For those unaware—Little Paula, a new V.C. Andrews novel, was published this month. You might ask, "Didn't V.C. Andrews die in 1986?"
The real V.C. Andrews passed away in December 1986, but that didn't stop the publisher and her estate from releasing more Gothic-inspired thrillers. Andrew Neiderman, author of "The Devil's Advocate," was hand-picked to write new stories under the V.C. Andrews persona, and now in his 80s, he continues to do so—for better or worse, you be the judge.
As Neiderman's writing quality has declined to the point that many of his recent V.C. Andrews books are almost unreadable, I have been particularly critical of his work for several years. He no longer writes richly described Gothic thrillers. Instead, he writes generic young adult fiction with recycled storylines and little-to-no character development. I had some hope for Neiderman after reading Eden's Children (read my review here) last year, which was slightly different from his usual fare. Alas, with Little Paula (Available to buy on Paperback and Kindle.), a follow-up with a nonexistent narrative and one-dimensional characters, he has now struck rock bottom.
Eden's Children was best, a mediocre read. The two adopted kids in the novel, Faith and Trevor, reside with their new parents, Mama (also known as Paula Eden) and Big John. Mama, a total nut job, coerced Trevor and Faith into having sex, leading to a pregnancy Warning: The mother dies at the end. Little Paula picks up the narrative sometime later when Eden has given birth to Paula (named after her nutjob adoptive mother). Big John's girlfriend, Gabby, is irritated by the baby's cries, and finally, the infant gets taken away from Faith. Then Big John has a tragic accident that destabilizes their home. Trevor and Eden are adamant about getting their baby back. That's it; that's the entire story.
If it weren't for receiving an ARC, I would have stopped reading midway and thrown the wretched thing in the garbage, exactly where it belongs. Little Paula is by far the worst novel I've ever read in terms of writing. I have no idea how this book got the "greenlit" in the first place. There is no storyline at all. "Zero-dimensionality"—is there such a thing? If so, I would sum up every character in that way. All the voices sounded identical, and I couldn't tell who was speaking unless a character got mentioned by name. I should be able to distinguish between characters as a reader; instead, I read each page several times to find out who was who.
Neiderman has lost the ability to give a narrative a Gothic feel. No, I don't mean a setting must be Victorian when I refer to Gothic. Instead, I'm referring to the environment, and in the case of Little Paula, it's set in an enormous old house that Neiderman never describes. The characters should have been the supporting cast, with the home as the central protagonist. (I'm hoping everyone here understands what I just said.)
I'm unsure of the book's demographics—young adults or adults. The readers interested in Little Paula are likely adult fans of either V.C. Andrews, Andrew Neiderman, or both. The weak writing and blatantly juvenile prose will quickly turn off casual readers. ╌★✰✰✰✰
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