If There Be Thorns (Dollanganger Book 3)

THIS book was written.

Dear lord I can't believe I wasted the time to read it again.

There were so, SO many things wrong with this book that it made it quite laughable to read.

Bart. What a psychotic little child he was! From the beginning you can tell that he had emotional issues. I completely understand children playing pretend (or at least they used to before the age of electronics took over) but he took it to a whole new level. His obsession with death and dying was a bit concerning as well. I personally can't attribute it to going to pay respects to the graves of Cathy and Chris' brother and sister or "going to see the witch ole' lady in black". This kid was seriously messed up in the head. The way he was fascinated with killing things (like the caterpillar he killed when he was sitting in the tree and the spider Jory caught him tearing the legs off of before he squished it). The way he was treated by his parents was appalling as well. Sure he was a clumsy kid because his nerves didn't reach his skin but there is no reason to get so mad at him for knocking things over like they did. I think they're partly to blame for his crazy. It was clear from the beginning that Jory was the one who was loved the most because he could dance and then when they adopted Cindy (seriously? ANOTHER freaking person in the book with a name that begins with the letter "C"?) she was the one that they all doted on. In a way I could understand the introvert that Bart was but the crazy was taking it a bit too far. Another thing about the parents is they just didn't CARE about him, or at least that's how I felt. He would go off for hours at a time, coming back well after dark and when asked where he was and what he was doing his answer was "Nothin' and nowhere". Not once did he get disciplined for that. They just shrugged their shoulders and that was that. What really got me though was when Clover disappeared and weeks later Jory finds the dogs decaying body in a hollow of a tree. The dog was killed by being strangled with barbed wire. Deep down inside he knew it was his brother that did it and even when he told his "father" about his suspicions they just shrugged their shoulders and did nothing (they also did nothing when Apple was found dead except bury it). They all contributed to the kids crazy and did nothing about it.

John Amos: I'm really not quite sure where this dude fit into the story. The ONLY time you hear about him prior to this was in the first book when Cathy and Chris saw him. That's it. He had no part in the book and suddenly . . . . here he is. Filling Bart's head with stories about Malcolm, feeding him the scripture, telling him how evil women are and how they use their "feminine wiles" to seduce men. The kid is TEN. Do you really think he understands any of this?! And why, oh why does the kid listen to this guy and, not only that, begin to act like Malcolm? They really didn't need this character in the book but I without him there wouldn't have been a story.

Corrine: Ugh. Ok, so she moves in next door to her kids. Are we REALLY supposed to believe that with her gajillions of dollars she was able to "help" Cathy and Chris buy the house they moved into? Which, I got confused towards the end. In the beginning it was said that they purchased the house yet later on in the book it is said that Cathy "designed" the house. So I am really not sure which one it is. Again, I'm not quite sure why she was in the book if only to allow the author to write another story. Her part was so ridiculous and I find it rather creepy that she moved in next door and began to strike up a grandmother/grandson relationship with Bart. Which, again, even when Jory found out what was going on and then Chris finds out -- and also finds out it's his mother -- no one stops Bart from going over there. Jory knows he's going there all the time yet keeps his mouth shut. Utterly ridiculous!

Cathy and Chris: Oh GAG ME! Please!! I can not take their nasty relationship. And what galls me is that even when Madam M. finds out that they are brother and sister living as husband and wife, even though she threatened to spill their deep, dark secret, SHE WAS OK WITH IT! What? Even after threatening to expose them and take Jory away SHE DID NOTHING! So obviously she wasn't that grossed out about it (and later on when Cathy found out that it was her mother living next door, her mother was basically like "Oh, wow. Like that's totally my fault but you know, if you love him that's cool. I mean I did, after all, marry my own half-brother so . . . who am I to throw stones?").

Jory: I was a little bit tired of how perfect he was. How he was the perfect dancer. Just like his father and had the incredibly awesome and unbelievable talent of his mother. Why, he could go on to be the BESTEST dancer in the UNIVERSE! He could do absolutely no wrong and it really sickened me, especially since they treated Bart like garbage.

And at the end, of course, there HAS to be some kind of horrible thing that happens, and in this case it's Cathy getting kidnapped with the mother. Which again, everyone suspected Bart had something to do with it but no one wanted to confront him. They went DAYS without going to the police to report her missing and tell them that they suspected something sinister happened to her in the house next door. No, no no! Why do that when you could just follow Bart into the house to see if you can find out what happened? Why do that when you can just sit around and try to listen to Bart talking to himself and see if he "reveals" anything about the whereabouts of his mother? Who in their right mind would DO something like that?

This entire book was unbelievable and laughable. As the story -- if you could even call it that because I'm really not quite sure WHAT the point of the book was -- unfolded it became even more ridiculous and unbelievable until the very last page.

I've said it in my other review and I'll say it again: She should have stopped at the first book. I honestly don't know if I can stomach the last in this series but I fear my morbid curiosity will get the better of me and I might read it again.

What begins in the attic, ends in the attic...

Cathy and Chris have escaped the clutches of Foxworth Hall. The large estate burned into nothingness and Corrine, their mother, is now locked up in a mental institution. Now that they have settled down in the West Coast, they have created a peaceful and loving environment for Cathy's two children. Jory is fourteen now. He has inherited his mother and late father's passion for dancing. He is also loving and loyal to his family to the very end. Bart, named after his father, Corrine's late husband and Cathy's former lover, is ten years old. He is imaginative, rebellious and something of a loner. His behavior has always been strange, but things change for the worse when a lady in black who always wears a veil over her face and a string of pearls over her neck and her creepy butler move in next door to them. Who is the strange woman who insists that Bart call her grandmother? The jig is up for Cathy and Chris, brother and sister who have lived as man and wife for years, filling the two children up with lies. The attic is still fresh in their minds, and those horrible memories are not only haunting them, but are passing on to Jory and Bart, especially to the latter.

Told from Bart and Jory's point of view, a big departure from the first two books, If There Be Thorns is the most disturbing installment to date. The Dollaganger saga is filled with controversial subject matters and haunting language. As if the incest and psychological abuse weren't bad enough, now we get a mentally unstable young boy who hurts animals. Everything makes sense by the end of the book, of course, but Bart will no doubt continue to be a headache for Cathy and Chris. Corrine Foxworth is quite a complex character. She does something as evil as lock up their children in a room/attic and then disown them just so that she could inherit her father's fortune, and then she does things that indicate that she still loves her children, even if she had been responsible for the death of twins Carrie and Cory. She sort of redeems herself in this book though. I give this third installment three stars because some things are not explained. Why on earth is Corrine still rich after it is discovered that she had had children from her first marriage? I thought she'd be disinherited if this was discovered and proven. It doesn't make sense to me. And then the whole thing with John the Butler is bizarre to say the least. Anyway, I am still enjoying this series and look forward to seeing how it all resolves in Seeds of Yesterday.

This is probably the least fabulous book in the Dollanger series. But I didn't really care. I can't get enough of these stories. I can talk about them for hours. This book explores Jory and Bart's childhood. It is told from both perspectives. One chapter is "Jory" the next, "Bart" and so on. Bart is an interesting kid. He is disrespectful to his parents (mom and uncle technicually but Chris really is a father in this story.) and insensitive to everyone around him. He seems to genuinely be his father's (the late Bart Sr.) boy. Bart's nerves are also not fully developed, so a spanking doesn't cause him pain. This is also symbolic of his behavior and how he feels no guilt for his actions. Bart becomes friends with an old woman next door who influences his behavior. I would have liked to have seen Jory developed more. He seems like the model child. There isn't much more to him than a well-behaved little boy who loves his mother and loves to dance. Cathy is still interesting in this book. A fabulous scene in "Thorns" happens when Chris points out that Cathy behaved in a similar way her mother did. This freaks Cathy out and makes her do some major soul searching. Cathy also has a wonderful scene at the end in reaction to someone's death. I won't say anymore for the sake of surprise. This book is important to read if you plan on reading Seeds of Yesterday. Also it is a good read if you are a die-hard Dollanger fan like me!

"If There Be Thorns" is the third installment in the Dollanganger series and, in my opinion, the weakest link of the saga.

My main problem with the book is not so much the storyline, but the fact that the story is told from the perspectives of fourteen-year-old Jory (Cathy's son with Julian) and nine year-old Bart (Cathy's son with Bart Winslow). While it's easy to sympathize with Jory - - his confusion over finding out his parents' true identities and the true character of his biological father, it is almost impossible to relate to Bart. His character is nothing short of depraved.

When you cannot relate to your narrator, you know you're going to have problems.

Overall, the story is passable. Chris and Cathy are now in their late thirties, some years after leaving South Carolina, at the end of "Petals on the Wind". They live in California, under the guise of a doctor and his wife, raising her two children. One day, the lights in the abandoned mansion "next door" go on and a mysterious woman in black appears. This is where the story seems to go downhill.

It's obvious that the woman is the much hated mother of Chris and Cathy - - and why neither of them figure it out until the end is questionable. Having the character of John Amos Jackson reappear from "Flowers in the Attic" as working for the mystery woman seems just an excuse to bring more lunacy into the story.

Jory seems to be the only grounding in the story, but how much excitement can a fourteen-year-old generate?

I think the story might have been better served if it had been told from Cathy and Chris' viewpoints, as the previous tales were.

I have to give it three stars for the effort and for continuing a beloved series. But compared to the previous two books, it's somewhat of a letdown.

We are now introduced more into the lives of Cathy's sons: Bart, and Jory. They take over narrarating in this story, with life through their eyes, and it is a change, since we're all so used to Cathy's outlook. However, this book is one of the most disturbing in the series. In this book, Corrine somehow continues to deeply effect the lifes of her children, only this time, it leads into her grandchildrens lives as well. I would have gave this book 5 stars, but some parts were predictable. (we all know whos living next door) and I suppose some parts could have been more interesting. I wasn't as engrossed in the reading of this book, as I was with the other too. Still though, things get quite interesting. For somehow after all these years, still, the dreaful past seems to seep into everyones lives. Jory and Bart are deeply effected, (you will find out why) however, Bart more so. You will notice how he starts out a shy little boy, and turns into a more violent, angry person. I won't tell you what happens of course, but the ending is quite a twist. Reading this book, you wonder when the horror will end. You find yourself sympathising with every character.

This book should have ended the saga (the prequel should have come right after it) because it resolves the fates of all the major characters (do we really need to have a Seeds of Yesterday to find out what happened to Uncle Joel and Cindy?!)

It is a good read like all the Andrews' books, however, I have to give some warnings to potential readers out there. It is not written from the perspective of a woman! I know, that is really a shocker because it is the only V.C. Andrews book that is not narrated by a female. It's a bit weird when you're so used to reading her books told from the female perspective-this is told by Cathy's sons who are 14 and 9. Jory is the "good" son and Bart, conceived in "evil" circumstances, is a demented young boy who seems to want to embody all the creepy traits of his late great-grandfather.

I think it was a necessary tale because we need to find out what happens to Corrine, who did not die at the end of the previous book. We can't just leave her in the mental hospital. We need Chris and Cathy to have closure. However, despite the book's success at being engrossing and entertaining, we wish Cathy was telling it. I still think it should have been told by her, I didn't like this stylistic deviation. It's her story. I'm not sure Andrews' is as good as getting inside little boys' heads as she is little girls'. Understandable, of course, given her gender, but she should have stuck with what she knew.

However, I was happy with the conclusion and I think you will be too. Corrine has a chance to redeem herself which I think is important.

This book, the third in the trilogy, seems implausible, all the way through. Nothing seems natural or real.

But that doesn't mean it's not readable. You can read it and maybe overlook the implausibilities.

You have two young first-person narrators, Jory and Bart, both of school age. Now, you know how important school is to people aged 14 and 10.

Jory and Bart say nothing about school, their classmates, their teachers, school events, you name it. It is mentioned once or twice that they are in school, but that's it. Jory talks a bit about ballet school, but that's not school-school.

It's very implausible. Kids spend close to a third of their lives in school, at that age, and to leave only a blank wonderment there, where school should be, seems to mean that Andrews left it out on purpose. But it's not plausible.

Next, the evil person in this novel is the butler. That's plausible enough. Butlers are known for sneakiness and suppressed anger.

Yet, the butler, John Amos (Jackson), turns out to be a member of the Foxworth family. Can you believe that? A member of this wealthy family decides on a career as a butler?

John Amos is not such a bad bad guy. He's too old to be physically imposing. Cathy and Chris, even Jory, can overcome him easily. He apparently is not evil enough to carry a firearm of some type. Guess what he uses as weapons? Shovels and fire pokers. The man is born to lose, and he does lose, in the end (off to butler hell for this old codger).

Yet, John Amos was really the most interesting character in this book. Sometimes the bad guy is the most interesting character in a novel, because he or she is the only one who acts out of character, that is, unconventionally. That's true in this novel.

Bart does act unconventionally, but in the end, he's excused for his idiosyncrasies, because of his youth. Much of Bart's behavior is also implausible. This ties in with his apparent non-attendance at school, because his classmates would certainly have made him more conventional. That's one of the main purposes of school: socializing those who attend, making sure that they learn "the rules" of society.

Bart learns his rules from a book that John Amos gives him, a journal of his great-grandfather. Is this plausible? The boy sneaks around tasting dog leavings but reads like a child prodigy? Does this make much sense?

Well, you decide. And have fun.

Diximus.

While others criticize the shifting of POVs in this novel (From Cathy to the kids), I actually found it an intelligent move on V.C. Andrews part to make the main narrators JOry and Bart. Jory, specifically, is a far more reliable narrator than his mother Cathy in the past two novels (FITA and POTW). Both Flowers in the Attic and Petals on The wind are written as a "confessional" type of story, but Cathy tells the story in a way that there are glaring gaps or so much denial in her narrative that you can't fully trust her POV. Especially when it comes to her feelings about her sibling, Chris. There were many hints of her adoration of Chris in POTW through the suspicions of other characters, but Cathy still insisted on denying it.

But here in If There Be Thorns, through the eyes of Jory and Bart, we see how deeply in love and attached Cathy truly is to Chris. More in love with him than with any of the other men that came into her life. Jory is intrigued but at the same time disturbed by the almost supernatural and unique love that exists between his parents. Bart's voice is like a young Cathy of FITA days. But Bart is a darker version of that Cathy. More vulnerable, too. But even he notices that his parents like to kiss more often than other people do. Bart's vulnerability is what makes him an easy prey to the new people next door. The Old Lady next door merely wants to reunite with Chris/Cathy, but her butler...well, he has nefarious plans involving vulnerable Bart. And it's his plans which creates the conflict in this story.

While some of Bart's confusion and antics is disturbing and entertaining enough to read, it remains that the high point of this third novel is how the readers can see Chris/Cathy's relationship outside Cathy's perspective. Through an outsider's POV, the reader can clearly see the intensity of feelings between Chris & Cathy, the risk that they've taken and how it affects them. The reader can't help but be drawn to this couple that shouldn't be together, yet somehow, despite the wrongness of their relationship, you can't imagine them being happy with other people. They've gone through so much as children that it's nearly impossible for them to be a true and loving partner to anyone else. Through Bart and Jory, we also see Cathy's shortcomings as a mother. It actually makes you grateful that Chris is there to be father to the kids because without him to keep Cathy in check, Cathy might have treated Bart worse than she did in this book. I'm sorry, but I really feel that Cathy is outright deluding herself when she says Chris can't live without her. After reading this book, I'm convinced it's Cathy who is a total wreck if Chris is not by her side. He still continues to be the one to save Cathy and her sons.

I took out a star for the lukewarm plot of Bart's corruption. Four stars though for the further enlightenment on Chris and Cathy's relationship, especially during a delightful confrontation between Cathy and Madame M.

I wouldn't even give this book one star, except that is the lowest possible. What's wrong with this book? Pretty much everything, starting with the absolutely ludicrous plot, the dumbing down of the characters Cathy and Chris, the inconsistencies with the characterization of Corinne Foxworth, and finally just the out and out horrible dialogue- there are many, many cringe-worthy scenes of horrible dialogue in the book. Of all the directions that V.C. Andrews could have gone in with this series, she chose the most absurd, ridiculous, and least entertaining path. Perhaps the best example of the horrible writing and dumbing down of the characters is the scene where Madame Marisha confronts Cathy about her relationship with Chris. It is so contradictory and poorly written that the book loses all credibility- "Cathy, why doesn't your husband Paul ever come with you when you visit me, and why does your brother Chris always come with you instead? And why do your children call Chris 'dad'?" It's so silly that she couldn't figure it out until then, and that's just one example of many gaping holes in the plot. Cathy's son Bart kills animals and waves knives at people and talks to himself and disappears for hours and days on end, and still Cathy and Chris merely sit there and wring their hands. I enjoyed the first two novels, Flowers in the Attic and Petals on the Wind, and even when they ventured into pure melodrama and flowery prose, the books were still incredibly engrossing and entertaining; it's too bad the same can't be said for this book.

I pretty much kept reading these just because I wanted to find out what happened to the characters out of morbid curiosity. If there was a weird sex scene I skipped it. If there was something that was too scary of violent I skipped it. I still managed to walk away kinda disturbed, but I guess the first book in this series set a good example because I still cared about them in a weird detached way.

I had read the first book in this series, Flowers In The Attic, and wanted to read the next book, however, could not find it. So I settled for the third book IF THERE BE THORNS. Wow, was this book a thriller and the plot was fairly simple. Chris and Cathy Move into a huge Mansion in the middle of Hicksville with their two sons, Jorey (the semi normal one) and Bart (the odd one). Everything is Ok until a creepy old lady moves into the mansion next door. It is somewhat confusing because the views are changing every chapter from Bart to Joery. It's a really intense novel and Bart starts to change as he visits the old lady next door. It's a great story that really shows the scary part of human nature, but some of the characters could be left out. In the end, there is really is not a morale or lesson.

This is the third book in the Dollanganger series by V. C. Andrews. I found it very powerful and dark, but it was written from a different angle than the first books and for some reason didn't seem as good. But you should still read it! Chris and Cathy have moved far away thinking they have escaped their terrible past. They are living as husband and wife and bringing up Cathy's sons, Bart Winslow Jr. and Jory Marquet, and an adopted daughter, Cindy, as their own. Jory, like his father, has a very promising career in Ballet ahead of him, but Bart doesn't have anything that really makes him unique. One day, someone moves into the house next door. Whoever it is, they aren't very friendly. They haven't come over to introduce themselves, and they are never seen to leave their house. All of a sudden, Bart starts to act very strange. He is posessed. Posessed by the deep, dark secrets that can only live in the heart of a Foxworth. The strange next door neighbor who was thought to just be shy is none other than the dear old mother Cathy and Chris thought they had escaped forever.

And that's everyone seems to want to develop thier own theory of a relationship with God, and make it Gospel for all others to follow. The diaries of Malcolm make it seem as though that he was in tune with God, or you would hope so as he discovered it in a hot dusty attic as he was nursing cuts from a whip that he sustained from his father after he snuck some of his father's tabacco and pipe. I am struggling with how he connected his predicament with what seems to be an analytical thought that it has to do with his mother leaving him and his father when he was 5. Malcolm while I agree you have to be accountable for your actions doesn't mean you have to be a whipping boy because your father lost his wife because she couldn't handle living there anymore. It really doesn't go into whether or not Malcolm's father while whipping Malcolm said it was for stealing the tabacco, or if it was a regular switching because of the fact his wife was gone, and he bore a grudge against Malcolm. My guess was probably the latter because it's revealed in "Garden Of Shadows" that Malcolm was blamed for the leaving, and if that's the case then Malcolm's father was definitely in the wrong. A child may, or may not be precocious, but it doesn't give the parent license to whip when a child doesn't deserve it. My guess is that Malcolm had the 2 strikes against him where he came from privilege, and wealth, but also the fact that it was always easy to dismiss a child to a school abroad, and write it off as he's doing good for him without love. Then you have the two who are doing the narrations. Bart who's family lineage is connected to the Foxworths, and he is made known of this not by his mother, or stepfather, but an old butler who has to be the most dangerous character in the book who will always claim that the things he does whether good, or bad was always the will of God. This is a sick and diseased way of looking at things, and may do him some harm when he has to stand before God. This is John Amos the butler of Corrine Foxworth. Bart is the son of attorney Bart Winslow who was Corrine's second husband, but Corrine is not Bart's mother...no that honor was reserved for Corrine's oldest daughter Cathy as Cathy was out to blackmail Corrine for making her, her older brother Chris, and the 2 youngest children Cory and Carrie who are twins live in an attic while she waited to have Malcolm die, so she could earn the inheritance. Unfortunately, Corrine never told her children that Malcolm was dead, and it was revealed in the end of "Flowers In The Attic" where Malcolm put in a codicil to disinherit Corrine if it was ever proven that she had children which was the ultimate test to see how much she wanted the money, and it was even to the point of killing her 2nd husband, and her mother in a fire at Foxworth Hall, but she still had John to reckon with, and since John was on Corrine's mother's side that kept Corrine having to live the lies, and having to plead insanity. With a family like this it was rather easily as with the rich Relationship with God is to be manipulated into thier gain, and thier glory. So when it gets into Jory and Bart's hands Jory tends to lean towards love, and forgiveness, and so forth because he wasn't part of the Foxworth lineage really, but Bart has them, and the fact is he doesn't know how to handle this as the people who are supposed to teach him the proper values are all not even trying it looks like as Chris is so obsessed with Cathy that he pursues her throughout the first 2 books, and finally gets her. It has the earmarkings of the perfect romance novel doesn't it? However, it's not right for brother and sister to be behaving like this, and yes I guess it's in Bart's hands to accept the family he's been dealt with, and that his own actions he's to be accountable, but I ask you where are morals?

Cathy has two kids,Jory and Bart.Cathy and chris both take care of her kids.Chris,though not the father,takes full responsibility as the father,playing the fatherly roll.But anyway after Chris and Cathy's mother moves in next door with her butler,John Amos,Things start to go bad.

For one thing,she tries to get Bart on her side.And the great thing about this story is that it is written from the point of view of both Bart and Jory...The grandmother's main purpose is not just to make her grandkids like her,but to win the hearts of the children,Chris and cathy,once more...Boy,does she try hard,but does she succeed?She wants to beg forgiveness and with the hatred Cathy has for her,Things are definitely not going in her favour...enjoy...Nigel.

This series should have ended with Petals On The Wind. However, V.C. Andrews decided to continue the story. I will give her a thumbs up for an original and interesting way of telling the story. With the narration switched from Cathy to her sons Jory and Bart, we get a look at Chris and Cathy's life from a different perspective.

This also leads to some problems. It's kind of hard to sympathize with Bart at times. While at the beginning of the novel he comes off as just an awkward little nine year old, he quickly decends into depravity that I find rather hard to accept.

Jory also starts off great but as Bart gets more and more disturbed, I just have a really hard time believing that Jory would keep his mouth shut for as long as he did.

What really drags this book down is that it feels like a retread of things we've already read and lived through in the first two novels. At this point the story just starts to get old.

By the time the book drags along to the climax, once you reach that last page you are still left with some unanswered questions.

All in all a luke warm installment in what is otherwise a captivating series.

I can't say very much for this series in the plethora of Andrews' books. I can say, however, that this metaphorical cow has been milked excessively. Andrews had perfectly written the story in "Flowers in the Attic" and "Petals on the Wind", but the story continues when an old woman in black moves in next door to Chris and Cathy, who have married. Now they have two children, Jory and Bart, who are very different. Bart gets drawn into the old woman's home and atmosphere and takes on a strange attitude after being around the butler and his propaganda. I had a weak plot and wasn't as satisfying as her other works.

I have read this book and the other in the series over a half dozen times, and everytime I am amazed at how V. C. Andrews was ahead of her time in capturing the essence and evil of secrets and betrayal. In IF THERE BE THORNS we have the continuation of Cathy and Chris' story, told through the eyes and voices of their children. We are given a unique glimpse into exactly the extent the lies the family are living have spread---and what can happen when they go unchecked.

Yet another reason why V. C. Andrews will forever be one of the best.

cathy and chris are now living together as man and wife and raising her 2 boys. jory is every parents dream. good in school
and a great dancer like his mom. bart on the other hand seems
to do everything wrong. he is clumsy, always getting hurt and
feeling somewhat neglected until the house next door is occupied.
soon he is making friends with the little old lady there who
starts to whisper secrets about his supposed parents. this leads
him and jory into secrets past left in the past and a showdown with cathy and kris that is unbelievable.

First, even though I find Cathy's character less sympathetic with each page, I believe it was a mistake to switch the narration of the series to her sons. Jory comes off as bland in this story, serving only as the moral foil while his brother raises Hell. Bart is just plain disturbed, it looks that way even before the mysterious Corrine Foxworth appears on the scene, and I suppose the readers are led to believe this character flaw is a direct consequence of Cathy and Chris's incestuous "marriage".
Thorns is probably the least believable of the series. I find it baffling that it took nearly the entire book for Chris and Cathy to discover that their elderly neighbor was really their mother. Why wouldn't Chris, who had always had sympathy for his mother, have tried to track her down following her release from the mental institution? At least keep tabs on her in case this happened? Why would Corrine favor Bart more than Jory, aside from that fact that Bart was her husband's child too. They are both her grandsons, why play favorites?
The John Amos character was ridiculous, a stereotypical rehashing of the grandparents in Flowers, and his slant on helping Bart become the 'new Malcolm' was absurd.

After the disappointing Petals on the Wind I wondered just what story was left to tell about Cathy and Chris and their troubled family. Not much it seems.
This tale revolves around Cathy writing the book that would become 'Flowers in the Attic' while an elderly lady and her sour and sinister butler try to connect with her children, Bart and Jory. You don't have to be a rocket scientist to figure out just who the old lady is.
The two children (one well adjusted, the other suffering mentally) take turns telling the bitter tale. While that makes for an uneven narrative it does get the novel closer to the gothic tone of the fractured fairy tale mixed with taboo shattering family secrets in Flowers than the meandering, heavy on the soap suds Petals did. Close but no cigar.

I found the story line ridiculous, but the bigger problem was the way it was written. They use Cathy's sons Jory and Bart to tell the story. Jory is boring at it and Bart doesn't use full sentences so it's so hard to follow what he is saying. I found myself skimming so I could still get the idea of the story but I didn't have to deal with how Bart "talked".

I wouldn't skip the book because it really helps to explain some of the things in the next book, but don't expect it to live up to the first one.

This book was just as good as numbers one and two. V.c's books have been written by another person and have lost a real spark. Though not very many the new author writes are mind blowing, they are somewhat interesting and pull me in.
I loved the charachters in this book (Even though almost everyone in the book had blonde hair and blue eyes.. a little unrealistic). Jory wss sweet. It would be pretty cool if Julian had been there. I want to see his reaction to his son and the family history. The unfortunate part is the impact of another's selfishness has claimed Bart's mind. Chris and Cathy's love is just about the way i'd want my relationshil to be (We can't help who we love).

I thought this story was wonderfully told! I loved the idea of Jory and particularly Bart narrating it. Bart is by far the most complex and interesting character that VC ever created (save Malcolm...whom Bart closely resembles in this book and Seeds) and so it was a nice diversion from Cathy's narration in the past two books.
In this one, Cathy and Chris are living together as husband and wife with their two children (to whom Chris plays step-father); fourteen year old Jory and nine year old Bart. Things seem to be shaping up for the remaining Dresden dolls. Then Cathy adopts a sweet little girl, and an old lady dressed in black moves into the mansion next door...both of these lead to Bart's life altering psychosis in which he believes he is the old man...Malcolm Foxworth! Predictably, things go downhill from here (what's a VC story without a little DRAMA?!!), yet little Bart manages to keep the reader intrigued.
If you've read the first two novels; Flowers In The Attic and Petals On The Wind, I higly recommend that you give this one a go as well!

If there be thorns is told mainly in Bart and Jory's (Cathy and Chris's two children)view I really enjoyed this book while at times disturbing to read especially about what happens to Apple but this book reminds me of two or brothers in a differnt book series called Dragonlance just the way Bart envied and was jealous over jory because he seemed to get what he wanted and never had problems with girls or makeing friends much like Raistlin and Caramon. However I did find it very interesting as to the charcter of john amos is played out here more as I had stated in a review of Garden of shadows it seems that once again john is the puppet master while this time instead of Oliva it's Bart who he is useing. A couple of other things that are really interesting was how Cathy makes her attic look like the one in foxworth home when they were locked up there. then there are times in this book when you really can't stand Bart and the evil he does this book also brings in a new charcter by the name of cindy who is the adopted daughter of cathy and Chris all in all the books just got better after flowers in the attic I really and truly look foward to reading the last and final book ofthe Dollanganger

Chris and Cathy made a loving home for their sons, Jory,and Bart.
Then the lights came on next door. Soon the Old Lady in Black was there, watching them, guarded by her strange old butler. Soon she had Bart over for treats and asked him to call her "Grandmother."
And soon Bart's transformation began from this point on in the story. Fed by the hint of terrible things about his mother and father, this leads him into shocking acts of violence.
Now when 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.
As I read, I always wondered what Bart would do next.A good read.

If There be Thorns picks up a few years after the horrific events of Petals on the Wind. Chris and Cathy are now "married" and have relocated to Marin County, California.

They're now known as the Sheffields. Chris has a nice medical practice and Cathy teaches ballet. There children

Bart (Cathy's second child with her mother's husband) and Jory (Cathy's first child with her first husband, Julien Marquet). Over the years, Cathy and Chris have concoted a web of lies to cover their tracks and to keep the children from learning about their parents true identities. But a new couple has moved into the old house next door and they'll bring reality crashing down on the two kids like a house of cards.

How long can Chris and Cathy hide the truth from the children. Who are the new neighbors. What about Bart, a slightly troubled boy who'll grow up to be a handful. Can the family weather this new found trouble that they have inadvertantly created? To find out (and a whole lot more)

check out If There be Thorns.

Highly recommended.

I would have given this book 5 stars if it wasn't for the animal cruelty. Being an animal activist, I will not tolerate any kind of animal abuse whether it be fiction or real. Also, it was obvious from the beginning, who the stranger next door was. This book was predictable the whole way through. Chris seemed whiny and Cathy was not the same. This book was either written by a ghostwriter or VC Andrews had a headache the day it was written. If you want to continue reading about this saga though, I'd recommend you read it.

It begins with a prologue by Cathy Sheffeild explaining that it was her sons story now. Her oldest, Jory (Julian's son) is the apple of his 'parents' eye, and a gifted dancing artist. Thier youngest son, Bart (Bartholemew Winslow's son) never really was in the spotlight. As Jory outshines for the millionth time, Bart begins to play a somewhat fantasy game with his neighborm and old 'lady in black', who has him call her Grandmother. The rest of the plot is carried through the chapter-switching of Bart and Jory. Very well written, but still the children talk and act very much like adults, when they are but 14 and 9. Gory, graphic, and incestuous (yet again) the horror that once began in a small, stuffy attic continues in 'If There be Thorns'. The only complaint against this book is it is not told by Cathy, the usual narrator. It was a good read, but there again the concept of incest, which somewhat leads the reader to believe that it is acceptable (I was almost convinced until I finished the book). A simple, well-put book, but not as compelling as the previous two.

Thorns is a book in which you sit tail on end and cannot possibly put it down. I read this book, all through my trip to Disney World, so I must say it is easy to read. Like all the Dollaganger books, it sets chills to the bone. It starts out with a lonely little Bart who does not know himself, then proceeds on to be a dominent religous freak who knows to much about himself, and his sinnful "insessive" parents. Everyone blames the lady next door who is really only there to plead forgivness from her hating children. But actully it is the butler John Amos Jackson and Malcom's little red book telling Bart the "real" truth, and teaching him, of femine "wiles", and of sinning. Could Bart really be the one shoving the pitch fork trough Apple's head, and stranggling Clover with Barbwire? Bart is losing connections with everyone except John Amos, and the lady next door whom perfers him to call her "grandmother". He finds himself happy only when he crotches over, has heart trouble, and becomes the dreadful, heartless Malcom Foxworth.My favorite part is when Cathy's mother dies right when Cathy learns she still loves her mother and will forgive her. Will Cathy and Chris (Now a married couple)never rid the grandmother and memmories of the attic? The epilogue is a bit untelling, but as for the book, Way to go VC!

I read all of these books in paper back, and loved all of them. It is too bad that this author is no longer around to write, because she always wrote a great book. Get the entire series, I think you will enjoy them as much as I did. Of course I read them before there was such a thing as a Kindle, but I still loved reading them.

In this book, Cathy and Chris have settled in California with Jory, Cathy's son by Julian Marquet, and Bart, Cathy's son by Bartholomew Winslow, her mother's second husband. They use the last name of Sheffield. They also adopt a girl named Cindy. All is well, untill the day that an old lady and her butler move into the house next door. She invites Bart over for cookies and milk and tells him to call her "Grandmother". Who is this lady and what does she have in store for Bart?

Their trust in all others destroyed, Cathy and Christopher turn to each other and live as man and wife raising Cathy's two sons and providing them with a perfect home. Then they get some new neighbors who twist the mind of young Bart and destroy the families happiness. This is a story of Bart's transformation from happy little child to a tormented and confused little boy as he learns the truth of his parents deceptions and their frightening childhood.

Looks like I'm the only person willing to go out on a limb and give this book 3 stars. I didn't find this book as fulfilling as Flowers in the Attic nor as devestatingly creative as Petals on the Wind. I felt it lost some of the magic the other books captured and it seemed more like a filler book more than anything else. The plot twists seemed some what predictable yet it also had it's moments of strength. All in all, however, it's still a good book packed with hidden secrets only the Foxworth clan could have.

This sequal is a little different from the rest as it is told from the perspective of Cathy's kids Bart and Jory.
Bart is a troubled little boy who seems to get his jollies from torture and disrespect. Jory is the complete opposite. When the mysterious "Woman in Black" moves in next door, things get really interesting. Bart discovers that the man that has been his father all thru his childhood is not really his father, but his uncle and his mother's incestial relationship with him.
The woman next door turns out to be someone you NEVER in a million years expected her to be and the ending displays an almost supernatural sort of love. Read it! You won't be sorry!

This book was sort of real...more real than the other 2. After Dr Paul Sheffield dies,Cathy and Chris continue their incestuous relationship.Bart feels unloved and jealous of his brother, Jory.It becomes worse when Cathy adopts her student's younger sister,Cindy.Soon,he visits the house next door...which belongs to Corrine who has just come back from the loonybin.But don't misunderstand,it's her butler John who causes trouble for him. He gives Malcolm's diary to Bart to read and teach him about his cruel ways.Bart hangs over the edge of insanity as he learns more.But all Corrine wants is to have the love of her grandchild and the forgiveness of her children.The only thing is that Bart keeps on killing animals.Cathy finally visits the house and gets locked in the wine cellar with Corrine by John.There,Corrine explains the whole story and seeks her forgiveness.Cathy refuses. There was once when Cathy nearly went over the edge while reliving the days of horror.The house gets burnt like at the Christmas confrontation in Petals on the wind but this time Corrine dies. At her funeral, Cathy finally shouts out the words Corrine once longed to hear:"Momma I forgive you!Can you hear me now where you are?God please let her know I forgive her."

This is the one of the only books which features a non-queen hero(s), as the main charater. V.C. Amdrews does a good job at writing a book, based on what a boy's perspective might be- perspective... Both Jory and Bart are very good characters, that show a lot of understanding for their mother and father. That's until Bart goes crazy from John Amos twisting his mind with, the diary from Malcom Foxworth. His grandfather. It's an important book, that the Dollenganger series would'nt be complete without.

It's the pretty good story of Cathy's two sons' encounter with her mother Corrine. After years in a mental institution Corrine comes back to live in the house next door. While she's there she's secretly having her younger grandson Bart over to play. As he slowly changes he begins to hate all women, especially his mother, the bad things start to happen, and Cathy and Chris' dear secret starts to unravel. V.C. uses an enteresting style of writing in this book. In each chapter either Jory or Bart is in the narritive position as they tell the story from their point of view. It definately wasn't as good as the first two books because it is a little slow. But go ahead and read it if you'd like to know what happens to them, or if you're the type who likes to finish the series. It is very interesting.

i read every single one of these book series except for the last one. i think this book was the worst. the first 2 books were fabulous because it was so exciting and interesting. this book was just a plain dud. what's the story line? and it was way too freaky and confusing about all this stuff with Malcolm, John, and the mother. Hello!! Malcolm is dead and over with! and this whole insanity thing with poor Bart was a little out of hand and sick. i expected better from V C Andrews. but i have to give her credit-her other books were terrific. here's some advice: if you're planning to read the whole book series, you might as well skip this one. you're wasting your time and money. nothing changes in the story anyway. ok well, Cathy has 2 sons, the youngest goes crazy thanks to her mom who's her neighbor. also, get this, Cathy's THIRD husband is....CHRIS! how SICK can you get? i'm disgusted.

I think the review by kathrynlively on December 3, 2000 says it best. This was the worst book of the lot.

Telling the story this time is Cathy's two sons. Jory is the son every parent would want which is great except not exciting for a book. Bart is just plain loony and weird.

I found it annoying to read the chapters that were in Bart's words. I understand he, as a character, had poor english skills but even more bothersome was the way sentences would start out normal then lead into talk of being on safari or some other place where he had to hide, slither around and be ready to shoot or pounce on prey. It seemed all of that was just to fill the pages as it had no impact on the story.
Bart is given a journal that belonged to Malcolm Foxworth and he begins to read it. The journal pages included in the story started out interesting and gave explanation to many things. However, there was not as much of the journal put into the story as I thought there should be for as many references to it as there was.

I kept putting the book down then having to will myself to pick it up and finish. The most exciting thing about this book is that I was able to skim past pages with only a glance and still keep up with the plot.
Because of this book I have moved on and doubt I will ever read the other 2 books of the series.

I just finished reading the Dollanganger series. This was one of the worse ones. There were 5 in the series : 1) Flowers in the Attic 2)Petals on the Wind 3)If there be thorns 4)Seeds of yesterday 5)garden of shadows. The best books were #1, 2, 5. I did not care for the this book as much, but you should read it if you are going to read the whole series!! HAPPY READING!

I LOVE the Flowers in the Attic series, but this one was not one of my favorites. Cathy is portrayed as a dumb blonde who shows favoritism only to Jory and Cindy. Chris seems melodramatic, but then again, he always was. From the very beginning you know who the stranger is moving in next door. Bart's transformation is mesmerizing and sometimes creepy. It's a quick read though. Just don't let the switch in narrarators throw you off.

I loved that a certain evil woman came rising back to life in book number three, as well as a continued story on the forbidden romance of the two siblings, Christopher and Cathy and now we see some new adventure, as well as another villain!!
Who's side will you be on?

I've read all of V.C. Andrews' books. This has to be one of the best(aside from Melody which was the first I read and so captivated me more)books ever written. The beginning grabs you and stuns you and readers young, old and just plain experienced readers agree V.C. is one of the greatest. V.C. has hooked me!!!!(note)I never give a book more than four stars.

I absolutely loved this book. My mom had showed me the first one even though my dad though it was to disturbing for me. i have read up to thid book and can't wait to read the fourth. The book is about Chris and Cathy living together with two chidlren and one adopted child name Cindy. She had one child from Juillian named Jory who is a wonderfull dancer and another from Dr. Paul named Bart. Bart had a huge imagination and Jory is the talented, handsome boy. They live in a simple cottage next to a huge mansion. One day a old lady with a butler moves in next door. Bart starts to go see her and talks to her. Then all of a sudden he starts changing for the worst, quotting the bible, and seems to be going crazy. The book is amazing. About a boy that is on the brink of becoming insane an a brother trying to save him.

Not one of her books have been bad...and this one is almost as good as the first. I think the second one is the best..but if you liked any of them you will like this one as well!! The story: cathy and chris are lovers, cathy's children find out the truth about their past...cathy's mom comes back and moves in next door. it just gets better and better. and the end is so good! i won't ruin it for you but I cried...simple as that!

After reading "Petals..." I felt it was nessecary to finish the series, eager to know where Chris and Cathy end up. I must say as a character Bart is rather disturbing and the plot seems to drag on and on and on and on(you get the idea) BUT there are some key scenes that one must read to fully understand the 4th book. I would say buy it used OR read it for free in a bookstore.

I love the Dollanganger series as much as anyone, but this book bothered me. I love animals and what Bart did to his dog, Apple just made me furious. He ties the dog up, puts his food just out of reach and leaves him in a swelteringly hot barn. That scene made me cry nad cry. Someone finlly discovers him, and when Bart sees that Apple is running around the barn chasing a ball, healthy and frisky again, he abuses him, kicks him and such. That scene was the most awful thing I had ever read. With all of VC Andrews wonderful writings, why did she include this?

Although it was very dark, even creepy.....I just had to finish the book. As in Flowers in the Attic, and Petals on the Wind, I just couldn't quit reading. What a writer V.C. Andrews was! Wow is all I can say. I will read the next two in the series for sure, even if they make me uncomfortable as with "If There Be Thorns", I just have to see this story through.

I was very dissapointed in If There Be Thorns, It is told from the point of veiw of her two sons Bart and Jory. The book is very dry and kinda dull, the only real interesting parts ar the ones told from Bart's point of view. But all in all this book justs plods along to a dull and uninspiring ending.

I liked the first book in this series, and the second one was okay. This book, however, was too disturbing for me. I decided to give up the series after being left with an unsettled feeling after reading this book. Bart, age nine, was so disturbed, it was difficult for me to read his morbid and twisted thoughts. Definitely need something a lot lighter to read after this book. I can only guess at how the others will unwind, and at this point, I just don't want to know.

Ah, Virginia Clark Andrews. She was soooo bad, she made Jackie Susann look like Nabokov. To paraphrase Stephen King (writing about another unspeakable writer), "She wouldn't know a balanced line of prose from a poo-and-anchovy pizza." I picked up the first of her Dollanganger novels when I was thirteen. It gave me hope: I realized that if this V.C. Andrews person could write so dreadfully and still get her piece of dreck published, maybe, just maybe, I could someday do the same.

Still, I admit that her first two books were addictive reading. By this one, book three, it's time to say, "Joke's over." Nothing in any of the books is even remotely believable: Corinne Foxworth is one of the world's most famous heiresses, constantly photographed and written about, but NOT ONE of her former acquaintances from Gladstone, Pennsylvania ever sees a photo of her and contacts a tabloid with the news that Mrs. Foxworth used to be Mrs. Dollanganger, suburban Momma of four? The kids' late father somehow avoiding military service in WWII? (Even my dad-in-law, married with a child and 35 years old, was drafted in 1944!) Cathy is a ballet dancer in New York, surrounded by heterosexual male dancers! OK, OK, on to "Thorns". Here's the scoop!

Cathy and Chris, our incestuous lovers, are now living as man and wife somewhere in California. They had a ranch house built with an attic large enough to put beds in and to go dancing in. Yeah, right. They live with Jory (what a name), her son with her late husband Julian (a very perverted creep) and Bart (NOBODY names their kid Bart anymore), her son with her late stepfather Bart Senior. Jory is another straight ballet dancer. None of the kids at school give him a hard time about being a ballet dancer (and this was set in the early 1980s.) Bart is a psychotic little dork who is enough to make you wish that the Grandmother was still around to dish out some tar and two-week starvations. Well, old crazy Cathy is starting to lose it, so Chris advises her to write a book about their hellish life in the attic. Blah, blah, blah. Cathy promptly begins to write the book. Which brings up the issue that made me throw this idiotic novel at the wall:

Why does Cathy freak out when her former mother-in-law, Julian's mother, threatens to 'out' her and Chris as the sibling-bumpers that they are? CATHY IS WRITING A BOOK ABOUT THE SUBJECT AND WANTS TO GET THE THING PUBLISHED!

It makes no sense, and it amazes me that neither Andrews, nor her editor (did she have one?) realized this.

This story like MY SWEET AUDRINA confused me. It started with Cathy's point of view. Then it turned to the view point of her sons. It was terrifying to the whole family when Bart turned mean. Jory was upset when his dog Clover was killed. Cindy was scared to death of Bart when he threatened her. Cindy needed to be reminded that she could trust Chris and Cathy and Jory. John Amos had no business using Bart to get to Chris and Cathy.

First was Garden Of Shadows. Then there was Flowers In The Attic. Next comes Petals In The Wind. Now there is the wonderful book If There Be Thorns. This book is one of the many that I've enjoyed reading. This book tells about the facts and sharp edges of life, and for the Dallanganger Family it's extremely mysteriously terrifying. This book is the perfect example of what they have to go through. As for me I'm gonna be reading Seeds Of Yesterday, but I would still recommend the book If There Be Thorns to all of you.

I adore V.C Andrews,and this is is my first V.C Andrews(out of the 1 and 3/4's I've read).
It had the structure and plot I have come to expect from her,but the end is a little confusing

Grade:A

The first book "Flowers in the Attic" was great. The characters and their motivation were believable. The second, was alright, but Cathy starts seeming a wee bit narcissistic. You find yourself almost rooting against her. By this third book, the characters seem almost stupid and their reactions almost comatose. You find yourself thinking "this is probably a good thing to weed out the gene pool." If you get to the 4th book, you'll feel as swindled as you did for "Battle for the Planet of the apes."

The first book was good. The rest was just milking a dead cow.

I don't like Cathy Dollanganger. The way she treats Bart is disgusting. She favors adopted Cindy and graceful Jory and treats Bart like waste paper. I'm tired of brothers and sisters as lovers. V.C. Andrews is the same old story.

I was very dissapointed in If There Be Thorns, It is told from the point of veiw of her two sons Bart and Jory. The book is very dry and kinda dull, the only real interesting parts ar the ones told from Bart's point of view. But all in all this book justs plods along to a dull and uninspiring ending.

I liked the first book in this series, and the second one was okay. This book, however, was too disturbing for me. I decided to give up the series after being left with an unsettled feeling after reading this book. Bart, age nine, was so disturbed, it was difficult for me to read his morbid and twisted thoughts. Definitely need something a lot lighter to read after this book. I can only guess at how the others will unwind, and at this point, I just don't want to know.

Ah, Virginia Clark Andrews. She was soooo bad, she made Jackie Susann look like Nabokov. To paraphrase Stephen King (writing about another unspeakable writer), "She wouldn't know a balanced line of prose from a poo-and-anchovy pizza." I picked up the first of her Dollanganger novels when I was thirteen. It gave me hope: I realized that if this V.C. Andrews person could write so dreadfully and still get her piece of dreck published, maybe, just maybe, I could someday do the same.

Still, I admit that her first two books were addictive reading. By this one, book three, it's time to say, "Joke's over." Nothing in any of the books is even remotely believable: Corinne Foxworth is one of the world's most famous heiresses, constantly photographed and written about, but NOT ONE of her former acquaintances from Gladstone, Pennsylvania ever sees a photo of her and contacts a tabloid with the news that Mrs. Foxworth used to be Mrs. Dollanganger, suburban Momma of four? The kids' late father somehow avoiding military service in WWII? (Even my dad-in-law, married with a child and 35 years old, was drafted in 1944!) Cathy is a ballet dancer in New York, surrounded by heterosexual male dancers! OK, OK, on to "Thorns". Here's the scoop!

Cathy and Chris, our incestuous lovers, are now living as man and wife somewhere in California. They had a ranch house built with an attic large enough to put beds in and to go dancing in. Yeah, right. They live with Jory (what a name), her son with her late husband Julian (a very perverted creep) and Bart (NOBODY names their kid Bart anymore), her son with her late stepfather Bart Senior. Jory is another straight ballet dancer. None of the kids at school give him a hard time about being a ballet dancer (and this was set in the early 1980s.) Bart is a psychotic little dork who is enough to make you wish that the Grandmother was still around to dish out some tar and two-week starvations. Well, old crazy Cathy is starting to lose it, so Chris advises her to write a book about their hellish life in the attic. Blah, blah, blah. Cathy promptly begins to write the book. Which brings up the issue that made me throw this idiotic novel at the wall:

Why does Cathy freak out when her former mother-in-law, Julian's mother, threatens to 'out' her and Chris as the sibling-bumpers that they are? CATHY IS WRITING A BOOK ABOUT THE SUBJECT AND WANTS TO GET THE THING PUBLISHED!

It makes no sense, and it amazes me that neither Andrews, nor her editor (did she have one?) realized this.

This story like MY SWEET AUDRINA confused me. It started with Cathy's point of view. Then it turned to the view point of her sons. It was terrifying to the whole family when Bart turned mean. Jory was upset when his dog Clover was killed. Cindy was scared to death of Bart when he threatened her. Cindy needed to be reminded that she could trust Chris and Cathy and Jory. John Amos had no business using Bart to get to Chris and Cathy.

First was Garden Of Shadows. Then there was Flowers In The Attic. Next comes Petals In The Wind. Now there is the wonderful book If There Be Thorns. This book is one of the many that I've enjoyed reading. This book tells about the facts and sharp edges of life, and for the Dallanganger Family it's extremely mysteriously terrifying. This book is the perfect example of what they have to go through. As for me I'm gonna be reading Seeds Of Yesterday, but I would still recommend the book If There Be Thorns to all of you.

I adore V.C Andrews,and this is is my first V.C Andrews(out of the 1 and 3/4's I've read).
It had the structure and plot I have come to expect from her,but the end is a little confusing

Grade:A

The first book "Flowers in the Attic" was great. The characters and their motivation were believable. The second, was alright, but Cathy starts seeming a wee bit narcissistic. You find yourself almost rooting against her. By this third book, the characters seem almost stupid and their reactions almost comatose. You find yourself thinking "this is probably a good thing to weed out the gene pool." If you get to the 4th book, you'll feel as swindled as you did for "Battle for the Planet of the apes."

The first book was good. The rest was just milking a dead cow.

I don't like Cathy Dollanganger. The way she treats Bart is disgusting. She favors adopted Cindy and graceful Jory and treats Bart like waste paper. I'm tired of brothers and sisters as lovers. V.C. Andrews is the same old story.

I found this book in my friend's house and asked to borrow it, ever since for the next two days I couldn't put it down. I haven't read the pervious two books, but now i REALLY want to. This book is fabulous, I love Bart and Jory, I absolutely LOVE the way bothg kids have a chapter. I loved reading Bart's chapters and the way he made everthing seem cruel and extremely depressing and then reading Jory's chapter which always had the brighter light to them.

Out of all the books in the Dollanganger series, this is the darkest one. This story is about Cathy's boys Jory (the good son) and Bart (the bad son). Cathy and Christopher trys to get away from their past but someone is always behind them. Her son Bart becomes the embodiment of her grandfather Malcolm Foxworth.

I love this book just because its apart of this series. But I think its my least favorite of the series just because Bart is such a little BRAT! I would have sent his little behind to military school. Other than Bart, I liked every part of it.

I think this book could have been better written. I didn't like how it was written in the two boys' views. I like Cathy's, and the constant switching and the use of the grammer to portray a boy was constantly irritating. The story, however - was very pleasing. I could not put the book down, despite the way it was written. This is definetly a must read for everyone that loves the series!

get off the horse. this book. i mean seriously. does everyone out there want to be blonde and sleep with their own personal brothers (or am i alone here).
an eerie, chilling (yet oddly moving and arousing at the same time) insight into the goyum.

I read these books a long time ago and marveled at the writings. I lent then to someone and went to read them again only to find I had never gotten them back. This is how a series of books should be written. The characters pull your emotional strings and you become a part of the story. This is good for adolescence and older. Once you read it you will never forget it.

While the book wasn't the worst read, I felt it didn't tie in well with the others. It seemed like the pattern the first two books followed was broken with this one. The sequel to Flowers was hard enough for me to enjoy as I felt it turned a great premise into a soap opera but at least it had a lot of strengths and tied well with the first book. This book seemed like straws were being grasped to try and continue a series that shouldn't have continued. As a writer, I personally would have seen the series go in a much different direction after Flowers and If There Be Thorns took the series even further into the pit of unrealistic drama than Petals did. While Thorns wasn't unentertaining, it was overall rather disappointing.

Now for spoilers:

There were, in my opinion, an unacceptable amount of obvious grammatical errors including but not limited to using the word "it's" rather than "its", repeating words twice in a row by accident, and using the wrong word completely.

Could have just been V.C.Andrews trying to dramatise Bart's character as being crazy but he acted very unrealistically as a ten-year-old even in the beginning and by the end he was a complete sociopath who needed to be put in a mental hospital for his own good.

Cathy and Chris let way too many behaviors go ignored that should have been punished and while I know parents make mistakes and Bart want easy to punish with his nerve issues, they should have found better ways to punish him that didn't involve spanking and actually made sure to follow through with them.

I found them letting Bart get away with even attempting to push them around at the end of the book disturbing and repulsive.

The only portion of the book I really found enjoyable was Jory's telling if things.

If I was the one writing a third book for the series I would have focused on a lot of the same things but executed then much differently. Maybe V.C. just had a fantastical view of what needed to happen but to have Corrine move in next to them, focus on Jory and melodie, Bart having social and emotional issues not including brainwashing and sociopathy, and then have Cathy and Chris's secret revealed and focus on the drama that created would have been enough, I think. Those four things would have made a very enjoyable and hefty novel with more realism that would have been much more enjoyable to the audience she aquired who no doubt had fallen in love with the characters and wanted closure in knowing how their story concluded. And I haven't read the fourth book yet but I feel this *is* where it should have concluded. Leave people wanting more, not less.

The last disappointment I had with this book was that it was from the perspective of the children. While I think it was a choice meant to bring to light a new view on things, and it did, I feel like I speak for a lot of readers when I say I wanted to know more about Cathy and Chris, to be perfectly honest. I would have loved to read from Chris's perspective. I know there is a recent book that is the diary of Christopher but while it has V.C.Andrews on the cover it is not written by her and that makes it feel less authentic. As a writer I know what it is like to have a world in my head and have a picture of everyone in it and know more about what those dear characters feel than anyone else ever could and even if the books written by Andrew Neiderman are enjoyable, I won't be able to enjoy the work of a ghost writer as much as if I knew it was work born directly of that world V.C. had built in her head.

One more thing that bothers me in this series is the idea that every man is some kind of animal with no control over their instincts or desires but that may be a product of V.C.'s views on men or maybe a product of the time period; I can't be sure.

All in all I've rated three stars as the book was enjoyable and entertaining but not nearly what I had hoped it would be and it was missing a great deal of the charm and likeability of the first two books in the series.

(Please forgive any errors in my review as I'm writing it from my phone and use swipe to type. I would have read over it but the review box is hard to navigate.)