Retail: $7.99: Pages 560

Anyway, after I finished reading the Dollanganger series, I read My Sweet Audrina, which was the only published standalone (originally published in 1982) by V.C. Andrews before her death in 1986, and it became one of her most popular titles. The novel has been adapted into a two hour (90-minutes without commercials) that will air on LIFETIME on Saturday, January 9, 2016! To tie-in with the movie's premiere, Pocket Books is re-releasing My Sweet Audrina (ISBN: 978-1501138843) to paperback with all new cover art. There is also a sneak peak at the upcoming sequel, Whitefern, scheduled to be published in July.

I don't reread very many books, but I was definitely wanting to read My Sweet Audrina before the LIFETIME movie premieres as I only recall bits and pieces from the novel. Luckily, I didn't have to hunt down my old hardback copy as Pocket Books nicely sent me an advanced copy of the re-release.

My Sweet Audrina chronicles the life of Audrina Adare from age seven to adulthood. Unlike other girls her age, she isn't allowed to attend school, though her coldblooded cousin Vera is allowed to go school. She spends her days at the Whitefern mansion with her mother, Lucietta and her aunt Ellsbeth (Vera's mother). When her father, Damian, isn't working, he makes her sit in the rocking chair in her deceased older sister's playroom (her name was Audrina too), so she can try to receive the "first and best" Audrina's gifts.

The original Audrina died nine-years before the second Audrina was born, which resulted in Audrina (the second) being shutoff from the outside world. She isn't allowed to have any friends or venture off into the woods (where the older Audrina was raped and murdered). While one would think that Vera would be her best friend, that isn't the case as Vera is extremely hateful to her; constantly jealous of the attention Damian gives Audrina.

Despite Audrina's short-term memory problems, she is well aware to stay away from the woods, but she eventually goes beyond Whitefern, so she can get a look at the teenage boy, Arden Lowe, and his mother, Billie, whom live in a small groundskeeper cottage on her family's property. One glance at Audrina's chameleon hair and Arden was in love with her. The two start out as just friends, but eventually end up getting married when Audrina became of age.

Seeds of Yesterday
Director: Shawn Ku
Starring: Rachael Carpani, James Maslow, Jason Lewis
Studio: LionsGate / A&E Home Video
Release Date: July 21, 2015
Retail: $14.98
ASIN: B00WU5B5FC
Running Time: 90 minutes
Rating: Not Rated
Buy Link: Amazon

Review:

The final installment in the Dollanganger film series, Seeds of Yesterday, is now available to own on DVD. Directed by Shawn Ku, the film stars Rachael Carpani, James Maslow and Jason Lewis. There are no special features or extras on the single disc. However, it does come a with digital copy.

Based on the fourth installment of the Dollanganger Saga book series by the late Gothic author V.C. Andrews, Seeds Of Yesterday picks up thirteen years after the events of If There Be Thorns. Bart (played by James Maslow) has rebuilt the old Foxworth mansion. He's invited his parents, Chris and Cathy (played by Jason Lewis and Rachael Carpani), his brother, Jory (played by Anthony Konechny), sister-in-law, Melodie (played by Leah Gibson) and his adopted-sister Cindy (played by Sammi Hanratty) to stay at the mansion for his 25th birthday celebration, in which Jory and Melodie were to perform a ballet for the party. Well, that is until it is revealed that Melodie is pregnant, forcing Bart to let Cindy, whom he has always hated, to take her place. Unfortunately, an accident occurs that paralyzes Jory.

While Bart tries to act like nothing is wrong, he actually hates his family due to his parents dark secret (spoiler: Chris and Cathy are siblings). After he learns that his inheritance from his late grandmother will be delayed until his 35th birthday, he takes it out on his family. Bart begins a passionate affair with Melodie, who is extremely unstable. Next, he interferes in Cindy's love life, which causes another strain in their relationship, though he actually has romantic feelings for her.

From left to right: James Maslow ("Bart Foxworth," left), Sammi Hanratty ("Cindy Sheffield," left center), Jason Lewis ("Christopher Sheffield," center) and Rachael Carpani ("Cathy Sheffield," right) star in Lionsgate Home Entertainment's SEEDS OF YESTERDAY

If There Be Thorns
Director: Nancy Savoca
Starring: Heather Graham, Jason Lewis, Rachel Carpani
Studio: LionsGate
Release Date: June 23, 2015
Retail: $14.98
Running Time: 98 minutes
Rating: Not Rated
Buy Link: Amazon

Review:

Now available to own on DVD is the third installment of the made-for-LIFETIME film saga, titled If There Be Thorns. There are no special features or extras on the single disc, but there is a Digital Ultraviolet download code.

Based on the third novel in the Dollanganger Saga by the late Gothic author V.C. Andrews, If There Be Thorns takes place six years after then end of Petals on the Wind, where Chris (played by Jason Lewis) and Cathy (played by Rachael Carpani) Dollanganger are living as man and wife in California along with their sons Jory (played by Jedidiah Goodacre) and Bart (played by Mason Cook). It seems they have finally been able to put their dark past behind them, well, that is until a mysterious woman dressed in black purchases the mansion next door to them.

Bart's thinks he's the outcast of the family. His older brother, Jory, is great at everything and gets praised from their parents all the time. Though Bart has been told to stay away from the mansion next door, his curiosity gets the better of him and he checkouts the new owner a  is a rich widow (played by Heather Graham), whom is living with her butler - John Amos!

Secret Brother
The Dollanganger Family Series
by V.C. Andrews
Publisher: Pocket Books
Pub. Date: May 26th, 2015
ISBN: 978-1476792408
Pages: 384
Buy Link: Amazon

Review:

In 1979, the Gothic novel Flowers in the Attic by V.C. Andrews was published, causing a slue of backlash from libraries, schools and parents. Despite the taboo incest theme, the story about a four siblings being locked in a bedroom & attic by their mother and grandmother became a worldwide sensation. Three sequels (Petals on the Wind, If There Be Thorns & Seeds of Yesterday) were later published. Sadly, V.C. Andrews passed away before she could finished the prequel novel Garden of Shadows, but the publishers and Andrews' family picked Andrew Neiderman to ghostwrite the novel, as well as every V.C. Andrews title since then.

Fans thought the series had ended with Garden of Shadows until the semi-sequel Christopher's Diary: Secrets of Foxworth was released last fall and quickly followed by Christopher's Diary: Echoes of Dollanganger, in which a long-distant cousin stumbles upon the diary of Christopher Dollanganger.

Arriving on in bookstores next week is the direct sequel to Flowers in the Attic (or a side-prequel to the Christopher's Diary duo). The novel begins in late October 1960 and centers on sixteen-year-old Clara Sue Sanders, whom, along with her little brother, Willie, has been living with their Grandpa Arnold every since their parents died in a tragic accident. One afternoon, Clara Sue is startled by the commotion outside - a drunk driver had hit her brother and his nanny, Myra. While the paramedics did everything they could, Willie was gone before the ambulance arrived at the hospital.

Grief-stricken, Clara Sue must stay in the waiting room by her grandfather's side while the doctors work on Myra. This is when they learn that young boy had been dropped off at the and left at the hosptial by a stranger. The boy is undernourished and had been poisoned with arsenic. (Sounds familiar, doesn't it?)

Before funeral plans for Willie are even made, Grandpa Arnold is determined to find out whom this little boy is. Due to the arsenic, the boy has neurological damage as well as the loss of motor skills; leaving him unable to communicate and walk. Grandpa Arnold hires a detective to find out who dropped the the boy off, but he finds nothing.

It has been nearly 37 years since the Gothic horror novel Flowers in the Attic written by the late V.C. Andrews was published. While the book was considered "trash" by critics and librarians, readers, especially teenagers, were entranced by the Dollanganger children. The incest storyline between an adolescent brother and sister is still taboo by many libraries, which is why the book and its sequels are still banned in some places around the world.

Three sequels, Petals on the Wind (1980), If There Be Thorns (1981) and Seeds of Yesterday (1984), were released before V.C. Andrews' death in 1986. The prequel novel, Garden of Shadows, was unfinished before her death, resulting in a ghostwriter (Andrew Neiderman) being hired to finish writing it, as well as writing each and every new V.C. Andrews title that followed.

Due to the popularity of the original book, Hollywood soon took notice. In 1987, the film adaptation of Flowers in the Attic was released to negative reviews from critics and fans, mostly due to the incest storyline not being used, as well as other changes, especially the film's ending. The only interesting factor from the movie is V.C. Andrews cameo that was filmed before her death.

The Dollanganger franchise seemed to be dead until a made-for-television version of Flowers in the Attic aired on Lifetime earlier this year. Despite being a watered-down adaptation, the film did use the incest storyline and stayed more faithful than the 1987 version. Though it received mixed-reviews from critics, the TV-movie received high ratings for Lifetime, resulting in a Petals on the Wind going into production within a few weeks. The sequel was also a watered-down-version of the book, but it did well-enough in ratings that Lifetime ordered the adaptations of If There Be Thorn and Seeds of Yesterday, both set to air sometime in 2015.

Being released today is the semi-sequel to the Dollanganger series, titled Christopher's Diary: Secrets of Foxworth written by the ghost author (Andrew Neiderman) under the name V.C. Andrews. The original series is beloved by fans, so entering back into the Dollanganger world is a little risky, especially since the last batch of ghostwritten books have received mixed to negative reaction from fans, mostly due to the way the books are now written, which is aimed towards a teenage audience instead of adults. Plus, the books have been lacking that Gothic feeling that V.C. Andrews was known for.

That being said, I was still interested in reading Christopher's Diary: Secrets of Foxworth, which I
received an advanced galley copy back in late August.