I forst read this book age 12 and to date it still remains my favourite of all time. I have re-read this book countless times over the years and can still picture every charachter in my head as they are so well described. The story begins with the tale of 4 children in a loving happy home in suburban America. Tragedy ensues and the children are forced to live with their grandparents, however their grandfather must never know they were born. The 4 children Chris, Cathy, Carrie and Cory live for many years inside the airless attic and the story explains how they grow and the difficulties they face, not only by living in one room together with only an airless attic to play but also how they react to one another in such a terrible situation. The relationship between the children and their mother, who is living a life of luxury within the mansion, whilst they are confined, is very interesting as at the start they are full of hope that one day they will venture downstairs when their grandfather dies and their mother can inherit. Over time the relationship changes and the children begin to lose hope in their mother whilst the older children become parental figures for the youngest. I would recommend this book 100% and it is actually based upon a true story. Read this book first, followed by the 3 sequels Petals on The Wind, If There Be Thorns and Seeds of Yesterday which take the family through many years to adulthood. Then Garden of Shadows the prequel which in my opinion contains the biggest shock of all and completes the series perfectly. Whilst Virginia Andrews books, from Flowers, to the Heaven Series (Casteel) are finely written and re-readable as well as the only book not to form part of a set (My Sweet Audrina), when Virginia Andrews died in 1986, her ghostwriter, although following the same vein in additional stories, he never manages to quite capture Andrews brilliance and therefore I would recommend Flowers, Heaven and My Sweet Audrina as the first books to read.
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Advantages: Harsh insight into selfish, selfless, obsessive & paranoid behaviour; affects and effects. Disadvantages: Interesting story, dreadfully written. Sorry! Monotonously repetitive, packed with cliches - not my 'cup-of-tea' at all.
Advantages: Continuing the monumental Flowers in the Attic, Petals on the Wind is a formidable sequel that is definitely worth picking up and reading through the night! Disadvantages: Cathy's strange ability to ruin everyone who loves her. You may well get annoyed with her!
Advantages: You won't be able to stop reading, gripping, great plot, beautiful imagery. Disadvantages: You won't be able to stop reading, could find Cathy's decisions a bit frustrating at times.
Advantages: A horrwing yet compelling read, almost as good as the first book in the series Disadvantages: Some parts of the story didn't flow well, can be upsetting
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