* contains spoilers!
Book one HAD to be "Flowers in the Attic," the book that started it all. Four kids, an attic, a nasty grandmother, incest...wow, this one has everything you could want.
I can't possibly do as thorough an analysis as the fabulous Taren over at Chick Manifesto, so I'll just have to give you my own random thoughts.
1. Andrews rivals Stephenie Meyer in the number of times she calls a man good-looking, in this case, the kids' deceased father who died much too young and was much too good. I understand these are teen girl voices we're talking about but seriously, not all teens see the world in terms of black and white. They see lots of shades of grey.
2. I would love to see a layout of the Foxworth estate. I cannot imagine the immense size of the place that children running around (or a young girl screaming!) would not be heard.
3. The mother is an absolute beast! My god, stowing your kids in an attic, running off with a new husband, poisoning the children with the help of your own mother! Despicable. Yet so very good for dramatic tension.
4. The relationship between Chris and Cathy (and between Cathy and her father!) was weird from day freakin' one. Sorry but it's true. There were some weird vibes going on before they were even out of their house. Plus Cathy seemed to take an inordinate interest in her parents' relationship - she was as jealous as a lover! And Pops treated her like a little girlfriend not a daughter. Man, the stage was set for weirdness from the beginning.
I am waiting for the next installment -"Petals on the Wind"- to arrive from the library. According to Taren, this should be the book where Cathy grows up and possibly confronts her mother (god, I hope so!). The tension is killing me!
And now that you know about Cathy and Chris, how incredibly creepy is this new cover design? Eww...
