If There Be Thorns Author:V. C. Andrews Dark horror continues to haunt the children who were so horribly imprisoned by their mother, in this stunning sequel to the best- selling Flowers in the Attic and Petals to the Wind.As adults, Cathy and Chris Sheffield still suffer the ugly scars of their upbringing, living together as man and wife, hoping that the hate- filled evil of their pas... more »t will never return to harm them.Cathy's two children, 14 year old Jory and 9-year old Bart, have never been told about their mother and stepfather's past, but it is only a matter time before the secrets are out.An elderly widow dressed in a gloomy black gown and veil moves next door- a woman who calls friendless Bart her grandson and showers him with gifts and loving attention. But her crafty butler, John Amos, gives him something dangerous- the private journal kept by the late Malcolm Foxworth, the fanatically hate- filled man responsible for Chris's and Cathy's troubled past. The old man's malicious spirit still lives.As Bart reads the journal, evil page by evil page, he can feel himself grow more powerful, even stronger than his older brother.Until now, it was Jory who did everything better, Jory who got all the love and attention.Now it's Bart's turn to be special.He has the power, and no one, not even his family , can stop him.Chris,Cathy and Jory can only watch in horror as the normally quiet, withdrawn boy gradually undergoes a transformation into a spiteful,vengeful stranger.Then John Amos reveals his secret to Bart: Chris and Cathy are really brother and sister living together in sin.They must be punished, and it is up to Bart to conquer the devil and redeem their souls - no matter what the cost.« less
Although it has been some time since I read this series, I remember I couldn't put it down. It keeps you going. My mother even got hooked - she has collected every book by V. C. Andrews, and is waiting for more!
I read this entire series as a young teenager. At the time I found them thrilling but disturbing. I've never read anything else V.C. Andrews has done -- I never felt the urge. But with this series, something about it captivated me and I ended up reading them all. I enjoyed them when I read them (which was a couple of times; a few years inbetween readings), I truly did. But now, they're a little too creepy for me (and I'm a gore and blood horror fan!). I suppose they're marketed for the pre-teen and teenage crowd, but I wouldn't consider them appropriate for a younger, more impressionable age group (incest aside, there are other equally disturbing issues in these books). But for older teens or adults who enjoy very strange and darker type stories, this whole series is for you.
I read this entire series as a young teenager. At the time I found them thrilling but disturbing. I've never read anything else V.C. Andrews has done -- I never felt the urge. But with this series, something about it captivated me and I ended up reading them all. I enjoyed them when I read them (which was a couple of times; a few years inbetween readings), I truly did. But now, they're a little too creepy for me (and I'm a gore and blood horror fan!). I suppose they're marketed for the pre-teen and teenage crowd, but I wouldn't consider them appropriate for a younger, more impressionable age group (incest aside, there are other equally disturbing issues in these books). But for older teens or adults who enjoy very strange and darker type stories, this whole series is for you.
Chris and Cathy made such a loving home for fourteen-year-old Jory -- so handsome, so gentle. And for Bart,who had such a dazzling imagination for a nine year old.
Then the lights came on in the house next door. Soon the Old Lady in Black was there, watching them, guarded by her strange old butler. Soon she had Bart over for cookies and ice cream and asked him to call her "Grandmother".
And soon Bart's transformation began...
Fed by the hint of terrible things about his mother and father...leading him into shocking acts of violence.
Now while this little boy trembles on the edge of madness, his anguished parents await the climax to a horror that flowered in an attic long ago, a horror whose thorns are still wet with blood, still tipped with fire.
