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.