I have been reading V.C Andrews for over 20 years. In fact, my first "adult" book I picked out when I was 11 years old was V.C Andrews' book Heaven, the first in the Casteel series. So, needless to say, my expectations were high, and my hopes were even higher.
Jordan March is your typical 6 year old girl, except she lives in a very large and beautiful mansion that is lorded over by her grandmother. Her mother, father, and brother, Ian, also live there along with her. Suddenly, Jordan's life turns upside down when at that young age she gets her first menstrual cycle. Her mother, in fear that her grandmother will think she is a freak, hides it from her while her father buries his head in a hole pretending it didn't happen. Her grandmother, however, soon finds out and takes over her medical treatment to help stunt the hormonal imbalance.
Shortly into the book, Jordan's mother finds out that her father has been having an affair with a woman and she calls for a divorce. Her grandmother, not having that in the slightest, goes to talk with her mother and she agrees after several veiled threats to end the divorce proceedings. During that time where her parents were supposedly patching things up, they are in a terrible car accident on their way home, finding out Jordan's brother, Ian, was molesting her.
No it doesn't get any happier.
After her parents are both taken to the hospital, her father paralyzed, her mother in a coma brain damaged, Jordan and Ian are sent back to the mansion with a nanny, who is a terrible and nasty woman further damaging poor Jordan in nightmarish ways that are reminiscent to old nun horror stories.
It still doesn't get any happier.
Ian, who I figured out to be a total sociopath, throws a hissy fit and poisons the nanny with strychnine while she sleeps therefore getting sent away to a home for the juvenile criminally insane.
That's about all I can say story wise without giving away where this book in the series ends. However, I'd like to add a few things before you think about reading this book; this book deals with child sexuality both with Jordan going through puberty and being molested by two different people, like with all of the V.C Andrews books there is no happy ending and probably never will be, and it's written by a ghost writer since the woman died, well, years ago.
I have read some critics getting in a tizzy over the child sexuality thing but a point to make here again is that all of her books have dealt with this before in some way or another. Maybe not so blatantly or so young, but it's been there. So, if you are a little faint of heart about this subject matter I don't recommend this author at all. Flowers in the Attic was a good example of this. Heads up, in the end of that particular series, Cathy marries her brother Chris and has children with him so I don't exactly see what the fuss is about here. If you can stomach that, you can stomach this.
Jordan March is your typical 6 year old girl, except she lives in a very large and beautiful mansion that is lorded over by her grandmother. Her mother, father, and brother, Ian, also live there along with her. Suddenly, Jordan's life turns upside down when at that young age she gets her first menstrual cycle. Her mother, in fear that her grandmother will think she is a freak, hides it from her while her father buries his head in a hole pretending it didn't happen. Her grandmother, however, soon finds out and takes over her medical treatment to help stunt the hormonal imbalance.
Shortly into the book, Jordan's mother finds out that her father has been having an affair with a woman and she calls for a divorce. Her grandmother, not having that in the slightest, goes to talk with her mother and she agrees after several veiled threats to end the divorce proceedings. During that time where her parents were supposedly patching things up, they are in a terrible car accident on their way home, finding out Jordan's brother, Ian, was molesting her.
No it doesn't get any happier.
After her parents are both taken to the hospital, her father paralyzed, her mother in a coma brain damaged, Jordan and Ian are sent back to the mansion with a nanny, who is a terrible and nasty woman further damaging poor Jordan in nightmarish ways that are reminiscent to old nun horror stories.
It still doesn't get any happier.
Ian, who I figured out to be a total sociopath, throws a hissy fit and poisons the nanny with strychnine while she sleeps therefore getting sent away to a home for the juvenile criminally insane.
That's about all I can say story wise without giving away where this book in the series ends. However, I'd like to add a few things before you think about reading this book; this book deals with child sexuality both with Jordan going through puberty and being molested by two different people, like with all of the V.C Andrews books there is no happy ending and probably never will be, and it's written by a ghost writer since the woman died, well, years ago.
I have read some critics getting in a tizzy over the child sexuality thing but a point to make here again is that all of her books have dealt with this before in some way or another. Maybe not so blatantly or so young, but it's been there. So, if you are a little faint of heart about this subject matter I don't recommend this author at all. Flowers in the Attic was a good example of this. Heads up, in the end of that particular series, Cathy marries her brother Chris and has children with him so I don't exactly see what the fuss is about here. If you can stomach that, you can stomach this.
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