Petals on the Wind by V. C. Andrews
My Rating: 4/5 Stars
The story of the Dollanganger children, Chris, Cathy and Carrie, continues in this the second book of the series. After they have escaped from Foxworth Hall they meet a kind man, Dr. Paul, who takes them in and raises as his own. Finally they can pursue their dreams, Chris to become a doctor and Cathy to become a prima ballerina. But as life goes on and they grow up Cathy never abandons her plans for revenge against her mother.
In many ways the second book was better than the first one. The characters seemed more real and developed as they changed through out the time and villains less comical and more nuanced. It starts where the first book ended and finished the story that began in Flowers in the Attic. It is a story about growing up in which our characters have left Foxworth Hall but can't take Foxworth Hall out of themselves as they struggle to leave the past behind. In a way it is even more tragic than the first one because now there are no clear oppressors against whom the characters must struggle, only themselves. I gave it 4 stars for the ending that was as powerful, if not more, as that of Flowers in the Attic. The story overall is less focused on a single storyline and there is a lot more going on. Despite some of the absurdities of this entire series there's a certain realism about the tale, that it's a story that doesn't really end, like life, but keeps on going from generation to generation.
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