Mary's Review: Flowers in the Attic by V.C. Andrews

It's hardly a surprise that V.C. Andrews was a painter before her foray into the world of fiction. Her prose is ornate and flowery, though thankfully not so dense as to be impossible to slog through. The story of Flowers is what made her famous, and a disturbing adventure it is. After the death of their father, Chris (14), Cathy (12), twins Carry and Cory (5), and their mother are forced by debts to seek aid from their mother's estranged but loaded parents. Seems Mom wrote herself out of the will by marrying her half uncle, thus making her children "Devil Spawn". In order to win back her father's love, she hides away her children, with the grandmother's assistance, in the attic, promising they will be there no more than a day. Of course days turn to weeks, months, and years, and the four are forced to rely on each other to hold out. One can imagine how this all takes on a rather creepy angle. Squirmish factor aside, the tale is both heartrending and horrific, enrapturing despite its often slow pacing. Although there are four other novels concerning Cathy, Chris, and the Foxworth family, this one is by far the best and (luckily) stands on its own two feet. The reputation, for once, doesn't disappoint.
Final Verdict: 5Q, 3P