OK, I had to do some more memes and captions. And I've included Cutler, Landry, Logan, etc. in the fun as well. The last one is a reference to the Malcolm in the Middle episode "Emancipation." I know it's a little obscure, but Mr. Herkabe reminds me a little of a VCA character.

For me, I gotta say I started kind of disliking Kathy a bit after FIowers. I'll forgive some of her absolutely *atrocious* decisions because of her family dysfunction and trauma but I didn't like her attitude towards Paul's dead wife ~~rape victim~~ & kid. Some of her hot takes, comments, and parenting scream bigoted-boomer. I was so disappointed in her "revenge arc" i could have thrown the book. How many times do I have to read about her being assaulted by man after man and then immediately falling in love with them. It's painful.

I'll never forgive Chris for r@ping her either.

As for villains I actually enjoy/sympathize with..

Vera and Fanny. Both play the "beautiful promiscuous evil jealous sister" foil to the virtuous innocent protagonist, but both were very obviously abused and neglected by their parents to an alarming degree, and the parents disgusting favoritism poisoned everything. I especially feel for Vera in that regard, even though some of her actions as an adult were foul.

Hi all,
I’m curious if anyone can give any insight as to what Lucky’s heart condition might’ve been. I just finished reading Julie Buntin’s newest book Famous Men, and the protagonist, a young woman in her twenties, is diagnosed with Wolff-Parkinson-White Syndrome; she has several episodes throughout the novel of having rapid heart palpitations, even passing out at times, and it reminded me of Lucky. Since Lucky died in childbirth with Sylvia, I’m curious as to how she survived having Audrina what with medical science being shit back then.
We all know she didn’t clean, but she did cook and was really good at it. I’m just amazed she was whipping out complete meals three times a day!

1) Chris Jr.

2) Arden.

3) Vera.

4) Fanny.

5) Logan.

6) Clara Sue.

7) Philip.

8) Fern.

Fanny made the big deal about wanting there baby with the Rev back. She sent Heaven to go buy her back. Heaven does realize it's not a good idea, and later I think Fanny realizes it too.

But yet, both Heaven and Fanny live there in Winnerow and never see her? Never mention her?

Wow so I’ve never made a post on Reddit before but I just finished reading flowers in the attic and I am in desperate need of someone to talk to about it!! Spoiler alert because I am gonna talk about specific events from the Flowers In The Attic book!

I’m gonna start with my thoughts, feelings, ect about the characters.

Cathy is obviously my favorite, she seemed to be the only one of the kids who has common sense. No shade to the twins obviously they’re little children who don’t know any better but CHRISTOPHER. CAN WE TALK ABOUT CHRISTOPHER BECAUSE HOLY F U C K I N G CHRIST. I understanding defending your mama, especially because he’s a teen boy who just lost his dad and didn’t have much else to do. But the things he does to Cathy?? He stabs her, he rapes her, before that he’s constantly being hard on her in defense of his mother, it’s just insane. That being said, I feel absolutely INSANE. Because why do I lowkey love him? I love him. He’s terrible but I feel this weird maternal instinct.

Anyway! Like I said. I just finished the first book and watched the movie and now I’m not sure what to do next. I talked to a couple of people who have read flowers in the attic but said the rest of the series was trash, not worth it, ect. So I decided who better than R/VCAndrews to ask for advice? Is it worth it to start the next book in the series which I believe is Petals on The Wind? I feel really emotionally invested in Cathy and Christopher and Carrie (rest in peace to sweet little Cory of course. Poor baby) but I’m hesitant to continue reading the series if it ends terribly for them over and over again! What do you think? Worth the read? Or better off without it?

Edit: it’s decided!! I’m starting Petals On The Wind!!

A few months ago I watched the flowers in the attic movie, the original version. I thought it was going to be a forgettable weird gothic horror, and instead I fell into the MCU for incest? And I'm kind of obsessed? Saw the 2014 version and I'm now finishing the origins. It's so weird because Corrine and Olivia don't seem crazy... Olivia has certainly been corrupted but she's much more morally grey than I thought she'd be by now (I'm on the last episode and she just started being religious), I'm guessing stuff will escalate fast. But I don't get how Corrine transforms into mommy dearest who poisons her children. Is that something the books explain?

The rest of the lifetime movies seem so bad, but I'll probably binge them. I actually enjoyed the origins more than the 2014 movie!

And then I discover there's even more series about fucked up family dynamics, and VC Andrews has died and the recent books are ghostwritten? Are they worth it? Should I buy 30 books and lock myself in my room to read it all? And are there many differences between the TV adaptions and the books?

Also, I found there's prequels to the prequel, a 3 book saga about Garland. Is it about mommy issues and incest again? I feel like at some point you have to stop, brother loving can't be genetic 😭?

Poured some out for Cory

I read these books more than 15 years ago. I’ve seen the original movies and the 2014 version of “Flowers in the Attic”.
I’m going to reread the books but for tonight I’m watching the 2014 movie.
Of the entire series, it’s Cory that hurts me the most. Oh my sweet baby boy 😫😫😫 how I want to reach through the book and save you!!!
Yes the entire thing is crazy, especially Corrine towards the end of her life. But CORY!?!? Why would V.C. Andrews do that to us?

Which family saga would make the best documentary? Who would be interviewed?

I would love to see a mockumentary for the Dollanganger series with interviews from their Gladstone friends, Thelma Murkel (the woman Cathy stalked in PotW), Cathy's NY friends, Bart and Jory and Trevor, the butler.

I have to say, if Heaven or MSA were documentaries, Vera, Kitty, and Fanny would get everyone talking! People would be hating on Arden all over TikTok.

Obviously the fact that Chris Jr. and Cathy are SIBLINGS living as man and wife and raising her two sons (and eventually adopted daughter) aside, what did you take away from their parenting of the two boys? Or perhaps lack thereof? Also, of course no one could expect the trauma of the years in the attic or the aftermath to NOT have an effect on them and by extension the way that they parented, but what did you take away from that? In my opinion, it was obvious that Cathy preferred Jory and even though Bart Jr. was a “difficult” child I often felt they were harsh with him. Any thoughts?

We know that Jillian was always vain and always wanted “more,” but Leigh also tells us that she had a relatively happy and normal childhood up until around the time that Jillian and Leigh’s father got divorced. Do you think that perhaps Leigh was just looking back through rose colored glasses? And I’m sure Jillian didn’t always have to do the hard, day to day parenting so maybe she was nicer to Leigh as a result. Or am I wrong? And obviously the way she betrayed Leigh once she married Tony and they moved into Farthy was disposable and certainly NOT anywhere CLOSE to how a loving mother would treat her daughter, so you think that she EVER loved her daughter at all?

I just watched all the adaptations of this series this week including the original 1987 movie, 2010s lifetime movies and The Origins (based on Garden of Shadows) mini series from 2022.

I quite liked The Origins adaptation, the casting for Corinne was excellent and I can see that character evolving into the version we see Heather Graham play in the Lifetime movies while the Olivia here transitions really well into the Grandmother from the 1987 movie. I think most of the changes they made from the original were good and added to the story with the exception of John Amos and his ending, that made no sense.

The 1987 movie and Petals on the Wind had the best Cathy casting imo. Hated the ending of the 1987 movie tho. I wish the makers of The Origins series would remake the main 4 books as a series as well. There was so much detail left out of especially Petals on the Wind that I’d like to see.

I had this thought that there was really a missed opportunity for Cathy to discover Paul wasn't such a saint after all. Imagine if she found out he was messing with Carrie and that was what prompted the two of them to run to Virginia? Or even Pennsylvania first! Once she had the insurance payout, she could have cut Paul out of her life. And moved on with her plan!

What changes would you have made? Would you have wanted to see Paul exposed? Would Chris have remained her endgame? What would be your idea of revenge?

Which one is the original?

I would love to see Cathy lay it on Chris, putting him in the same category as Corinne and Olivia.

I would also love to see Audrina pwning Arden.

Rereading Dark Angel, I can see now that Troy is insufferable as fuck. I myself have some pretty serious depression, but even I wouldn’t have married him and I don’t understand what Heaven was thinking when she thought that marrying him would make it alright. I just know she’d probably get fed up with him, as people are likely to do when you’re depressed. I mean, I know she was just a kid, but marriage and kids doesn’t change a thing about yourself except giving you responsibilities and dependents.

I have to say my favorite chapter in FitA is "Escape." Ironically, the siblings don't actually escape in this chapter. They plan to, but then Chris decides to monologue instead, for an hour or so, going into the minutiae of his adventures out there in the wild, trying to burglarize Momma, the grandmother, the grandfather, etc. By the time he finishes, they've missed the train, but look at all the tea he's spilled! Grandmother wears a wig AND reading glasses? How absolutely scandalous that she hid it from her hated grandchildren for so long! And apparently you can learn how to make splints for injured mice and get tar out of your sibling's hair by watching TV, but television can't properly teach you how to break into a safe. And the butler and maid are having an affair! Like the Energizer Bunny, he keeps going! And the maid was definitely consenting to it all! Oh yeah, and our mother lied to us and is never gonna let us out but get ready for the bad part! And....chapter break!

It really did feel like a couple of teenagers (or a group of southern church ladies) were narrating this chapter, and I was here for it!

Discuss. I'll add my thoughts in a later post.

So eerie