by Jennifer Metz

Created on: September 11, 2008   Last Updated: February 15, 2010

I first became entranced with V.C. Andrews as an author when I was in High School. The first book I read was Flowers in the Attic and I have been a fan ever since. Her technique of weaving drama, terror and real life was uncanny. Andrews had an ability to develop characters that were so deep you truly felt you knew them.

After reading Flowers in the Attic, I quickly moved on to the other books in the series. A total of 5 books revolved around the Dollanganger family, with the final book being Garden of Shadows. Throughout the series you follow the lives of Cathy and Chris, a brother and sister tormented by their childhood, and the lingering effects that has well into their adulthood.

When I picked up Garden of Shadows, however, I was suprised to learn that this book was going back to the beginning and would focus on the character of Olivia Foxworth, Chris and Cathy's grandmother. Olivia made her debut in Flowers in the Attic as the evil, old grandmother who was responsible for locking the children in the attic. Olivia was a fearful character, a mean, old woman, who had the ability to scare even those just reading the book. Evil was the basis of Olivia Foxworth.

One of my favorite quotes in the book shows Andrews ability to look through the eyes of the characters themselves:

"Like any woman stupidly believing in love, I never realized that the blue sky I saw was not the soft, nurturing sky of spring, but the cold, chilling, lonely sky of winter..."

In Garden of Shadows, we learn Olivia's background, and what drove her to become the woman she turned into. It is an interesting look into the life of a character we had become accustomed to despising. In Garden of Shadows, V.C. Andrews succeeded in giving Olivia human qualities and emotions. While reading, I found myself on occasion actually having sympathy for this character, something only V.C.Andrews could succeed in doing.

While Garden of Shadows is the first book in the Dollanganger series, it was actually the last to be published. It was released in 1987 and spend 17 weeks at the number one spot on New York Times Bestseller list, the ultimate reward for any author.

I recommend this book to anyone who loves fictionalized drama. If you have never read V.C. Andrews, I truly suggest you do. Andrews books make for great book club discussions or even just discussions with friends.

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