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A special song for all you shameful VC Andrew readers : it is a guilty pleasure medley!!

Prepare your reasonably sane minds for another insanely fun, pulp fiction romp that VC Andrews can always reliably provide for you! Damn, this second book was almost neck-to-neck, in terms of trying to compete for the honor of being the most insanely fun, horrific novel. I think VC Andrews probably found the collective shock and horror of her readers to be part of the fun of writing this series.

And, our favorite Aryan trio is back this time, and they find a suitable caretaker in the beginning of the novel. Very fortuitous for them, almost too fortuitous. Everything seems handed to them on a silver platter, once they tell their newest caretaker their winding tale of woe that brought to such a starved, destitute state. But, for this part of Petals on the Wind, readers are privy most to the mind of a vindictive Cathy, who suffers really the worst fallout psychological shock of being trapped so long in the attic with neither proper social contact, especially during her most trying years of adolescent development.

While VC Andrew’s book writes some rather absurd moments that feature our dear Cathy making such a damnedest fool of herself, it is completely understandable, given her rather limited life experience. And, I think that forced estrangement from society does take a rather ludicrous, though greatly understandable turn for all three characters. There are times that I raised my eyebrows and felt extremely frustrated with the stupid, rash decisions Cathy makes on occasion. Even though, it is not that these things are haphazardly thrown in; VC Andrews  once again makes these things plausible within the nonsensical world of her pulp-fiction story world (full of tawdry things that again make more sense in the context of a pulp-fiction novel).

It is easy to question your sanity, while reading this book. It is a book that is strangely very compelling, as with the first novel. Again, it breaks so many tried and true writing rules at times, in terms of having instances of ridiculously contrived scenes or dialogue. Yet, this stuff has always been part and parcel of the penny dreadful/pulp fiction genre  that I consider the Dollanger Saga to be part of. There is nothing intrinsically wrong at all with a story of this sort that is really a whole hell lot of fun. It’s a really great opportunity to kick back, and just enjoy the somewhat unrealistic scenarios that play out in a novel of this sort.

Another element of this book is “why the hell do we find this type of genre enjoyable?” Why do we enjoy reading about the twisted,somewhat depraved emotions of three children, who have been mentally damaged by the attic? Why do we read a book that often has us yelling at the insane decisions, made by the daughter (who is interestingly part of the cyclical madness that affected both her mother and grandmother)? Is there something inherently therapeutic, in a sense, about reading about the travesties of other, and trying to find some type of light and levity in the midst of the some of the darkest, gloomiest parts of our lives?

As some of you sit down to watch Petals on the Wind this coming Monday on Lifetime, will you ask yourself “Why you enjoy this series, with its stark sadism?” Is there really no reason to probe this kind of question, when really the series is purely just very entertaining. It is its high entertainment value, not its supposed literary merit, that makes this series so much fun for people. And, I really can’t blame people for needing some genre to indulge in reading in a guiltless  way. If anything, these books remind us that reading can be just fun and entertaining.  And let me tell you, VC Andrews, even though she’s not the greatest wordsmith, definitely knows how to keep people entertained! This is top-notch guilty pleasure reading material!

More additional information about this Monday’s forthcoming Lifetime movie special, and also some tantalizing information about a giveaway, courtesy of Pocket Books!

 

The sweepstakes are now posted!  Please share and enter to win at:

 

https://www.facebook.com/PocketBooksfanpage/posts/10154287671620131

 

 

FICTION INTO FILM: Read Petals on the Wind (Pocket Books; May 20, 2014; $7.99) tie-in, and wrap up your Memorial Day weekend with Lifetime’s movie!

 

WATCH: The movie trailer, and tune in to Lifetime on  Monday, May 26^th, 9:00 pm ET to watch the World Premier of Petals on the Wind!

 

ENTER TO WIN: Go to the Pocket Books Facebook page beginning May 20^th to enter the sweepstakes for a prize pack of Flowers in the Attic and Petals on the Wind, and the Flowers in the Attic DVD.  Visit right before tuning into Petals on the Wind late May for the sweepstakes giveaway (date to be announced)!

 

Petals on the Wind cast:

Heather Graham              as Corrine

Ellen Burstyn                      as Olivia

Dylan Bruce                        as Bart

Rose McIver                       as Young Cathy (played by Kiernan Shipka in Flowers in the Attic)

Wyatt Nash                        as Christopher (played by Mason Dye in Flowers in the Attic)
More exciting news!!!

LIFETIME commits to two additional movies in the Flowers in the Attic series!  The trailer in the link below teases that in 2015, “If There Be Thorns,” the third novel in VC Andrews’ Dollanganger series, and “Seeds of Yesterday,” the fourth novel, will both be adapted and coming to the cable network

 

Other Pertinent Links of Interest:

V.C. Andrews Twitter:   https://twitter.com/VC_Andrews

V.C. Andrews FB:             https://www.facebook.com/OfficialVCAndrews