Teaser Tuesday (79)

I'm very excited to be one of the many blogs participating in Teaser Tuesdays! TT is a weekly meme hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading. To participate:

* Grab your current read
* Open to a random page
* Share two “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
* BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS!
(Make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
* Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

"Then there are moments like this, moments where I hear it all come together, and realize if we keep at it - keep practicing, keep searching for the right combinations - we always make an accidental harmony. Our individual notes come together in ways we never knew were possible, ways that surprise me.

Maybe the searching is the music."


p. 223 (ARC) from RAPTURE PRACTICE by Aaron Hartzler
Please share your teasers - post them or link to your blog!

Opening Lines (20)

Opening Lines is a new feature here on Portrait of a Book that showcases the first lines of recent and/or upcoming releases. If you're looking for your next read, let these first lines help you decide!



ARCLIGHT
By: Josin L. McQuein
Published By: Greenwillow Books
Release Date: April 23, 2013
Buy the Book: Amazon

No one crosses the wall of light . . . except for one girl who doesn’t remember who she is, where she came from, or how she survived. A harrowing, powerful debut thriller about finding yourself and protecting your future—no matter how short and uncertain it may be.

The Arclight is the last defense. The Fade can’t get in. Outside the Arclight’s border of high-powered beams is the Dark. And between the Light and the Dark is the Grey, a narrow, barren no-man’s-land. That’s where the rescue team finds Marina, a lone teenage girl with no memory of the horrors she faced or the family she lost. Marina is the only person who has ever survived an encounter with the Fade. She’s the first hope humanity has had in generations, but she could also be the catalyst for their final destruction. Because the Fade will stop at nothing to get her back. Marina knows it. Tobin, who’s determined to take his revenge on the Fade, knows it. Anne-Marie, who just wishes it were all over, knows it.

When one of the Fade infiltrates the Arclight and Marina recognizes it, she will begin to unlock secrets she didn’t even know she had. Who will Marina become? Who can she never be again?

"Someone's attention shouldn't have physical weight, but it does."


HOW ZOE MADE HER DREAMS (MOSTLY) COME TRUE
By: Sarah Strohmeyer
Published By: Balzer + Bray
Release Date: April 23, 2013
Buy the Book: Amazon

From Sarah Strohmeyer, author of Smart Girls Get What They Want, comes this romantic comedy about one girl's summer job from hell. Think The Devil Wears Prada set in Disney World.

When cousins Zoe and Jess land summer internships at the Fairyland Kingdom theme park, they are sure they've hit the jackpot. With perks like hot Abercrombie-like Prince Charmings and a chance to win the coveted $25,000 Dream & Do grant, what more could a girl want?

Once Zoe arrives, however, she's assigned to serve "The Queen"-Fairyland's boss from hell. From spoon-feeding her evil lapdog caviar, to fetching midnight sleeping tonics, Zoe fears she might not have what it takes to survive the summer, much less win the money.

Soon backstabbing interns, a runaway Cinderella, and cutthroat competition make Zoe's job more like a nightmare than a fairy tale. What will happen when Zoe is forced to choose between serving The Queen and saving the prince of her dreams?

"There was no getting around the fact that Tinker Bell was a little bitch."


THE RULES
By: Stacey Kade
Published By: Disney Hyperion
Release Date: April 23, 2013
Buy the Book: Amazon

1. Never trust anyone.

2. Remember they are always searching.

3. Don’t get involved.

4. Keep your head down.

5. Don’t fall in love.

Five simple rules. Ariane Tucker has followed them since the night she escaped from the genetics lab where she was created, the result of combining human and extraterrestrial DNA. Ariane’s survival—and that of her adoptive father—depends on her ability to blend in among the full-blooded humans in a small Wisconsin town, to hide in plain sight at her high school from those who seek to recover their lost (and expensive) “project.”

But when a cruel prank at school goes awry, it puts her in the path of Zane Bradshaw, the police chief’s son and someone who sees too much. Someone who really sees her. After years of trying to be invisible, Ariane finds the attention frightening—and utterly intoxicating. Suddenly, nothing is simple anymore, especially not the rules…

"I have a dead girl's name."


Manicpixiedreamgirl
By: Tom Leveen
Published By: Random House Children's Books
Release Date: April 23, 2013
Buy the Book: Amazon

Sometimes the most dramatic scenes in a high school theater club are the ones that happen between the actors and crew off stage.

Seventeen-year-old Tyler Darcy's dream of being a writer is starting to feel very real now that he's sold his first short story to a literary journal. He should be celebrating its publication with his two best friends who've always had his back, but on this night, a steady stream of texts from his girlfriend Sidney keep intruding. So do the memories of his dream girl, Becky, who's been on his mind a little too much since the first day of high school. Before the night is over, Ty might just find the nerve to stop all the obsessing and finally take action.

"This isn't going to end well."



Do any of these opening lines grab your attention? What are your favorite first lines that you've read lately?

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Blog Tour: Thorn Abbey by Nancy Ohlin

Today is the final stop for the Thorn Abbey blog tour, hosted by Mundie Moms. If you've missed any of the stops, you can see the official schedule here.


Nothing is as it seems in this darkly romantic tale of infatuation and possession, inspired by Daphne du Maurier’s Rebecca.Becca was the perfect girlfriend: smart, gorgeous, and loved by everyone at New England’s premier boarding school, Thorn Abbey. But Becca’s dead. And her boyfriend, Max, can’t get over his loss.

Then Tess transfers to Thorn Abbey. She’s shy, insecure, and ordinary—everything that Becca wasn’t. And despite her roommate’s warnings, she falls for brooding Max.

Now Max finally has a reason to move on. Except it won’t be easy. Because Becca may be gone, but she’s not quite ready to let him go…



~ GUEST POST ~

How I Started (and Re-Started) Thorn Abbey

The other day while digging through my computer, I found one of my earliest drafts of Thorn Abbey (with the working title The Return). The opening chapter was entirely different from what it is now, and it began with this scene:

I wonder if any of this would have happened if my mother hadn’t been a People addict. The magazine, that is—not actual human beings. For my mom, the celebrities in People are everything she aspires to be: stylish, beautiful, famous, talked-about. Every Monday, the second she gets home from the grocery store, she makes a beeline for the couch with the latest issue and an icy bottle of white wine spritzer. The bags of groceries will wilt on the kitchen table as she reads about Sandra Bullock’s divorce or Justin Timberlake new SoHo condo or Heidi Montag’s new boobs. It is practically a religion for her. Last summer, she was doing just this when a particular story caught her eye. The daughter of some European royal had just graduated from Grace Abbey, which I knew then to be an uber-exclusive boarding school for the children of zillionaires.

“Do you know who should be going to this school?” she said, stabbing her acrylic-tipped index finger at the page. “You.”

“That’s funny, Mom.”

“No, really. You’re just as pretty as this girl, or you could be, if you showed any interest.”

… and so on.

I worked on this opening scene for weeks. I liked it because: (1) it established Tess as a smart but insecure girl with a shallow, critical mom, and (2) it set up Tess’s transition from public school (and living at home) to boarding school (and living in an unfamiliar setting with strangers).

And yet the scene felt wrong. I couldn’t put my finger on why; it just did. Nevertheless, I was determined to beat it into submission and make it right. I wrote and re-wrote; I tweaked and re-tweaked. At one point I set it aside and moved on to the next chapter. I figured I could come back to it with a fresh perspective later on.

Which I did. But it still felt wrong. I couldn’t find Tess’s character in those words. She seemed as distant and unreal to me as a photograph in People.

One day, out of desperation, I did something completely different. I decided to mentally scrap the scene and start from scratch. I was terrified of letting that scene go; I had been so invested in making it work. So I told myself I was just goofing around. I even lay down on the couch with my laptop propped up on my legs, as though I was watching Netflix.

I then started typing away without a plan or outline or any preconceived notion whatsoever.

(I even labeled the document: “novel.EXPERIMENT.firstdraft.docx,” with the word “experiment” in all caps.)

Lying there and free-associating on my keyboard, what came to me out of the fuzzy creative ether was the famous opening line of the very novel I was attempting to retell: “Last night I dreamt I was in Manderley again.” In Daphne du Maurier’s Rebecca, the main character dreams about the magnificent mansion where she and her husband Maximilian used to live—the same place he used to occupy with his former (and now dead) wife, Rebecca.

Taking that opening line as a cue, I wrote a new scene that later became the prologue for Thorn Abbey, pretty much in one sitting (or one lying-on-the-couch, anyway). It was entirely different from the People magazine scene I’d originally envisioned, and I immediately realized that it was The One. It hinted at Tess and Max’s romance; it set up Becca as Tess’s rival; it showed Tess’s deep insecurity; and it warned of grave danger. Plus, it was eerie and Gothic, full of cold gray mist and pounding ocean waves.

But even more than those individual elements, the scene just felt right. And (to paraphrase a writer friend), I didn’t have to wrestle my computer to the ground to achieve it.

All of which is to say that for me, starting and re-starting Thorn Abbey taught me that writing is a lot about instinct. And faith. And surrendering control. And knowing when to walk away from a scene, even if it’s one you’re totally and 100% invested in.

About Nancy Ohlin


I am the author of Thorn Abbey, a YA retelling of Daphne du Maurier's Rebecca, and Beauty. a YA retelling of the Snow White tale.

I've also contributed to several celebrity novels, including a New York Times-bestselling YA trilogy.

I'm currently hard at work on my next YA novel, which will be as romantic and mind-bending as Thorn Abbey (I hope!).

My favorite cures for writers' block are long walks, long showers, popcorn, chocolate, and really expensive coffee. I talk to myself a lot while I write (you know, to make sure the dialogue zings).

Find Nancy Ohlin online:
Author Website | Twitter | Facebook



~ GIVEAWAY ~

Thank you to Simon & Schuster, blog tour followers can enter to win a copy of Nancy's THORN ABBEY! Be sure to follow the tour and enter to win below.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Review: Supernaturally by Kiersten White

SUPERNATURALLY
By: Kiersten White
Published By: Harper Teen
Release Date: July 26, 2011
Series: Paranormalcy (#2)
Pages: 336
Genre: Paranormal
Reading Level: Young Adult
Source: ALA
Buy the Book: Amazon

Note: Supernaturally is the second book in a trilogy. The following summary and review may contain spoilers if you haven't read the first book, Paranormalcy.

Goodreads Summary: Evie finally has the normal life she’s always longed for. But she’s shocked to discover that being ordinary can be...kind of boring. Just when Evie starts to long for her days at the International Paranormal Containment Agency, she’s given a chance to work for them again. Desperate for a break from all the normalcy, she agrees.

But as one disastrous mission leads to another, Evie starts to wonder if she made the right choice. And when Evie’s faerie ex-boyfriend Reth appears with devastating revelations about her past, she discovers that there’s a battle brewing between the faerie courts that could throw the whole supernatural world into chaos. The prize in question? Evie herself.

So much for normal.



I really enjoyed Paranormalcy because of the plethora of paranormal creatures, but mostly because of Evie's voice. The book was a fun read, and I was eager to pick up this sequel and see how Evie's story continues. The story became darker in Supernaturally, but I loved getting to know the characters more and becoming more invested in the world.

Evie grew up working for IPCA, the International Paranormal Containment Agency, tracking down and tagging paranormal creatures. She longs for a normal life like the ones she watches on TV, but once she gets it, not even her high school locker can make up for the lack of excitement. Fortunately (or unfortunately), the paranormal world isn't done with her. When a strange (but annoyingly endearing) boy shows up and she is offered the chance to work for IPCA again, she takes it. But this time Evie is fighting more than just paranormal creatures - she's fighting her conscience, her self. And the fact that the faeries are still involved in her life can never be a good sign...

If you haven't read Paranormalcy, you are missing out on one of the funniest kick-butt heroines in YA books. Evie's voice is unique, direct and humorous, and these books are worth reading for that alone. She's the kind of girl you'd want in your circle of friends, while at the same time feeling real, alternating between strength and insecurity, independence and needing a friend, maturity and trying to figure out what exactly she wants out of life. In Supernaturally, Evie is facing more than she ever thought she'd have to; she has tough choices to make, and even though I didn't always agree with them, she faces the consequences when she has to. And she certainly has her hands full in this book with Jack. He is one of those people that grows on you, that you want to be annoyed with but in the end you can't. There's just something about him, like with Reth. I love that with all of these characters there is more than meets the eye, and the chance to finally learn all of the secrets makes me excited to read the last book.

As much as I love the characters, I couldn't help but feel that in a lot of ways Supernaturally fell into the general archetype for sophomore books. Even though the book was still an enjoyable read, I wanted to be more surprised than I was. I liked the character development, but I wanted more action or more twists. I'm hoping that the third book brings back the excitement level of the first.

Supernaturally (or Paranormalcy) is definitely a book to pick up when you're looking for something fun with great characters. I can't wait to see how everything wraps up for them in Endlessly!

"Waiting on" Wednesday

"Waiting on" Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.



This week's selection is:

WHEN YOU WERE HERE
By: Daisy Whitney
Published By: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Release Date: June 4, 2013
Preorder the Book: Amazon

Goodreads Summary: Love, tragedy, and mystery converge in this compelling novel from “an author to watch” (Booklist).

Filled with humor, raw emotion, a strong voice, and a brilliant dog named Sandy Koufax, When You Were Here explores the two most powerful forces known to man-death and love. Daisy Whitney brings her characters to life with a deft touch and resonating authenticity.

Danny's mother lost her five-year battle with cancer three weeks before his graduation-the one day that she was hanging on to see.

Now Danny is left alone, with only his memories, his dog, and his heart-breaking ex-girlfriend for company. He doesn't know how to figure out what to do with her estate, what to say for his Valedictorian speech, let alone how to live or be happy anymore.

When he gets a letter from his mom's property manager in Tokyo, where she had been going for treatment, it shows a side of his mother he never knew. So, with no other sense of direction, Danny travels to Tokyo to connect with his mother's memory and make sense of her final months, which seemed filled with more joy than Danny ever knew. There, among the cherry blossoms, temples, and crowds, and with the help of an almost-but-definitely-not Harajuku girl, he begins to see how it may not have been ancient magic or mystical treatment that kept his mother going. Perhaps, the secret of how to live lies in how she died.



Why it's wanted:
This book sounds like it could be emotional and moving, and I love reading books set in other countries. I'm interested to see where this goes.

Teaser Tuesday (78)

I'm very excited to be one of the many blogs participating in Teaser Tuesdays! TT is a weekly meme hosted by MizB at Should Be Reading. To participate:

* Grab your current read
* Open to a random page
* Share two “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
* BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS!
(Make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
* Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

"We speculate. We steal glances of each other. Observe each other. Speculate about each other. Then wander some more.

It is only when I get home that I feel the weight again, of all the things I cannot tell her, of all the things I am."


p. 54 (ARC) from INVISIBILITY by Andrea Cremer and David Levithan
Please share your teasers - post them or link to your blog!

Review: Losing It by Cora Carmack

LOSING IT
By: Cora Carmack
Published By: William Morrow
Release Date: Feb. 26, 2013
Series: Losing It (#1)
Pages: 288
Genre: Contemporary Fiction / Romance
Reading Level: New Adult
Source: Borrowed
Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads Summary: Virginity.

Bliss Edwards is about to graduate from college and still has hers. Sick of being the only virgin among her friends, she decides the best way to deal with the problem is to lose it as quickly and simply as possible-- a one-night stand. But her plan turns out to be anything but simple when she freaks out and leaves a gorgeous guy alone and naked in her bed with an excuse that no one with half-a-brain would ever believe. And as if that weren’t embarrassing enough, when she arrives for her first class of her last college semester, she recognizes her new theatre professor. She’d left him naked in her bed about 8 hours earlier.



As much as I love the idea of New Adult, this is actually the first New Adult book that I've read. From the synopsis it sounded like a fun afternoon read, and it was. I read it in one sitting, and it was just the mood lifter I needed at the time.

Bliss Edwards has gotten what she wanted out of her college education, except for one thing - she's still a virgin. Determined not to graduate that way, she heads to a bar with her friend Kat to look for a guy, any guy, who can be a one-night stand. She meets Garrick, who is reading Shakespeare at the bar and has a British accent. He's the one, she knows it...only she finds herself leaving him naked in her bed with a flimsy excuse. She thought that was behind her...she never expected to see him turn up as her new theater teacher the next day. Bliss would love nothing more than to ignore him, but she's not sure she wants that either. The more time she spends with him, the more she thinks she might be developing feelings for Garrick. She knows that he is off-limits, and once play rehearsals start, she knows she is in trouble, but love is one thing that can't be scripted...

"Like a key into a lock, my body fell into his, fitting perfectly. With my head on his chest and his arm around my shoulder, I took a deep breath and knew there was no going back."

From the beginning, Bliss was a down-to-earth character, thinking she knows what she wants but trying to figure out at the same time. She's not perfect - throughout the book she made some definite mistakes - but she definitely seemed real. As for Garrick, as much as I love tortured, tragic heroes with dark pasts that they have to overcome, I have to say that I loved that the tension in this book came from something else. The student/teacher relationship that's forbidden (yet completely understandable in this situation) was fun to watch play out. The chemistry sizzles between Bliss and Garrick. Let's be honest, you can't go wrong with a literary British man. Beyond that, he actually was a great guy, very caring toward Bliss and willing to go along with things that she wanted, but not so nice as to be over-romanticized. I also loved the role that the theater major played in this book. Watching Bliss with her friends reminded me of the times spent with fellow music majors in college - the laughs and fun that the characters shared definitely brought back good memories.

Speaking of friends, this review wouldn't be complete without mentioning Cade. He was certainly an interesting character, and I'm excited that the next book focuses on him, because I'm certainly looking forward to seeing how things turn out for him. Even though Cade kept this book from being completely happy, there were still plenty of laughs, moments that made me smile, and overall was the cute read that I had been hoping for.

I really enjoyed this new adult novel, and I'm looking forward to reading more in the genre. If you are looking for a quick, enjoyable read that's older than YA, definitely check this one out. I can't wait to see what happens in Cora Carmack's next book!

Go Indie: Excerpt of Triad Awakening by Michael Grigsby

There are so many good indie books being published, but sometimes it's hard to know where to start with these books. I'm always interested in recommendations of books that are must-reads but that haven't gotten much press, and I also wanted to help promote indie authors and their works. Hence Go Indie was born. This is a new feature on Portrait of a Book that will showcase some of these indie titles in a variety of ways, from excerpts to guest posts and interviews with indie authors.

Authors: If you're interested in having your book featured as part of Go Indie, fill out this form.

Without further ado, here is today's feature!




TRIAD AWAKENING
By: Michael Grigsby
Published By: Amazon Digital Services, Inc.
Release Date: March 13, 2013
Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads Summary: Sixteen-year-old Hagan Curtis's life is a total mess-alcoholic single father, recently deceased brother (Robin), and social invisibility-until an eerie encounter with a trio of ghostly sisters reveals he is part of the Triad. Armed with newfound battle skills and wielding his amazing split-staff, Hagan plunges headlong into training. But soon he discovers that membership in the Triad can be lethal as Spectrals, Necropeds, and Feeders from other realms show just how bloodthirsty they can be. As his team plummets deeper into their first mission, Hagan learns that his brother’s death resulted from Robin’s knowledge of the Triad, and those closest to him are keeping dark secrets. Will Hagan survive the terrifying mission to finally untangle the mystery of Robin’s death?
​
Triad ​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​Awakening is​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​ the first book in the Triad Trilogy. The Young Adult Horror/Fantasy is Michael Grigsby's debut novel.



Enjoy this excerpt from TRIAD AWAKENING!

I slam the book shut and turn away from the desk. I lift my eyes to catch a glimpse of the full-length mirror mounted to the closet door. There, in the reflection I see three white wispy figures floating closely together. I take a step back and stumble. My bottom smacks the floor and pain shoots up my spine. Their image flashes, is gone, and then returns again about two seconds later. This time, the spectral figures appear closer. They flash again, disappear, and reappear even closer in the mirror. I scoot back on my elbows like some insane crab retreating from an ocean predator.

On the verge of screaming, I scramble to my feet. I whirl around to find the room completely empty. My heart is pounding in my chest like a subwoofer. A cool layer of perspiration has appeared on my brow. I realize that I haven’t taken a breath since I saw the figures in the mirror. I inhale and suck the stale air of Robin’s room into my lungs.

The room is as silent as a tomb. I stand frozen in one place, too terrified to move. My ass is throbbing, but I ignore the pain. My brain is finally able to get a signal to my feet and I begin to creep from the room. After what seems like hours, I arrive at the door. I slowly reach for the knob. It opens with a creak. I step over the threshold and gingerly close the door behind me.

“Now what?” I ask myself.

Before my mind can respond, my ears are filled with a familiar sound. Static mingles with a whirring noise, not unlike a fan running on high speed. Suddenly, the strangest voice I’ve ever heard speaks. It comes from everywhere at once, and seems to be made of many voices, speaking in chorus. The voice(s) sound faraway, like wind whistling through an old well.

“Find her. Find the one who knows what was and sees what is to come. Find her, the one who knows what was and sees what is to come. FIND HER, THE ONE WHO KNOWS WHAT WAS AND SEES WHAT IS TO COME! FIND HER! FIND HER!”

Without warning, the trio appears at the end of the small hallway. I see them clearly now. Oh God, I can’t look away. Each appears to be female. They are dressed in long flowing gowns, made of some gauzy fabric. The garments are cinched at the waist with ratty pieces of rope. Their dresses at one time were probably white, but are now grimy, smeared with what appears to be ashes and soot. Wind coming from an unseen source is whipping wildly through their stringy ebony hair. Their faces appear translucent, and I swear I can see some of their skeletons beneath. Bulging blue veins crisscross in crazy webbed patterns beneath their paper flesh. Hollowed out holes are where eyes should be. They continue to speak, but their lips do not move. My eyes move wildly down their forms. I notice they’re holding hands. Their pale, boney fingers are intertwined like three young girls about to skip across the schoolyard. I feel hysteria rising within me.

The warped voices continue: “Find her. Find the one who knows what was and sees what is to come. Find her, the one who knows what was and sees what is to come. FIND HER, THE ONE WHO KNOWS WHAT WAS AND SEES WHAT IS TO COME! FIND HER! FIND HER!”

As they speak, they move closer to me. Closer. They flash, blink, disappear, and reappear. Closer, flash, blink, disappear, reappear. On and on toward me.

“What do you want???” I screech at them. “What do you want from me?”



Find Michael Grigsby and TRIAD AWAKENING online:
Twitter | Goodreads | Amazon

Review: Flowers in the Attic by V.C. Andrews

FLOWERS IN THE ATTIC
By: V.C. Andrews
Published By: Pocket Books
Release Date: First published 1979
Series: Dollangagner (#1)
Pages: 389
Genre: Gothic
Reading Level: Young Adult
Source: Bought
Buy the Book: Amazon

Goodreads Summary: Such wonderful children. Such a beautiful mother. Such a lovely house. Such endless terror!

It wasn't that she didn't love her children. She did. But there was a fortune at stake--a fortune that would assure their later happiness if she could keep the children a secret from her dying father.

So she and her mother hid her darlings away in an unused attic.

Just for a little while.

But the brutal days swelled into agonizing years. Now Cathy, Chris, and the twins wait in their cramped and helpless world, stirred by adult dreams, adult desires, served a meager sustenance by an angry, superstitious grandmother who knows that the Devil works in dark and devious ways. Sometimes he sends children to do his work--children who--one by one--must be destroyed....

'Way upstairs there are four secrets hidden. Blond, beautiful, innocent struggling to stay alive....



I saw this book mentioned on a list by another author one day, and having never picked up V.C. Andrews, I thought I would give the books a chance. Though slow at times, this book is one of those disturbing stories that you don't forget easily.

Cathy, Chris, Cory, and Carrie Dollanganger had a happy life filled with love and attention, until their father was killed in a tragic car accident. Left in debt and without a way to support herself, Corinne, their mother, moves them all in the dead of night back to her parents' house. However, Corinne's father can't know about her children, so she and her mother hide them away in the attic. Corinne promises her children they will only be there for a short time, telling them that there is a large fortune at stake and that soon they can inherit it and have everything they ever dreamed of. Only days stretch into weeks, and weeks stretch into months, and still the children remain locked in the attic. Eventually, Cathy and Chris realize that they cannot trust their mother, and their grandmother will never help them. If they are ever to escape the attic, they will have to take matters into their own hands...

Flowers in the Attic is not an easy book to read for several reasons. From the beginning the writing style was very different from many of today's YA novels. Even though I knew this and was prepared for it, I couldn't help but be thankful that most YA books from today read much faster, with much more character-appropriate descriptions and dialogue. Beyond the writing style, though, this book was difficult to get my head around. I am not a mother, but I can't understand how a mother could lock her children away in an attic for months at a time just to try and earn back an inheritance. I can't understand how the grandmother took religious fervor to such an extreme, or how she didn't want to treat her grandchildren better. And finally, at the risk of including spoilers here, this book involves incest. This book is many things - dark, disturbing, something you can't look away from - but definitely not easy or lighthearted at any point.

At its heart, however, Flowers in the Attic is a story of survival. It was interesting to see the imagination that went into making the attic a home and finding ways to pass the time, but it was still painful to see the deterioration of all of the children, to think of how they weren't growing physically or mentally, and how much they were missing out on. Cathy and Chris tried to make the best of a bad situation, turning into mother and father for Cory and Carrie. In some ways the change in their relationship is understandable, but to be honest, I find the similar portrayal in Forbidden by Tabitha Suzuma to be more convincing.

Reading V.C. Andrews, and especially this book, almost seems like a rite of passage. Though it is a difficult read, it is an experience and a story that I won't easily forget. If you are looking for something slightly disturbing, different from other things that are out there, Flowers in the Attic may be worth picking up.