“Cathy’s hands are rated E for everyone” “If there’s one thing I’m going to do it’s hold a grudge. I’ll heal in hell” Words cannot express how much I love your analysis and perspective.
I DONT THINK CORRINE DESERVED FORGIVENESS EITHER. Like, she wasn’t even sorry for real. Every chance she got, she blamed it on someone else or started crying to deflect and manipulate.
Omg, Toni!!! Hey girl! Can’t believe I found you here! 🙉 Totally agree with you! I loved this series of books! I don’t think Corrine ever deserved forgiveness! She murdered her freakin children! She deserved a lifetime of hell! Glad to know you are a bookworm too! 🫶🏽
@@LeoGirl80well now I need to know how y'all know each other, give us the lore This has only ever happened to me once and it was a trip! My old friend from elementary it was so cool.
Just realized another element to why baby Cindy is likely such a trigger, even if bart doesn't clock it. Cindy fits the dollenganger naming theme of C's. Neither he nor jory do.
This is weirdly my new favorite book breakdown series. It just popped up in my suggested and I remembered the first book vaguely from highschool but I did NOT remember how bonkers these books are lol. Love it.
I have been re reading the whole series and I think the reason Corrine was so obsessed with bart is because she sees him as the son she never had with bart senior
Also it shows her extreme narcissism and selfishness. She almost killed all of her children then moved next door and assumes she’ll be welcome and have any rights to her children or grandchildren. Also I always thought Bart was a very disturbed child from the gate but Corrine and her “butler” made him so much worse.
Naturally. Because she “couldn’t”. That’s also why Cathy deliberately tried to make sure she got pregnant. The ultimate revenge. It’s pretty sweet but also that she literally had a baby to get back at her mom is hellacious. But at least she loved him unconditionally and treated him well. As well as she could.
I was in middle school when I read these, seventh grade, I think, so 96-97...but the absolute brake screech in my head when she started talking about the attic situation being in the 60s with Chris and Cathy born in the 40s...
Whenever I’m reading a book and I can’t imagine or know the asthetics, I need to google image everything about that era to get a clear picture in my head 😂
Just for the record you're not a bad person. I remember reading this and literally counting down the chapters when Kathy would discover Corinne and give her a one-way ticket to ass beat City.
I been waiting for this one! Love hearing you discuss this insane series lol This one took me off guard in that I actually cried at the end during Corrine's funeral. When Cathy starts screaming "Momma, Momma I forgive you! I still love you!" That absolutely DESTROYED me when I first read it. As horrendous as Corrine was, and the damage she caused her poor kids, deep down Cathy still loved her Momma. 🥺💔 I also loved that Corrine died saving Cathy. The only good thing she did in the whole series. I took that as maybe she was truly sorry. Not that what she did could ever be taken back, it was just something I thought about.
Same. She loves the Momma she was before the attic. Even if it wasn’t 100% genuine on Corríne’s part. She loved her as best she knew how I guess. I forgot all about that scene! It reminds me of Imitation of Life. An old movie, no incest lol And the daughter is the one who betrays her mother and throws herself onto the hearse when her mom dies. 😢
@@TheEverGrowingRosey-333 Yep. Cathy even admits in Petals on the Wind that even though she does hate Corrine that a little bit of love for her still lives and it hurt to make her mom cry during the big confrontation at the end. It's such a heartbreaking story and I felt so bad for Cathy.
@@stevenandcarminabeedle9089 I was expecting the end of If There Be Thorns to hit me as hard as it did. Even after everything Corrine did, for Cathy to break down and start begging God to let Corrine know she still loved her....Whew! That got me. 💔
Yes! Omg that got me too!! This is my absolute favourite book series ever! The obsession started in early high school. I’m 42 now and still obsessed! 😮❤❤❤❤
That ending was absolutely horrifying. Bart began to WALK like a great grandfather he never met.. based on reading his journal.. and then that?… Also Tucker Carlson villain origins. My Boho mommy left me so all women are evil. 🥺😡
I am so ready for seed of yesterday and garden of shadows.. I binged all 3 videos yesterday. I havent read these in 20 years, and it was so fun getting the recap with commentary. Great job!
I've been following your breakdowns of these books. I never knew the whole story before, it's genuinely so morbidly fascinating! I don't have the resources to buy these books, so these reviews are really great for me. Thank you so much!
@@katdeasyy I don't like the idea of pirating works, especially if I can't/don't have plans to buy them. Would this be anything similar to piracy, or is it a digital library service?
This is my favorite book in the series and I was waiting for you to do a video on it. I always say that the best (as in, best written and most tragic) corruption arc I've ever seen in media was the one of Bart in If There Be Thorns. I haven't read anything more horrifying, sad, and tragic as what Bart goes through and John Amos' manipulation that makes him spiral into becoming worse and worse and embodying the identity of a dead man. It's chilling, and I highly recommend reading this book if anything for the quality of the narrative writing and character arcs present in the story. Also my favorite character is Jory, the most well adjusted in the family 😭 (though he goes through some serious shit in the next book but he gets a happy ending of sorts and idk, I'm just glad that he's happy and okay).
This was my fav too! It was the first book I read by V.C. Andrew’s and at first I figured the context was enough for the first two book. Boy was I wrong lol this one is my favorite series out of all the ones I read. I think Heaven is my second favorite.
@@stevenandcarminabeedle9089 my faves are opposite. I think because Heaven was the first series I read. I forget when I finally read the Flowers in the Attic series, I think it took me longer to read, because I had seen the movie, original, so many times
I just finished watching your other two videos, and wow, Cathy's pain train really never ends. She managed to survive to the end of this book, but with her career destroyed and her one child changed in a truly horrible way. I know this book followed the boys, but it with always be Cathy's story and perspective that I follow most, and goodness do I feel awful for her.
I’m just starting the video now but I want to say I really enjoy the way you discuss books compared to other “book tubers” I’ve seen. Whereas a lot of them nitpick and go off a list of annotations or just briefly summarize the book you really take the time to develop your feelings/stance about a book
You’ve done such a great job with breaking down these books. I’ve never read them, because every time I’ve seen a video or review talk about the book, the focus has always been about the weird incest. You’ve told the story so beautifully & shifted the focus to what it really is i.e generational trauma & the cycle of abuse. I think people have sensationalised the incest aspect so much that they fail to look beyond that. Your storytelling & analysis have convinced me to give this book a shot & have a better perspective on the events that take place in the book. From what I’ve seen till now, the author seems to have a very good understanding of trauma & how deeply it affects people in every aspect of their lives & how that trauma carries over to the people they come across. If anything, this book is a very well written story of the inner workings of victims & how the victims eventually become perpetrators. Especially for the time when it was written. I applaud you for doing this series justice with your breakdown of it.
I don't think I've even been so early - Video posted 14 Minutes ago. Also "I'll heal in Hell" is so relatable. I can not wait for you to cover the rest of the books!
“If there’s one thing I’m going to do it’s hold a grudge. I’ll heal in hell” this was genius and I relate so bad. Excellent review/analysis. Can't wait for the other two books, especially Garden of Shadows, even more after watching the tv limited series.
I can't get enough of your reviews! Thank you so much. Any chance you'll be doing the Heaven series? Oh please please consider it!!! Old V.C Andrews is my guilty pleasure. I've read all the old stories so many times and they never get the love they should, so I thank you again for these treats❤
I remember reading Flowers in the Attic at an age way too young to do so. It always stuck in the back of my mind, but I never read the rest of the series. Listening to your analysis is helping me complete a story that's been opened in my mind for way too long.
My best friend was obsessed with these books in middle school and I never knew what they were about … I’m shocked lmao. Great job covering this series so far !!!
Also i think those last few lines if the book might be a way of showing how trauma can come up at anytime even without triggers or warnings. We can relive a bad memory as if it was now.
I've been loving these! I read these books probably an unhealthy amount of times as a teenager but it's been so many years since I've even thought of them and this has been such a fun nostalgia trip.
Love that you even take the time to do a timeline! I have never heard anyone else bother to. I'm glad I found your channel again. I had listened to the original videos you did where we saw you on camera. I really enjoyed them. I was sad when I couldn't find them, so I was glad to finally find these new ones and subscribed.
Corinne has nothing but the audacity because girl how are you gonna act like you were victimized by your daughter enough to say you hate her when you're the one that locked her and her siblings away in an attic for 3 years lorded over by your abusive mother, murdered one of sibling and caused the suicide of another, on top of causing lifelong trauma?? Corinne needed to bite the curb in 4k 1080p crystal clear HD
I have long wondered what Malcolm’s father was like. Did he do something to drive off the original Corrine? Remember, the impressions of a little boy are not the most reliable nor are they the full story.
I just discovered your channel today, watched BOTH of your flowers in the attic videos and subscribed, and then I check my subs and see this gift- your channel is fantastic!!
YESSS PERFEC TIMING! I just finished your last vid and was so hyped for this one!! I never got past the first book because I was 14 and like “wtf was that” but knowing the fates of the characters in the later books gives me some closure 🫶 love how thorough and nuanced you are :)
BART telling his mom (Kathy) “woman you best gon’ before I lose my temper” and her being TERRIFIED 😅 will live rent free in my head forever. My favorite part of this book. So glad you’re covering this series.
Just here to say I check almost daily if you have posted a video on the next book. Regardless of if you had plans to or not. I love content on these books lmao
I’m really enjoying this series, I read the books in my preteens/early teens back in the 90’s and I unironically loved them, as did my friends. It was a whole VC Andrew’s young teen fan club, we read so many of the authors books. Your retelling has me itching to go back and read all but Flowers In The Attic (which I remember far too well) from an adult perspective. Thank you for doing this series.
I think Bart was already a deeply disturbed child long before Corrine moved in next door and John Amos got his hooks into him. I think certain mental illnesses must have run rampant in their family and it shows: Malcom was a misogynist, narcissistic and abusive person. He considered his daughter a beautiful possession he wanted to keep to himself. His daughter in turn was spoiled and selfish and also a narcissist. She thought she had every right to her children and grandchildren even after everything she’d done. She knew John Amos was mentally ill but she moved in next door with him in tow. Cathy was also narcissistic in her own way by bringing Cindy into the family even while it was more and more obvious that Bart was seriously diving into mental illness. From this book you finally learn more about Malcom and what made him the way he was and you learn more about Corrine but more importantly you see a pattern emerging. Chris and Cathy were also the products of incest which means that some very undesirable genes would be magnified.
I agree. Bart was deeply disturbed from the get go, Jory was raised in the exact same home and is such a sweet kind boy. I can understand why Chris and Cathy didn’t know what to do with Bart! His attempt to hurt Cindy was so shocking.
To be fair CPTSD can mimic narcissism and Cathy is the poster child for CPTSD. Sometimes mental illness is born, and sometimes it is made. If it was made with Bart I think it was internalization of the bullying. For a long time I thought my abusive narcissistic ex had CPTSD, if he does he still is a narcissist, and had no interest in getting help despite the abuse his issues drove him to do, specifically against me but really any woman, and the elaborate facade he has, but she doesn't typically act in ways heedless to others. She genuinely loves people, she doesn't try to make a performance of it for gain or seek attention no matter the cost. She genuinely wanted to give a mother to a child who lost hers.
People can have narcissistic traits without having the full blown personality disorder. And people who have certain disorders tend to be self centered to at least some degree probably because they’ve been through so much trauma their self preservation instincts become magnified.
So happy I found these! I just finished the first two and saw you posted the next one! So lucky. This is the only book of the series I have such a hard time reading as it is not from Cathy's POV. Barts POV is especially tough!
I absolutely love your insightful in-depth commentary and speculation on this series. It has been many years since I have read this series, but you inspire me to want to delve back into this tragedy.
You have no idea how much I have been waiting for this, your videos are getting me incredibly nostalgic for the young me that looked for these books all over the place in old bookstores to finish the saga. Everyday I check my suscriptions hoping that there will be a new one. Thank you very much for making this.
I’m so glad I found your channel because these videos about the “Flowers in the Attic” series are excellent! I’ve really enjoyed your recaps and your commentary as well. I read the series years ago and found them creepy and enthralling at the same time.
omg i started this series yesterday and was ready to wait patiently, and u posted today! Yay, so ready to listen to this video. Enjoying it so far! I read this series in HS but i like the refreshment.
THANK YOU for doing this one!!! I LOVE your breakdowns (the summary of the timescale is especially welcome and helpful) I originally read this whole series up to this point as a kid. And even then, my sympathies switched from Cathy to Bart in this book. I was on Cathy's side in the first two novels. The 3rd novel exposes in a way the others fail to one of the persistent underlying problems with the characters. What I picked up from the beginning but only fully realized in this novel, is that the main characters - Cathy, Chris, Corinne, Chris Sr. - all exist in this delusional bubble created by the following beliefs: 1) What is physically beautiful is ultimately good - even in the face of all evidence to the contrary 2) Love justifies ANYTHING (and yes that includes incest) - and with the corollary that sex more or less equals love 3) You will get a happy ending in life if you just hold onto those first 2 beliefs Of course all of that is garbage. Yet it fuels the dreams and dwindling hopes of Chris and Cathy while they're in the attic. It fuels the entire plot of Petals on the Wind. And it comes crashing down in If There Be Thorns. Because if they weren't operating on those delusions Cathy and Chris might actually get their heads out of their asses and actually SEE and relate to Bart and realize that BOTH children require - and are WORTHY of - their attention and emotional investment. But they don't do that. And the result, before anyone moves in next door, is the fracturing of Bart's personality.They then double down on this tinder box of a situation by DRAGGING ANOTHER CHILD INTO THIS MESS just because Cathy wants to. What broke my heart most of all about this novel in general is how many Dollanganger series fans absolutely CANNOT or REFUSE TO get this about Bart because they are so invested in the forbidden "love story" of Chris and Cathy. Even as a kid I knew what Chris and Cathy were doing was not only wrong but it was one of the main drivers of Bart losing his mind. I also got that their willful (both conscious and unconscious) refusal to see that and do the right thing was the REAL VILLAIN of this story. ALL OF THIS COULD HAVE BEEN AVOIDED IF CHRIS AND CATHY DIDN'T LIVE AS HUSBAND AND WIFE AND DIDN'T LIVE IN THE SAME HOUSE. That would have been the definitive step to beginning to fix all of this and they refused to take it. I blame Chris more than Cathy because at least Cathy TRIED. Chris just lay like a snake in the grass waiting for his moment which he finally got. Can you imagine how different the story COULD have been if, when Bart found out about all of this, Cathy and Chris were NOT living together? SO much damage could have been avoided. And the fault lies squarely at Chris and Cathy's feet. And then they doubled down on this by forcing Bart to continue playing happy families with their incestuous union. Basically they forced Bart to live a lie and keep a secret that would have had serious legal repercussions if it had gotten out. And they low-key treated him as if he was defective because he never truly becomes comfortable or totally on board with this the way Jory does. You can't do that to a kid and call yourself a good parent. No matter how pretty you are. No wonder the events of Seeds of Yesteryear happened. THIS IS THE BOOK IN WHICH CHRIS AND CATHY TRULY BECOME EVIL. I said what I said. It's one thing when what you do only affects you and whatever adult freely consents to do it with you. It's another thing entirely to drag kids into it. This is the point where I turned against Cathy and especially Chris. You know why Bart especially hated Chris? Because it's CHRIS who's the driving force keeping him and Cathy together. They're both at fault. But Chris is a perfect example of looking like a good person and being rotten underneath. No he's not mean. No he's not ugly. No he's not rude or argumentative, etc. But he is ROTTEN. Because he KNOWS what he's doing is wrong. He DID pressure Cathy into being with him. (Remember HE'S the one who started their sexual relationship in the first place. The feelings were there; but he activated the problem by his own actions. He is just as sick as Corinne is. He just manages it better. Cathy is the raggedy one because she doesn't manage this sick situation as well as he does. But that makes her the healthier one.) And now, together, he and Cathy are throwing Bart under the bus to keep their "marriage" going. Chris deserved what he got in Seeds of Yesteryear and much, MUCH more. Cathy never found peace because she could never make herself stick to doing the right thing which was to get away from Chris. She's really not that much different than Corinne. And the end result is Bart. THAT'S why this series is so tragic to me. And If There Be thorns is the book in which Chris and Cathy had the opportunity to GENUINELY do better than their parents and they turned away from it and sacrificed Bart's sanity instead. You know why? Because just like their mother, they could not look at themselves and see themselves for what they truly were - as selfish and inappropriately sexual as their own parents AND Malcolm Foxworth were. Is it sad? Yes. But it doesn't lessen my anger at them and it doesn't urge me to give them any slack. The solution was very simple. Just separate. End the sexual relationship. They could still support and love each other platonically but their sexual inappropriateness kept them from seeing that. Alternatively, Chris could have gone halfway around the globe working for something like Doctors without borders in order to stay away from Cathy. But I've learned the hard way - both from my own failings and others' - that humanity will climb the highest mountain and forge the roughest seas to avoid doing the right thing. We just don't want to do it. And if anyone outside of ourselves calls us on it, we attack them, ostracize them and turn them into a scapegoat - just like they did with Bart. Taking him to therapy? Therapy was never going to work for him while the situation that made him nuts in the first place - Chris and Cathy effing around - stays in place. And the fact that Chris and Cathy told themselves that this was the route to take instead of separating sows that they are STILL LYING TO THEMSELVES and willing to throw anyone under the bus in order to do it. THAT'S why I couldn't fully hate Bart in Seeds of Yesteryear and that's why I stayed on Bart's side in this novel. CHRIS AND CATHY CREATED THIS SITUATION. Corinne and John Amos just capitalized on it. If Chris and Cathy hadn't been together when Corinne and John Amos came along, it would have been MUCH harder for anyone to get a foothold into Bart's psyche. I'm glad Cathy got some shots back at Corinne, I really am. But it doesn't excuse how she and Chris wrecked Bart.
That is so absolutely true. Even if Cathy and Chris had remained close, there is nothing wrong with siblings living close by and a sibling helping his widowed sister with support for her two kids. Chris didn't do it because he KNEW another man would come along and take Cathy from him and that is what he feared.
@@SaeiyuI do think that Chris was the instigator of the relationship. I get living near Cathy would’ve been too hard, but he could’ve moved away and Cathy with Paul’s inheritance and her good looks would’ve found another man who would’ve loved her and helped her raise her sons (he may have already had children etc); but Chris had to have her.
I don't think anyone can sit and judge after the trauma they went through, by the time Bart and Jory found out Cathy and Chris were in too deep and for too long. It wasn't just ine decision they made, it was a series of decisions that led them deeper and deeper in the cortex that they created for themselves and those around them. Why so much sympathy for Bart when what Chris and Cathy went through as children and young adults is so much worse?
@@johannawigg6921 I agree with you. I think Bart would’ve been seriously disturbed regardless. If Cathy had been a single mom raising him he probably would’ve blamed her for working too much or not giving him a Dad. He still would’ve been insanely jealous of Jory. If he found out Bart Sr was his biological father he would’ve hated Cathy for the affair. BART is a tragic character because he’s a child and you want him to go down the right path but you have an eerie feeling he’s only going to get worse as he gets older.
@@johannawigg6921do you know how many people I know who went through horrible things by their parents’ doing, & they gave the excuse “well I had it worse!” That’s who you sound like. Bart deserves sympathy in this book because he’s still a child, Cathy & Chris were well into adulthood. They should never had gotten to together after leaving the attic.
Your Flowers in the attic video was recommended to me and being a huge fan of the earlier works of V.C. Andrews in my teens and 20s, I had to listen. I just finished the first 3 videos on this book series and can't wait for the last 2. Since they're not out yet, I just subbed. Having been on my own journey of healing from growing up in generational abuse and trauma and some things you've said in these videos, it's honestly no wonder I was so drawn to her books. Listening to these videos, I'm wondering if rereading some of those series might give me some more insights to my past and my healing. Thank you for this little series of videos.💜
YES! I would be so down for videos on My Sweet Audrina and the Casteel series, the last books the real VC Andrews wrote. (Andrew Niemann’s ghostwritten books can DIAF. They’re less about true generational trauma and more about teen-soap angst.)
❤ Oh Thank you for your brilliant story telling once again. I"m excited for the next in the series,... I know how much work goes into this, so Thanks again. Can't wait 😅
Yessss! Even with the 🔔 notification set, I have still been coming back every few days to see if I accidentally missed THIS upload! TY kindly for putting these fantastic long form breakdowns together in rapid succession!
I really wish the original VC Andrews website was available. I remember being slightly obsessed with her life because FITA may have been loosely based off her life. I wish we had more information All I know: she might have been in love with her doctor (she was disabled and spent a lot of time in hospitals and away from other children) and the doctor, Chris, was locked inside with his siblings for many years.
I gotta say, I’ve been watching this lil series over the past few days as I didn’t know much about Flowers in the Attic and I definitely didn’t know it was a series. I’m so invested in this that the reveal around 17:30 made me STOP IN MY TRACKS AND GASP! Oh no. Ohnoohnoohno. I’m legit sitting down to listen directly than have your video in the background, I’m building an outfit for the Ren Faire tomorrow and I’m SAT! No more distractions!
I loooooove this series! Not the Dollanganger series, but this series explaining it. I will probably not read the books, but hearing you talk about them is super entertaining!
‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️ It’s really interesting to watch these videos as somebody who’s never read the books, & only seen the movies & tv shows. It’s honestly made me want to go back to watch the tv shows tbh
If I were to do a rehaul of the Dollangager series the changes I would make would be: -Cathy and Chris' 'love' isn't noncon but it is absolutely trauma bonding and they know it and they both desperately want to find other relationships apart from each other the rest of their lives. Which, of course, they can't do because they can't escape the horror that they went through. The series and the audience should not judge them for what they did, like Corrine and Chris Sr, but it must absolutely not approve of it. -Bart Sr. is closer in age to Cathy than to Corrine, which makes Corrine look all the more like she's trying to be 'young' again but still makes CathyxBart effed up. -No marrying/being romantically/sexually interested in Cathy at all from Paul. He genuinely just wants to be a good dad and love the children especially since he fugged up his first go. Maybe people suspect him of being 'interested' in Cathy but no he's not. -No Paul approving of Cathy and Chris's creepy trauma bond -> only that he wants them to escape and for Cathy to raise her sons right. -Cindy should be Chris's biological daughter after one of his failed affairs to get over Cathy failed; Cathy and Chris see her as being their functional biological child. -Melodie does not remarry at all but instead runs away, hysterical with serious post-partum depression and the confused feelings of failing to love Jory anymore and feeling confused on how to love Bart Jr. -Despite their differing life choices, Cindy, Bart and Jory all keep in touch and slowly form a genuine healthy adult-sibling relationship with each other; a first and the only time for the family. -Lazers. All natural blondes are born with genetic lazer powers. Considering how inbred and blonded-up the Dollangager fam is they ought to be pretty dangerous with it.
I don't know if it was intentional or not, but something I always took as a take away from the whole series was at some point you have to stop blaming your baggage and trauma for your bad decisions. Everyone in this story had so much trauma (even Corine) and in true traumatic response fashion it colors all their decisions and reactions but all their lives also start to go downhill when they decide to blame their it and other people for their mistakes.
Just wanted to drop by and say thank you for analyzing these books for us. I'd only read the first two in dribs and drabs, abandoning them perhaps because I wasn't ready for them. I have been following this series closely and eagerly, and can't wait for your next installment!
I remember reading that VC Andrews herself was disabled/bedridden, making Cathy an even more direct authorial insert ! I read these books so very long ago that I had forgotten a ton of details about them! Thank you!
Skip to 37:06 to avoid discussions of animal death
I forgot about that. 😭
thank you so much for adding the skip for animal abuse, it can be such a trauma for many of us and rarely anyone ever thinks about it
thank you so much for this!
THANK YOU FOR THIS!
I wouldn’t have been able to handle any animal abuse or death
Where is seeds of yesterday. I lo e your take
Let the record show that I have purchased a full box of pins, just for this series! Ready to put a pin in EVERYTHING!!!
😂 you're going to need them all
Hahaha best comment 😂
“Cathy’s hands are rated E for everyone”
“If there’s one thing I’m going to do it’s hold a grudge. I’ll heal in hell”
Words cannot express how much I love your analysis and perspective.
I snorted at both of these statements. They’re perfection. 🫶
Legendary
I DONT THINK CORRINE DESERVED FORGIVENESS EITHER. Like, she wasn’t even sorry for real. Every chance she got, she blamed it on someone else or started crying to deflect and manipulate.
Oh she was sorry alright. A sorry excuse for a human being.
Omg, Toni!!! Hey girl! Can’t believe I found you here! 🙉
Totally agree with you! I loved this series of books! I don’t think Corrine ever deserved forgiveness! She murdered her freakin children! She deserved a lifetime of hell! Glad to know you are a bookworm too! 🫶🏽
@@JinaChantil Omg hey girl heyyyyyy!!!!!! Glad you’re also a bookworm too 🥰🥰
@@stevenandcarminabeedle9089 EXACTLY!!!!!!
@@LeoGirl80well now I need to know how y'all know each other, give us the lore
This has only ever happened to me once and it was a trip! My old friend from elementary it was so cool.
Every time I read the scene where Cathy kicks Corrine’s ass, I legit stand up and cheer “I KNOW THATS RIGHT CATHY!!!!!” 😂😂
“She has enough sense not to approach Cathy as she knows Cathy will beat the brakes off her!” Yo! I’m screaming! 🤣🤣🤣🤣😭😭😭😭😭
Cathy throwing hands cleared my skin and watered my crops
It cured my asthma
If this were set in the present day Bart would have 100% been on 4chan all day every day
I hate that you’re right
Oh yeah, Bart is definitely an !ncel in the making.
Bart would be JD Vance. Period, full stop.
"Locks him in the attic." THERE IT IS. The poison drips through.
Just realized another element to why baby Cindy is likely such a trigger, even if bart doesn't clock it.
Cindy fits the dollenganger naming theme of C's. Neither he nor jory do.
Its so silly but I can never read If There Be Thorns without doing a pirate voice in my head "If THAARRR Be THAARRRNS"
😂
Great....now I can't either...
@@moonlighthowling666 🤣🤣🤣
HA!!!!! 🤣
Ahoy me harties! Ar ar ar!
This is weirdly my new favorite book breakdown series. It just popped up in my suggested and I remembered the first book vaguely from highschool but I did NOT remember how bonkers these books are lol. Love it.
Same!
Same. I've literally never read any of these even though I've heard about them, but I look forward to each new part being uploaded.
I have been re reading the whole series and I think the reason Corrine was so obsessed with bart is because she sees him as the son she never had with bart senior
Also it shows her extreme narcissism and selfishness. She almost killed all of her children then moved next door and assumes she’ll be welcome and have any rights to her children or grandchildren. Also I always thought Bart was a very disturbed child from the gate but Corrine and her “butler” made him so much worse.
Naturally. Because she “couldn’t”. That’s also why Cathy deliberately tried to make sure she got pregnant. The ultimate revenge. It’s pretty sweet but also that she literally had a baby to get back at her mom is hellacious. But at least she loved him unconditionally and treated him well. As well as she could.
Trying to imagine this entire drama and trauma novel but with all the characters in 80s clothes is much, much harder than it should be
I was in middle school when I read these, seventh grade, I think, so 96-97...but the absolute brake screech in my head when she started talking about the attic situation being in the 60s with Chris and Cathy born in the 40s...
I was doing the same lol 😂 😊
Whenever I’m reading a book and I can’t imagine or know the asthetics, I need to google image everything about that era to get a clear picture in my head 😂
Just for the record you're not a bad person. I remember reading this and literally counting down the chapters when Kathy would discover Corinne and give her a one-way ticket to ass beat City.
😂😂😂😂 "Cathy's hands are rated E for EVERYONE !!!!!!!" "Beating the brakes" off of Corrine. 🤣🤣❤️👍
I been waiting for this one! Love hearing you discuss this insane series lol This one took me off guard in that I actually cried at the end during Corrine's funeral. When Cathy starts screaming "Momma, Momma I forgive you! I still love you!" That absolutely DESTROYED me when I first read it. As horrendous as Corrine was, and the damage she caused her poor kids, deep down Cathy still loved her Momma. 🥺💔 I also loved that Corrine died saving Cathy. The only good thing she did in the whole series. I took that as maybe she was truly sorry. Not that what she did could ever be taken back, it was just something I thought about.
Cathy wouldn’t have remained resentful if she didn’t still love her. The opposite of love is apathy not hate.
Same. She loves the Momma she was before the attic. Even if it wasn’t 100% genuine on Corríne’s part. She loved her as best she knew how I guess. I forgot all about that scene! It reminds me of Imitation of Life. An old movie, no incest lol And the daughter is the one who betrays her mother and throws herself onto the hearse when her mom dies. 😢
@@TheEverGrowingRosey-333 Yep. Cathy even admits in Petals on the Wind that even though she does hate Corrine that a little bit of love for her still lives and it hurt to make her mom cry during the big confrontation at the end. It's such a heartbreaking story and I felt so bad for Cathy.
@@stevenandcarminabeedle9089 I was expecting the end of If There Be Thorns to hit me as hard as it did. Even after everything Corrine did, for Cathy to break down and start begging God to let Corrine know she still loved her....Whew! That got me. 💔
Yes! Omg that got me too!! This is my absolute favourite book series ever! The obsession started in early high school. I’m 42 now and still obsessed! 😮❤❤❤❤
That ending was absolutely horrifying. Bart began to WALK like a great grandfather he never met.. based on reading his journal.. and then that?…
Also Tucker Carlson villain origins. My Boho mommy left me so all women are evil. 🥺😡
I’ve got a Sam’s Club sized container of pins today. Let’s goooooooo!!!!!
Glitch: Cathy threatens to spank Bart. Doesn't Bart have CIP? What would spanking him do?
Humiliation?
“She has enough sense not to approach Cathy, as she knows Cathy will probably beat the breaks off her.” Friend, I’m cackling real bad! 😂😂
I am so ready for seed of yesterday and garden of shadows.. I binged all 3 videos yesterday. I havent read these in 20 years, and it was so fun getting the recap with commentary. Great job!
I've been following your breakdowns of these books. I never knew the whole story before, it's genuinely so morbidly fascinating! I don't have the resources to buy these books, so these reviews are really great for me. Thank you so much!
zlibrary is your friend
Library's are your friends also most offer online services if you have mobility issues
@@katdeasyy
I don't like the idea of pirating works, especially if I can't/don't have plans to buy them. Would this be anything similar to piracy, or is it a digital library service?
@@alvafairchild13
I don't have time to go to the library, despite living maybe a 5-10 minute walk from one… Sad days.
@@LostGirl04not about zlibrary but the Libby app is connected to actual libraries
The amount of times I said "Oh no" out loud while listening to this....
Thank god I’m a seamstress and have pins! I love this quirk of yours! It’s so endearing 🥰
Also thank you for covering this series.
This is my favorite book in the series and I was waiting for you to do a video on it.
I always say that the best (as in, best written and most tragic) corruption arc I've ever seen in media was the one of Bart in If There Be Thorns. I haven't read anything more horrifying, sad, and tragic as what Bart goes through and John Amos' manipulation that makes him spiral into becoming worse and worse and embodying the identity of a dead man. It's chilling, and I highly recommend reading this book if anything for the quality of the narrative writing and character arcs present in the story.
Also my favorite character is Jory, the most well adjusted in the family 😭 (though he goes through some serious shit in the next book but he gets a happy ending of sorts and idk, I'm just glad that he's happy and okay).
This was my fav too! It was the first book I read by V.C. Andrew’s and at first I figured the context was enough for the first two book. Boy was I wrong lol this one is my favorite series out of all the ones I read. I think Heaven is my second favorite.
Oh yeah and I LOVE Jory (who doesn’t lol) HATE Melody 😡
@@stevenandcarminabeedle9089 my faves are opposite. I think because Heaven was the first series I read. I forget when I finally read the Flowers in the Attic series, I think it took me longer to read, because I had seen the movie, original, so many times
“I will in fact heal in hell” ok queen adding it to the list ❤😂
I just finished watching your other two videos, and wow, Cathy's pain train really never ends. She managed to survive to the end of this book, but with her career destroyed and her one child changed in a truly horrible way. I know this book followed the boys, but it with always be Cathy's story and perspective that I follow most, and goodness do I feel awful for her.
These videos have been absolutely delightful (despite the subject matter). I’m glad UA-cam recommended your channel to me out of nowhere!
I’m just starting the video now but I want to say I really enjoy the way you discuss books compared to other “book tubers” I’ve seen. Whereas a lot of them nitpick and go off a list of annotations or just briefly summarize the book you really take the time to develop your feelings/stance about a book
You’ve done such a great job with breaking down these books. I’ve never read them, because every time I’ve seen a video or review talk about the book, the focus has always been about the weird incest. You’ve told the story so beautifully & shifted the focus to what it really is i.e generational trauma & the cycle of abuse. I think people have sensationalised the incest aspect so much that they fail to look beyond that. Your storytelling & analysis have convinced me to give this book a shot & have a better perspective on the events that take place in the book. From what I’ve seen till now, the author seems to have a very good understanding of trauma & how deeply it affects people in every aspect of their lives & how that trauma carries over to the people they come across. If anything, this book is a very well written story of the inner workings of victims & how the victims eventually become perpetrators. Especially for the time when it was written. I applaud you for doing this series justice with your breakdown of it.
Every time she said john amos my brain replaced it was "john stamos"
You're not the only one. 😆
Same!!!!😅
I don't think I've even been so early - Video posted 14 Minutes ago. Also "I'll heal in Hell" is so relatable. I can not wait for you to cover the rest of the books!
These recaps have been great. Because I totally didn't want to read them again, but I did like hearing the story again
"These hands are rated E for everyone." Omg ... I'm dying laughing. That was great.
Wild I read these as a kid hearing that list of warnings
I think most of Gen X did lol
We Latchkey Survivors got to do pretty much whatever we liked, as long as our overworked parents didn't have to hear about it, lol!
the way i fist pumped so hard when i saw this was up! thank you for doing a deep dive into this series.
YESSSSSS IM SO HYPED. I just finished the original book this morning and loved it!!! Can’t wait to listen to this later!
Based Rena
Obsessed. Between these videos and the new Biz video that came out a few days ago, I've thrown myself into this world and I couldnt be more grateful
Hurray!!! Another installment!!! I love this series!!!
“If there’s one thing I’m going to do it’s hold a grudge. I’ll heal in hell” this was genius and I relate so bad.
Excellent review/analysis. Can't wait for the other two books, especially Garden of Shadows, even more after watching the tv limited series.
I can't get enough of your reviews! Thank you so much. Any chance you'll be doing the Heaven series? Oh please please consider it!!! Old V.C Andrews is my guilty pleasure. I've read all the old stories so many times and they never get the love they should, so I thank you again for these treats❤
Wow thanks so much for this series, not only did I read these books way too young I know now as an adult why they had such an impact on me. ❤
I remember reading Flowers in the Attic at an age way too young to do so. It always stuck in the back of my mind, but I never read the rest of the series. Listening to your analysis is helping me complete a story that's been opened in my mind for way too long.
I was 13, I loved it. I’m strange. Lol
My best friend was obsessed with these books in middle school and I never knew what they were about … I’m shocked lmao. Great job covering this series so far !!!
Also i think those last few lines if the book might be a way of showing how trauma can come up at anytime even without triggers or warnings. We can relive a bad memory as if it was now.
I've been loving these! I read these books probably an unhealthy amount of times as a teenager but it's been so many years since I've even thought of them and this has been such a fun nostalgia trip.
Love that you even take the time to do a timeline! I have never heard anyone else bother to. I'm glad I found your channel again. I had listened to the original videos you did where we saw you on camera. I really enjoyed them. I was sad when I couldn't find them, so I was glad to finally find these new ones and subscribed.
Corinne has nothing but the audacity because girl how are you gonna act like you were victimized by your daughter enough to say you hate her when you're the one that locked her and her siblings away in an attic for 3 years lorded over by your abusive mother, murdered one of sibling and caused the suicide of another, on top of causing lifelong trauma?? Corinne needed to bite the curb in 4k 1080p crystal clear HD
I have long wondered what Malcolm’s father was like. Did he do something to drive off the original Corrine? Remember, the impressions of a little boy are not the most reliable nor are they the full story.
Have you read "Garden of Shadows"? I don't want to say much without spoilers.
I just discovered your channel today, watched BOTH of your flowers in the attic videos and subscribed, and then I check my subs and see this gift- your channel is fantastic!!
"I will in fact heal in Hell" that is very much how i am tbh
YESSS PERFEC TIMING! I just finished your last vid and was so hyped for this one!! I never got past the first book because I was 14 and like “wtf was that” but knowing the fates of the characters in the later books gives me some closure 🫶 love how thorough and nuanced you are :)
BART telling his mom (Kathy) “woman you best gon’ before I lose my temper” and her being TERRIFIED 😅 will live rent free in my head forever. My favorite part of this book. So glad you’re covering this series.
YES I’M SO STOKED I LOVE THIS VIDEO SERIES!!! i literally watch these as soon as you put them out 💃
Just here to say I check almost daily if you have posted a video on the next book. Regardless of if you had plans to or not. I love content on these books lmao
You aren’t the only one 😆
Just when I think this family can't get any messier, they out-do themselves.
I am on the edge of my seat for part 4!
I’m really enjoying this series, I read the books in my preteens/early teens back in the 90’s and I unironically loved them, as did my friends. It was a whole VC Andrew’s young teen fan club, we read so many of the authors books. Your retelling has me itching to go back and read all but Flowers In The Attic (which I remember far too well) from an adult perspective.
Thank you for doing this series.
I don't know what to do...
I have no more pins!
I think Bart was already a deeply disturbed child long before Corrine moved in next door and John Amos got his hooks into him. I think certain mental illnesses must have run rampant in their family and it shows: Malcom was a misogynist, narcissistic and abusive person. He considered his daughter a beautiful possession he wanted to keep to himself. His daughter in turn was spoiled and selfish and also a narcissist. She thought she had every right to her children and grandchildren even after everything she’d done. She knew John Amos was mentally ill but she moved in next door with him in tow. Cathy was also narcissistic in her own way by bringing Cindy into the family even while it was more and more obvious that Bart was seriously diving into mental illness. From this book you finally learn more about Malcom and what made him the way he was and you learn more about Corrine but more importantly you see a pattern emerging. Chris and Cathy were also the products of incest which means that some very undesirable genes would be magnified.
I agree. Bart was deeply disturbed from the get go, Jory was raised in the exact same home and is such a sweet kind boy.
I can understand why Chris and Cathy didn’t know what to do with Bart! His attempt to hurt Cindy was so shocking.
Yeah that whole family was mentally ill
To be fair CPTSD can mimic narcissism and Cathy is the poster child for CPTSD. Sometimes mental illness is born, and sometimes it is made. If it was made with Bart I think it was internalization of the bullying.
For a long time I thought my abusive narcissistic ex had CPTSD, if he does he still is a narcissist, and had no interest in getting help despite the abuse his issues drove him to do, specifically against me but really any woman, and the elaborate facade he has, but she doesn't typically act in ways heedless to others. She genuinely loves people, she doesn't try to make a performance of it for gain or seek attention no matter the cost. She genuinely wanted to give a mother to a child who lost hers.
People can have narcissistic traits without having the full blown personality disorder. And people who have certain disorders tend to be self centered to at least some degree probably because they’ve been through so much trauma their self preservation instincts become magnified.
So happy I found these! I just finished the first two and saw you posted the next one! So lucky. This is the only book of the series I have such a hard time reading as it is not from Cathy's POV. Barts POV is especially tough!
Just binged all 3 videos. I will now not eat or sleep until you post seeds of yesterday and garden of shadows lmao
I absolutely love your insightful in-depth commentary and speculation on this series. It has been many years since I have read this series, but you inspire me to want to delve back into this tragedy.
Same! I hurried up and bought the series after Petals before I could stop myself lol
I hate you're going to have go through this but I'm also thankful as it feels like a fever dream.
You have no idea how much I have been waiting for this, your videos are getting me incredibly nostalgic for the young me that looked for these books all over the place in old bookstores to finish the saga. Everyday I check my suscriptions hoping that there will be a new one. Thank you very much for making this.
I've been waiting for this! My pins & I are ready! 📌📌📌
I’m so glad I found your channel because these videos about the “Flowers in the Attic” series are excellent! I’ve really enjoyed your recaps and your commentary as well. I read the series years ago and found them creepy and enthralling at the same time.
omg i started this series yesterday and was ready to wait patiently, and u posted today! Yay, so ready to listen to this video. Enjoying it so far! I read this series in HS but i like the refreshment.
THANK YOU for doing this one!!! I LOVE your breakdowns (the summary of the timescale is especially welcome and helpful)
I originally read this whole series up to this point as a kid. And even then, my sympathies switched from Cathy to Bart in this book. I was on Cathy's side in the first two novels. The 3rd novel exposes in a way the others fail to one of the persistent underlying problems with the characters.
What I picked up from the beginning but only fully realized in this novel, is that the main characters - Cathy, Chris, Corinne, Chris Sr. - all exist in this delusional bubble created by the following beliefs:
1) What is physically beautiful is ultimately good - even in the face of all evidence to the contrary
2) Love justifies ANYTHING (and yes that includes incest) - and with the corollary that sex more or less equals love
3) You will get a happy ending in life if you just hold onto those first 2 beliefs
Of course all of that is garbage. Yet it fuels the dreams and dwindling hopes of Chris and Cathy while they're in the attic. It fuels the entire plot of Petals on the Wind. And it comes crashing down in If There Be Thorns. Because if they weren't operating on those delusions Cathy and Chris might actually get their heads out of their asses and actually SEE and relate to Bart and realize that BOTH children require - and are WORTHY of - their attention and emotional investment. But they don't do that. And the result, before anyone moves in next door, is the fracturing of Bart's personality.They then double down on this tinder box of a situation by DRAGGING ANOTHER CHILD INTO THIS MESS just because Cathy wants to.
What broke my heart most of all about this novel in general is how many Dollanganger series fans absolutely CANNOT or REFUSE TO get this about Bart because they are so invested in the forbidden "love story" of Chris and Cathy. Even as a kid I knew what Chris and Cathy were doing was not only wrong but it was one of the main drivers of Bart losing his mind. I also got that their willful (both conscious and unconscious) refusal to see that and do the right thing was the REAL VILLAIN of this story.
ALL OF THIS COULD HAVE BEEN AVOIDED IF CHRIS AND CATHY DIDN'T LIVE AS HUSBAND AND WIFE AND DIDN'T LIVE IN THE SAME HOUSE.
That would have been the definitive step to beginning to fix all of this and they refused to take it. I blame Chris more than Cathy because at least Cathy TRIED. Chris just lay like a snake in the grass waiting for his moment which he finally got. Can you imagine how different the story COULD have been if, when Bart found out about all of this, Cathy and Chris were NOT living together? SO much damage could have been avoided. And the fault lies squarely at Chris and Cathy's feet.
And then they doubled down on this by forcing Bart to continue playing happy families with their incestuous union. Basically they forced Bart to live a lie and keep a secret that would have had serious legal repercussions if it had gotten out. And they low-key treated him as if he was defective because he never truly becomes comfortable or totally on board with this the way Jory does. You can't do that to a kid and call yourself a good parent. No matter how pretty you are. No wonder the events of Seeds of Yesteryear happened.
THIS IS THE BOOK IN WHICH CHRIS AND CATHY TRULY BECOME EVIL.
I said what I said.
It's one thing when what you do only affects you and whatever adult freely consents to do it with you. It's another thing entirely to drag kids into it. This is the point where I turned against Cathy and especially Chris. You know why Bart especially hated Chris? Because it's CHRIS who's the driving force keeping him and Cathy together. They're both at fault. But Chris is a perfect example of looking like a good person and being rotten underneath. No he's not mean. No he's not ugly. No he's not rude or argumentative, etc. But he is ROTTEN. Because he KNOWS what he's doing is wrong. He DID pressure Cathy into being with him. (Remember HE'S the one who started their sexual relationship in the first place. The feelings were there; but he activated the problem by his own actions. He is just as sick as Corinne is. He just manages it better. Cathy is the raggedy one because she doesn't manage this sick situation as well as he does. But that makes her the healthier one.) And now, together, he and Cathy are throwing Bart under the bus to keep their "marriage" going.
Chris deserved what he got in Seeds of Yesteryear and much, MUCH more. Cathy never found peace because she could never make herself stick to doing the right thing which was to get away from Chris. She's really not that much different than Corinne. And the end result is Bart. THAT'S why this series is so tragic to me. And If There Be thorns is the book in which Chris and Cathy had the opportunity to GENUINELY do better than their parents and they turned away from it and sacrificed Bart's sanity instead.
You know why? Because just like their mother, they could not look at themselves and see themselves for what they truly were - as selfish and inappropriately sexual as their own parents AND Malcolm Foxworth were. Is it sad? Yes. But it doesn't lessen my anger at them and it doesn't urge me to give them any slack. The solution was very simple. Just separate. End the sexual relationship. They could still support and love each other platonically but their sexual inappropriateness kept them from seeing that. Alternatively, Chris could have gone halfway around the globe working for something like Doctors without borders in order to stay away from Cathy.
But I've learned the hard way - both from my own failings and others' - that humanity will climb the highest mountain and forge the roughest seas to avoid doing the right thing. We just don't want to do it. And if anyone outside of ourselves calls us on it, we attack them, ostracize them and turn them into a scapegoat - just like they did with Bart. Taking him to therapy? Therapy was never going to work for him while the situation that made him nuts in the first place - Chris and Cathy effing around - stays in place. And the fact that Chris and Cathy told themselves that this was the route to take instead of separating sows that they are STILL LYING TO THEMSELVES and willing to throw anyone under the bus in order to do it. THAT'S why I couldn't fully hate Bart in Seeds of Yesteryear and that's why I stayed on Bart's side in this novel.
CHRIS AND CATHY CREATED THIS SITUATION. Corinne and John Amos just capitalized on it. If Chris and Cathy hadn't been together when Corinne and John Amos came along, it would have been MUCH harder for anyone to get a foothold into Bart's psyche.
I'm glad Cathy got some shots back at Corinne, I really am. But it doesn't excuse how she and Chris wrecked Bart.
That is so absolutely true. Even if Cathy and Chris had remained close, there is nothing wrong with siblings living close by and a sibling helping his widowed sister with support for her two kids. Chris didn't do it because he KNEW another man would come along and take Cathy from him and that is what he feared.
@@SaeiyuI do think that Chris was the instigator of the relationship. I get living near Cathy would’ve been too hard, but he could’ve moved away and Cathy with Paul’s inheritance and her good looks would’ve found another man who would’ve loved her and helped her raise her sons (he may have already had children etc); but Chris had to have her.
I don't think anyone can sit and judge after the trauma they went through, by the time Bart and Jory found out Cathy and Chris were in too deep and for too long. It wasn't just ine decision they made, it was a series of decisions that led them deeper and deeper in the cortex that they created for themselves and those around them. Why so much sympathy for Bart when what Chris and Cathy went through as children and young adults is so much worse?
@@johannawigg6921 I agree with you. I think Bart would’ve been seriously disturbed regardless. If Cathy had been a single mom raising him he probably would’ve blamed her for working too much or not giving him a Dad. He still would’ve been insanely jealous of Jory. If he found out Bart Sr was his biological father he would’ve hated Cathy for the affair. BART is a tragic character because he’s a child and you want him to go down the right path but you have an eerie feeling he’s only going to get worse as he gets older.
@@johannawigg6921do you know how many people I know who went through horrible things by their parents’ doing, & they gave the excuse “well I had it worse!” That’s who you sound like.
Bart deserves sympathy in this book because he’s still a child, Cathy & Chris were well into adulthood. They should never had gotten to together after leaving the attic.
I’m sorry, but “Rated E for everyone.” 56:53 SENT ME 😂😂😂
The way I cackled and rubbed my hands together when Cathy beat the snot out of Corinne, smirking and saying "Gooooood." 😂😂😂
Your Flowers in the attic video was recommended to me and being a huge fan of the earlier works of V.C. Andrews in my teens and 20s, I had to listen. I just finished the first 3 videos on this book series and can't wait for the last 2. Since they're not out yet, I just subbed. Having been on my own journey of healing from growing up in generational abuse and trauma and some things you've said in these videos, it's honestly no wonder I was so drawn to her books. Listening to these videos, I'm wondering if rereading some of those series might give me some more insights to my past and my healing. Thank you for this little series of videos.💜
I recently discovered your channel and binged through all your videos!! Can’t wait to sit back and enjoy this one too.
I love this series. You should do My sweet Audrina when you're done with these!
Omg! I hope she covers My Sweet Audrina! That was such a good book!
@@JinaChantil it is definitely one that hits hard. Fingers crossed!
Thank you, I had forgotten the title of the book !!
YES! I would be so down for videos on My Sweet Audrina and the Casteel series, the last books the real VC Andrews wrote. (Andrew Niemann’s ghostwritten books can DIAF. They’re less about true generational trauma and more about teen-soap angst.)
Stephanie, I have my pins ready! When is the video for "Seeds of Yesterday" coming out????
I've been waiting!!!! Can't wait for Olivia's POV prequel. I was obsessed with this series in middle school and this is such a fun revisit. Thank you!
❤ Oh Thank you for your brilliant story telling once again. I"m excited for the next in the series,... I know how much work goes into this, so Thanks again. Can't wait 😅
Been waiting for this would l9ve for you to do breakdowns of other v.c novels
You’re so good at summaries. I explained this my mother and it didn’t have the same effect you had.
Im so glad you're covering this series. Thank you again❤
Yessss!
Even with the 🔔 notification set, I have still been coming back every few days to see if I accidentally missed THIS upload!
TY kindly for putting these fantastic long form breakdowns together in rapid succession!
im excitedly waiting for the next video, im so curious about the pre-quels as well, i love your analysis!!!!
And in a shocking turn of events it somehow gets worse
This dropped at the perfect time - getting my nails done and I can listen along 😍👏🏾 Thankyou!
I cannot wait for the next book! This series brought me to your channel!
I'm obsessed with your recap of this series. More! Thank you ❤
I really wish the original VC Andrews website was available. I remember being slightly obsessed with her life because FITA may have been loosely based off her life. I wish we had more information
All I know: she might have been in love with her doctor (she was disabled and spent a lot of time in hospitals and away from other children) and the doctor, Chris, was locked inside with his siblings for many years.
I gotta say, I’ve been watching this lil series over the past few days as I didn’t know much about Flowers in the Attic and I definitely didn’t know it was a series. I’m so invested in this that the reveal around 17:30 made me STOP IN MY TRACKS AND GASP! Oh no. Ohnoohnoohno. I’m legit sitting down to listen directly than have your video in the background, I’m building an outfit for the Ren Faire tomorrow and I’m SAT! No more distractions!
I loooooove this series! Not the Dollanganger series, but this series explaining it. I will probably not read the books, but hearing you talk about them is super entertaining!
‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️‼️ It’s really interesting to watch these videos as somebody who’s never read the books, & only seen the movies & tv shows. It’s honestly made me want to go back to watch the tv shows tbh
The twists and turns had me literally shook 🫢 thank you for taking the time to make this series!
If I were to do a rehaul of the Dollangager series the changes I would make would be:
-Cathy and Chris' 'love' isn't noncon but it is absolutely trauma bonding and they know it and they both desperately want to find other relationships apart from each other the rest of their lives. Which, of course, they can't do because they can't escape the horror that they went through. The series and the audience should not judge them for what they did, like Corrine and Chris Sr, but it must absolutely not approve of it.
-Bart Sr. is closer in age to Cathy than to Corrine, which makes Corrine look all the more like she's trying to be 'young' again but still makes CathyxBart effed up.
-No marrying/being romantically/sexually interested in Cathy at all from Paul. He genuinely just wants to be a good dad and love the children especially since he fugged up his first go. Maybe people suspect him of being 'interested' in Cathy but no he's not.
-No Paul approving of Cathy and Chris's creepy trauma bond -> only that he wants them to escape and for Cathy to raise her sons right.
-Cindy should be Chris's biological daughter after one of his failed affairs to get over Cathy failed; Cathy and Chris see her as being their functional biological child.
-Melodie does not remarry at all but instead runs away, hysterical with serious post-partum depression and the confused feelings of failing to love Jory anymore and feeling confused on how to love Bart Jr.
-Despite their differing life choices, Cindy, Bart and Jory all keep in touch and slowly form a genuine healthy adult-sibling relationship with each other; a first and the only time for the family.
-Lazers. All natural blondes are born with genetic lazer powers. Considering how inbred and blonded-up the Dollangager fam is they ought to be pretty dangerous with it.
the audible gasps i’ve been making throughout this series have been ridiculous
These videos are such a fascinating combo of soothing and captivating.
You have become my favourite UA-camr, you have a very calming voice and I really enjoy your videos ❤❤
I don't know if it was intentional or not, but something I always took as a take away from the whole series was at some point you have to stop blaming your baggage and trauma for your bad decisions. Everyone in this story had so much trauma (even Corine) and in true traumatic response fashion it colors all their decisions and reactions but all their lives also start to go downhill when they decide to blame their it and other people for their mistakes.
I've been waiting for this. Thank you for the breakdown
girl this series is amazing (literally read the first two books just to keep up) but please if you stumble on a line just rerecord it...
Just wanted to drop by and say thank you for analyzing these books for us. I'd only read the first two in dribs and drabs, abandoning them perhaps because I wasn't ready for them. I have been following this series closely and eagerly, and can't wait for your next installment!
I remember reading that VC Andrews herself was disabled/bedridden, making Cathy an even more direct authorial insert ! I read these books so very long ago that I had forgotten a ton of details about them! Thank you!