by V.C. Andrews
Publisher: Pocket Books
Pub. Date: May 20, 2014
Retail: $7.99
ISBN: 978-1476789552
Pages: 448
Buy Link: Paperback
From Fiction to Film: Pick up Petals on the Wind May 20th and watch the movie May 26th!
Petals on the Wind cast:
Heather Graham as Corrine
Ellen Burstyn as Olivia
Dylan Bruce as Bart
Rose McIver as Young Cathy (played by Kiernan Shipka in Flowers in the Attic)
Wyatt Nash as Christopher (played by Mason Dye in Flowers in the Attic)
Watch the movie trailer below, and tune in to Lifetime on Monday, May 26th, 9:00 pm ET to watch the World Premier of Petals on the Wind!
Enter To Win: Go to the Pocket Books Facebook page beginning May 20th to enter the sweepstakes for a prize pack of Flowers in the Attic and Petals on the Wind, and the Flowers in the Attic DVD. Visit right before tuning into Petals on the Wind late May for the sweepstakes giveaway (date to be announced)!
Review:
Despite some heavy-duty controversy due to the incest plot of Flowers in the Attic written by V.C. Andrews, the book was a huge success; spawning three sequels and one prequel. Book two in the series, titled Petals on the Wind, was released in 1980, picking up shortly after the first novel left off and covers over fifteen years, from November 1960 to the fall of 1975.
Christopher, Cathy and Carrie Dollanganger barely escaped from their grandparents' attic; leaving their money-craving mother far behind, whom had been putting poison in their powdered donuts, resulting in the death of Carrie's twin brother, Cory. They stole enough money to buy three bus tickets to Florida, but their journey took an unexpected turn with Carrie becomes too ill to travel. Luckily, a mute housekeeper, Henrietta Beech, was on the bus and directs them to her boss, a doctor by the name of Dr. Paul Sheffield.
Dr. Paul had already lost his wife and child years ago and is more than willing to become the legal guardian of the Dollanganger children. He gives them medical treatment and insists on paying for their schooling. Carrie would attend a private school, Christopher would become a doctor and Cathy would become a ballerina. It seemed their dreams would finally come true, but Cathy had vowed to seek revenge on her mother and that is exactly what she is going to do.
A lot of events occur in Petals on the Wind, especially with Cathy who has falls in love with her much older guardian; she marries the abusive dancer Julian and has a child with him, Jory; and she seduces her mother's husband, Bart, (whom she has a child with); and finally achieves her revenge by revealing her mothers secrets. Then, Cathy is still fighting her romantic feelings for her own brother, Christopher.
What I love about the late V.C. Andrews was her style of writing and the detailed descriptions she used. To me, she was the last true-Gothic writer; though her books are still being published through a ghostwriter, the Dollanganger series (minus the prequel, Garden of Shadows) remains to be her best works.
Similar to the first novel, Petals on the Wind was dubbed trash by most critics and librarians alike, but the general public devoured the series and today is considered a cult classic by most. On May 26th, LIFETIME will air the movie-version of Petals on the Wind starring Wyatt Nash Ellen Burstyn and Heather Graham. Despite its low-budget, the first film managed to stay close to the book, though some important scenes where omitted due to the 90-minute running time. The sequel film will be set ten years after the first events, which will skip the early years of the Dollanganger kids living with Dr. Paul; nevertheless, I'm sure fans (me included) will be glued to their television screens on Memorial Day. If There Be Thorns and Seeds Of Yesterday are being turned into LIFETIME movies as well; they are scheduled to air sometime in 2015. A television adaption of V.C. Andrew's stand-alone novel, My Sweet Audrina, is also in the works.
If you haven't already read Petals on the Wind, I highly recommend reading it before the movie airs on Memorial Day.
*Disclaimer - I received a complimentary copy in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.
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