If There Be Thorns by V. C. Andrews
My Rating: 3/5 stars
The third book in the Dollanganger series, unlike the previous two, is told from by the two sons of Cathy - Jory (14) and Bart (10). The two half-brothers live their lives thinking Chris to be Paul's younger brother who married their mother after his death, completely unaware of the truth. But all that is about to change when a strange woman moves in the recently rebuilt house next to theirs. She takes a liking to Bart, showers him with gifts and asks him to call her grandmother. But there is another one who takes interest in Bart - the old woman's butler John Amos who sets out to make Bart be like his great-grandfather Malcolm Neil Foxworth.
If There Be Thorns is not so much a continuation of the previous books but more as a sequel to the story in Flowers in the Attic and Petals on the Wind. It's the story of the next generation and a beginning of a whole new tale. So far I liked it less than the two previous books, but perhaps if it is the beginning of a greater story that will be laid out in the next two books I might like it better in the future. It's not that the story really had any major problems it's more what it lacked that was the problem. For one thing it was short. Unlike the previous books it all takes place in one summer which sees Bart corrupted. It ends stating that this is only the beginning so the story feels unfinished. The second thing that bothered me was that the characters lacked the sort of problems that their mother had to make me sympathise with them. Bart hates his mother but why is never explained, we never see Cathy do anything that would make Bart hate her so we are left with two options - either Bart is a spoiled brat or he has serious mental issues. And Jory, our good protagonist, well what can one really say about him as nothing really happens to him. Sure he finds out the truth and he feels bad but nothing really changes in his life. In the end I'm not going to say that it was a bad story because I certainly felt entertained while reading it. But like I said before - if this is the beginning of a better story then I might look back better at it.
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