them) they are hidden away in an attic of the large mansion until the Grandfather, who doesn't know of their existence, dies.....or so they presume....
Yes, there is incest in here. It is not written erotically, but it's there and part of the storyline.
Although these days the books are being marketed toward younger readers, and despite having a young hero/heroine, the books are decidedly of adult subject matter.
This is book 1 of the 5 Dollanganger book series.
Rachel R. (tangledgarlands) reviewed Flowers in the Attic (Dollangagers, Bk 1) on + 28 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
dark and twisted like you wouldnt believe. one would almost expect this book to be too depressing to read - and at times, it really is. but the characters and situations are SO compelling that you get completely caught up in them. the middle drags a little, but by the end i could not put it down, and ended up being awake until nearly three in the morning, determined to finish. one of my absolute favorites, i just cannot say enough good things about this book.
Helpful Score: 1
My favorite book of all time!
Audrey P. (youngharris94) reviewed Flowers in the Attic (Dollangagers, Bk 1) on + 60 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
This is the book that got me hooked on the entire series of books by V. C. Andrews! Better have a lot of time on your hands when you pick this one up!
Amy W. (suspenseprincess) reviewed Flowers in the Attic (Dollangagers, Bk 1) on + 51 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
very intriging story.
Helpful Score: 1
classic thriller
Helpful Score: 1
This is a very good book for a light read. Flowers in the attic is one of my favorite V.C. Andrews books. A story of four innocent children, lock away from the world by a selfish mother..
Helpful Score: 1
This story line is very chilling.....great book.
Mary Elaine L. (Laney) reviewed Flowers in the Attic (Dollangagers, Bk 1) on + 911 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
A disturbing read.
Sheena H. (dreamingofsummer) reviewed Flowers in the Attic (Dollangagers, Bk 1) on + 162 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
Excellent!
Angela L. (Angela10angel) reviewed Flowers in the Attic (Dollangagers, Bk 1) on + 28 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
Total guilty pleasure, loved it! Read it all in 2 days. =)
Helpful Score: 1
This is and always has been my favorite book. I have probably read it 100 times. I really miss these "old school" VC Andrews books before she passed away.
Helpful Score: 1
my mother recommend this book to me one day and it was the same book she had back in the day when VC Andrews was still alive. I got totally hooked on Flowers in the Attic.
Flowers in the Attic makes you feel like your in the story and its very hard to put the book down once you started.
Flowers in the Attic makes you feel like your in the story and its very hard to put the book down once you started.
Helpful Score: 1
I didn't want to like this book. It isn't the type of thing I normally read- not even close. Yet I devoured it in one afternoon. The relationships between the siblings was- dare I say it?- believable. I think I may just read the rest of the series. Sometimes you read to learn, and sometimes you read just to shake your head. This book accomplished the latter. The prose was purple but in the good way.
Robin C. (robincarlton74) reviewed Flowers in the Attic (Dollangagers, Bk 1) on + 10 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
I remember when I was very young my mother and her friends talking about this book. When I found a copy I just had to get it and read it.
It is one of the best books I have read. It gripped my heart. I cried. It is heart wrenching in so many places you will want to strangle the grandmother and slap the mother.
It is one of the best books I have read. It gripped my heart. I cried. It is heart wrenching in so many places you will want to strangle the grandmother and slap the mother.
Nancy A. (alldredge) - , reviewed Flowers in the Attic (Dollangagers, Bk 1) on + 2 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
This is a good book! I'm not a big horror lover, but this book was well written and very intriguing. I highly recommend it!
Helpful Score: 1
Sooooo slooooooow. I borrowed this book from a good friend who loved the series, but I just couldn't get into it.
Mikaela J. (mikaelashea) reviewed Flowers in the Attic (Dollangagers, Bk 1) on + 5 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
I have read this book at least five times. It is one of my favorite books of all time. The writing is great and the story line is eerie and heart wrenching. I couldn't put it down when I read it all those times and I've never been able to forget about it. I've never read anything besides this series, mostly because I'm not interested in reading books by the man who now writes under V.C. Andrews' name, but I would recommend this series to anyone. My aunt first gave me it to read in 5th grade, which is probably too young, but I loved it then and I love it today!
Diane G. (icesk8tr) -
Helpful Score: 1
This was the start of many to come VC Andrews books! I think this first series was the best!
Helpful Score: 1
in a macabre way, it was very hard to put down. I have read this book numerous times and still can't get enough!
Helpful Score: 1
My very favorite VC Andrews book!! The way those kids overcome a really bad situation is awesome!
Lyndsey N. (crunchymomof3) reviewed Flowers in the Attic (Dollangagers, Bk 1) on + 9 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
My favorite book out of all of V.C. Andrews' works.
Helpful Score: 1
I read this entire series as a young teenager. At the time I found them thrilling but disturbing. I've never read anything else V.C. Andrews has done -- I never felt the urge. But with this series, something about it captivated me and I ended up reading them all. I enjoyed them when I read them (which was a couple of times; a few years inbetween readings), I truly did. But now, they're a little too creepy for me (and I'm a gore and blood horror fan!). I suppose they're marketed for the pre-teen and teenage crowd, but I wouldn't consider them appropriate for a younger, more impressionable age group (incest aside, there are other equally disturbing issues in these books). But for older teens or adults who enjoy very strange and darker type stories, this whole series is for you.
Helpful Score: 1
Excellent tale, one of Andrews' first I believe of siblings in a frightening situation.
Helpful Score: 1
For me, this was a page turner. I read it in two days, staying up until 3:00 a.m. to finish it the second day. I found the storyline to be very interesting. I was amazed at the childrens' handling of the situations they were put in byt their mother. Although I was pretty sure I knew the direction the author was taking us, I was still shocked by the mother's treatment of her children.The subject matter of incest is handled briefly and without being explicit. I would recommend this book to adult readers.
Helpful Score: 1
Read this whole series when I was in middle school. Really got me interested in reading and reading more.
Would highly recommend for similar age. I may have to go back and read as an adult and see if enjoyable as an adult or just young adult. Not sure there.
I will note - the subject matter may not be acceptable to all families. I would be ok with my children reading, but I can understand some people's apprehension.
But if you are looking for something to get a girl reading - this is a good series.
Would highly recommend for similar age. I may have to go back and read as an adult and see if enjoyable as an adult or just young adult. Not sure there.
I will note - the subject matter may not be acceptable to all families. I would be ok with my children reading, but I can understand some people's apprehension.
But if you are looking for something to get a girl reading - this is a good series.
Helpful Score: 1
I will never forget where I was when heard about this series or how I felt about the books. I read them my sophomore year in high school 81-82, and again my junior year and I got these from a used book store for my daughters to read. These books are the best! I was so depressed when I found out that my beloved V.C. Andrews had passed on!
Helpful Score: 1
Not bad, but rather immaturely written. The language was very flowery, it reminded me a lot fo a romance novel (though I've only read a few of those). Seems like it could have taken half the number of pages to tell this story. But, then again, it's a classic, so who am I to complain?
Helpful Score: 1
This was a good book it got me hooked on the series
Helpful Score: 1
I am a huge V.C. Andrews fan, and I loved this series from the very beginning.
Helpful Score: 1
I first read this book as a teenager, fairly new to romantic fiction / horror. This is truly a gripping, haunting saga. A must read!!
This book is the story of 4 children, Chris, Cathy, and Carrie who was born into a happy family, that gets by perfectly fine, until one day when their father died in a horrible accident that left them all penniless due to the debt left by their father. Follow after his death, deep secrets started to unfold
Cathy, the book's protagonist, narrates throughout. She is only twelve when the children are taken to Foxworth Hall, their grandparents' great estate after a tragedy strikes the family. She, her brother Chris and twins Cory and Carrie are locked in one room for over three years and have only a massive attic as their playground.
Their grandparents believe they should have never been born and so they are kept locked away, hoping that one day they will be set free. Their mother, who once loved them well, soon goes about her own life and neglects them, so Chris and Cathy go through adolescence with only each other to turn to while being father and mother to the twins.
Later they find that their mother will do almost anything to inherit the vast fortune of the Foxworths, including sentencing her own children to a horrible fate.
To those who find this book a bit hard to read - the next book "Petals on the Wind" is considered to be the best book in the series. I would suggest reading it before you totally give up.
Their grandparents believe they should have never been born and so they are kept locked away, hoping that one day they will be set free. Their mother, who once loved them well, soon goes about her own life and neglects them, so Chris and Cathy go through adolescence with only each other to turn to while being father and mother to the twins.
Later they find that their mother will do almost anything to inherit the vast fortune of the Foxworths, including sentencing her own children to a horrible fate.
To those who find this book a bit hard to read - the next book "Petals on the Wind" is considered to be the best book in the series. I would suggest reading it before you totally give up.
Hazel H. (TypicalYankGirl) reviewed Flowers in the Attic (Dollangagers, Bk 1) on + 13 more book reviews
This was the first one of V.C. Andrews books I ever read, and it was the start of a twenty year reading of all of the books by this writer I could find.
Connie N. (Luv2PlaGmz) -
The first in a long list of books by V.C. Andrews. A story of 4 children locked away in the attic of an overbearing Grandmother and their own selfish Mother.
This was the only book I was forbidden to read as a teenager, and since the new Lifetime movie was coming out this year I decided to finally read it. I'd seen the older movie version with Kristy Swanson and liked it and until recently was not aware of the level of incest in the book. Despite this, I found the book quite good. It goes without saying that the book is based on very dark themes (child abuse, death, incest, etc) but it does draw you in. Make no mistakes though, this really is a piece of fluff fiction and nothing more.
I had never read any of V.C Andrews books before and can not wait to read more of her work. I was so drawn in by the actions of a mother and grandmother I couldn't put this book down. I even looked into the story that this book is based on a true story; what I found shows there is no proof it's a true story and by the contents and actions of the characters I pray it's not. I am now waiting for the movie from Netflix. This is a must read.
An old book, but really the beginning of an amazing series. The plot, the tension, even the illicit budding love. It's really a tragic tale of stolen youth.
enjoyed the series.
Nicole (tiffwitch69) -
read this years ago, now its time to read again. love her books
This brought back memories - I remember watching the movie in the 80's - it is compelling.
All across America and around the world, millions of readers have been captivated by this strange, dark, terriifying tale of passion and peril in the lives of four innocent children, locked away from the world by a selfish mother.
I thought this was a really good book. Great read for teenagers.
I thought this was a really good book. Great read for teenagers.
I read this entire series as a young teenager. At the time I found them thrilling but disturbing. I've never read anything else V.C. Andrews has done -- I never felt the urge. But with this series, something about it captivated me and I ended up reading them all. I enjoyed them when I read them (which was a couple of times; a few years inbetween readings), I truly did. But now, they're a little too creepy for me (and I'm a gore and blood horror fan!). I suppose they're marketed for the pre-teen and teenage crowd, but I wouldn't consider them appropriate for a younger, more impressionable age group (incest aside, there are other equally disturbing issues in these books). But for older teens or adults who enjoy very strange and darker type stories, this whole series is for you.
very disturbing, but couldn't really get into it. hope it picks up in the second book.
Great book! So much better than the movie!
Righteous anger....innocent fear...because the grandmother's wrath had not yet materialized, Chris and I had grown careless. We were not always modest in the bedroom. It was difficult to live, day in, day out, and always keep the intimate places of our bodies secret from the other sex. And to be perfectly honest, none of us cared very much who saw what. We should have cared. We should have been careful. We should have kept the memory of Momma's bloody welted back sharply before us, and never, never have forgotten. A key turned in the door lock. Swiftly I tried to put the dress over my head and pull it down before she came in. But she had seen me naked; it was those glittering, gray stone eyes. "So!" the grandmother spat, "I have caught you at last....Sinners! You think you look pretty? You think those new young curves are attractive? You like that long golden hair that you brush and curl?" She smiled then. The most frightening smile I ever saw....
DARRELL S. (darrellsnodgrass) reviewed Flowers in the Attic (Dollangagers, Bk 1) on + 67 more book reviews
Flowers in the Attic is my favorite V.C. Andrews book. It's hard to believe how cruel and twisted a family can be. I let my imagination run wild with how enormous the house was and the extent of the attic. The book's darkness really makes it into the reason the story is so luring.
This is a great book. What the dollanger children went through was horrific and their grandmother was truly evil. Anyone who likes drama/suspense books will definately like this book. Read it, you won't be sorry.
Kathryn C. (Hellraiser) reviewed Flowers in the Attic (Dollangagers, Bk 1) on + 110 more book reviews
Before the publisher went overboard with this series, this was a decent psychological thriller that could stand on its own merit.
For some reason, this is still one of my favorite books. It is one of the books that got me to love reading. Its the story of a once happy family that turns into horror when the dad dies and they are forced into living with their grandmother. The children don't understand why the grandmother hates them or why they are forced to live in the attic. Slowly they come to realize that grandmother is not the only evil in the house.
This book was really good. I read the whole series when i was ten and the characters are unforgetable...
1st in Dollanganger series. My favorite V.C. Andrews book.
A total waste of time!!!
A popular favorite. If you like V C Andrews writing, then you'll love this one.
Much like a train wreck, it's disturbing, it scars you for life (especially if your young when you "see" it), horrible, and yet you are powerless to turn away.
all across america and around the world, millions of readers have been captivated by this strange, dark, terrifying tale of passion and peril in the lives of four innocent children, locked away from the world by a selfish mother.
A strange, dark, terrifying tale of passion and peril in the lives of four innocent children, locked away from the world by a selfish mother. The novel that began V.C.Andrews career.
Amanda H. (willowxand25) reviewed Flowers in the Attic (Dollangagers, Bk 1) on + 111 more book reviews
Dollanger Series Book #1
The four Dollanganger children had such perfect lives a beautiful mother, a doting father, a lovely home. Then Daddy was killed in a car accident, and Momma could no longer support the family. So she began writing letters to her parents, her millionaire parents, whom the children had never heard of before.
Momma tells the children all about their rich grandparents, and how Chris and Cathy and the twins will live like princes and princesses in their grandparents' fancy mansion. The children are only too delighted by the prospect. But there are a few things that Momma hasn't told them.
She hasn't told them that their grandmother considers them "devil's spawn" who should never have been born. She hasn't told them that she has to hide them from their grandfather if she wants to inherit his fortune. She hasn't told them that they are to be locked away in an abandoned wing of the house with only the dark, airless attic to play in. But, Momma promises, it's only for a few days....
Then the days stretch into months, and the months into years. Desperately isolated, terrified of their grandmother, and increasingly convinced that their mother no longer cares about them, Chris and Cathy become all things to the twins and to each other. They cling to their love as their only hope, their only strength a love that is almost stronger than death.
The four Dollanganger children had such perfect lives a beautiful mother, a doting father, a lovely home. Then Daddy was killed in a car accident, and Momma could no longer support the family. So she began writing letters to her parents, her millionaire parents, whom the children had never heard of before.
Momma tells the children all about their rich grandparents, and how Chris and Cathy and the twins will live like princes and princesses in their grandparents' fancy mansion. The children are only too delighted by the prospect. But there are a few things that Momma hasn't told them.
She hasn't told them that their grandmother considers them "devil's spawn" who should never have been born. She hasn't told them that she has to hide them from their grandfather if she wants to inherit his fortune. She hasn't told them that they are to be locked away in an abandoned wing of the house with only the dark, airless attic to play in. But, Momma promises, it's only for a few days....
Then the days stretch into months, and the months into years. Desperately isolated, terrified of their grandmother, and increasingly convinced that their mother no longer cares about them, Chris and Cathy become all things to the twins and to each other. They cling to their love as their only hope, their only strength a love that is almost stronger than death.
I read this in HS (read: many yrs ago lol) b/c a friend was a big VC Andrews fan. Excellent story.
my favorite book, amazing series! couldnt put it down
Amanda G. (Amandelightful) reviewed Flowers in the Attic (Dollangagers, Bk 1) on + 4 more book reviews
V.C.Andrews book that got me to be a fan 5 years ago.
I admit I still buy the new ones as they come out but they don't compare to her earlier books she wrote herself when she was alive. And this book I read atleast 3 times And I remember it pretty well.
Its a very good series.
I admit I still buy the new ones as they come out but they don't compare to her earlier books she wrote herself when she was alive. And this book I read atleast 3 times And I remember it pretty well.
Its a very good series.
This is book 1 of a four book boxed set. If necessary, I will break the set, but would prefer to have all 4 go at once.
Anthoney D. (AntGiant3000) - reviewed Flowers in the Attic (Dollangagers, Bk 1) on + 159 more book reviews
Only read it once, an older book in super shape.
This is part of the VC Andrews Dollanganger series. It is a little worn
on the cover but is still in good condition.
on the cover but is still in good condition.
