5 Notes on my VC Andrews Challenge progress** contains spoilers!
Book number 2 of the Dollanganger series, Petals on the Wind, in which Cathy grows up and seeks revenge on the mother who imprisoned her and her 2 brothers and sister in the attic of her grandmother's humongous mansion.
1. Cathy's full name is Catherine Leigh Foxworth Sheffield Marquet Sheffield Sheffield. That's Foxworth for her parents (who were related by blood), Sheffield for the doctor who adopted her, Marquet for the dancer she married, Sheffield for the doctor she married (the same man who adopted her), and Sheffield for the second doctor she married (who was also her brother, the first man she ever slept with).
With all of that fantastic backstory, my only comment is..."Catherine Leigh..." Really? That's MY name!
2. Cathy's dream was to become a rich and famous prima ballerina, neglecting the reality that there is no such thing as a rich ballerina - until they leave the business and marry well. No Nike endorsements, no commercial investments, no rise to the top power trip, not even if they parlayed their skills into owning a company of their own - which is even less lucrative than being a dancer. Still, the author will have us believe that such a thing is possible.
And with all of that fantastic backstory, my only comment is..."Catherine Leigh" who studies ballet... Really? That's MY name and MY career (except for the prima, rich, and famous parts)!
3. The ending of this book was pure spectacle - so over-the-top, so soap operaish, I could barely stop myself from devouring the pages. Four men in her life die? Father, first husband, lover (who was her mother's husband and father to her baby), and second husband (and technically her stepfather).
But no, it doesn't end there. She and her new and improved third husband - her brother! - raise her two children as their own. Augh, I think I'm blind from reading this!
And...and...wait for it...she has the attic prepped for the inevitable moment in her life when she must step into her mother's high-heeled boots and shove her kids away when they (or others) begin to ask too many questions.
4. More, more, more! I can't wait for the next book.
5. I wonder if I could ever write something like this without breaking out into hives or being committed to a mental institution.
