Hello everyone, I hope you're all doing great, dear Hive Book Club community. This time, I'm bringing you a new review. This time I'm going to talk about Flowers in the Attic by V.C. Andrews... I'll be really honest: when I started reading it, I felt a strange mix of curiosity and fear. The plot is one of those well-known and dark ones, you know? About children who are locked in an attic by their own grandmother for three years that feel like they'll last forever! And here's the ugly part: emotional and physical torture, they're barely given anything to eat, and to top it all off, abuse that makes you say "it can't be!"... from the beginning, you get a knot in your stomach, because this is one of those books that screams "be careful with sensitive topics!" (religion, torture, abuse, incest, rape), and believe me, the warning is not a joke, there are parts where the way of writing traps you, especially when it puts you in that claustrophobic vibe of the two rooms: the bedroom and the attic. You almost smell the stale air and feel the hunger next to Kathy, the one who tells us everything...

Buuuut, the dialogues... oh, the dialogues! Many times they take you out of the story, the characters speak in a super strange way, very acted, that it doesn't feel real at all, as if they were reading a script instead of being terrified children and cruel adults... I kept thinking: "would anyone say that in real life?" Despite the somewhat awkward dialogue, the story's pace picks up once the lockdown begins. The first half, when we still see the children enjoying their last moments of freedom, really hooks you in... you care a lot about little Carrie's antics and how the twins get along.

Corey, in particular, with his half-silent tenderness, had me on the edge of my seat when his story takes a tragic turn; it was incredibly sad, but somehow the emotional weight is brilliantly written. On the other hand, the connection between the older siblings, Chris and Kathy, feels a bit more forced, although Kathy's voice is still the best part of the book. Seeing everything from Kathy’s perspective is the heart of this story. Her way of narrating is wonderful: clear, sincere, without judgment, and that makes even the most far-fetched things seem credible, when Kathy tells you how the grandmother gave them a good beating or poured tar in her own daughter’s hair, you believe all that horror because of how raw and honest she is. Not to mention the appearances of the mother: they are few, always very glamorous, but at the same time they give you a chill that phew!, they add another layer of complexity to the matter. You never know if she is the one who is going to save them or the villain, and that had me in a constant state of uncertainty.

Hola a todos, espero que estén super bien, querida comunidad de Hive Book Club, en esta ocasión, les vengo a traer una nueva reseña, está vez le voy a hablar de Flowers in the Attic de V.C. Andrews... les voy a ser bien sincero: cuando lo empecé, sentí una mezcla rara, como de curiosidad y un miedo, es que la trama es de esas bien sonadas y oscuras, ¿saben? Unos niños que su propia abuela encierra en un ático por tres años ¡que se sienten eternos! Y ahí les va lo feo: tortura emocional, física, no les dan casi de comer y, para rematar, abusos que uno dice "¡no puede ser!".. desde el inicio se te hace un nudo en la panza, porque este es de esos libros que te gritan "cuidado con los temas sensibles!" (religión, tortura, abuso, incesto, violación), y créanme, la advertencia no es chiste, hay partes donde la forma de escribir te atrapa, sobre todo cuando te mete en esa onda claustrofóbica de los dos cuartitos: el dormitorio y el ático. Casi que hueles el aire viciado y sientes el hambre junto a Kathy, la que nos cuenta todo..

Peeero, los diálogos... ¡ay, los diálogos! Muchas veces te sacan de la historia, los personajes hablan de una forma súper rara, como muy actuada, que no se siente para nada real, como si estuvieran leyendo un guion en lugar de ser niños aterrados y adultos crueles.. yo me la pasaba pensando: "alguien diría eso así en la vida real?". A pesar de esos diálogos medio raros, el ritmo de la historia agarra vuelo una vez que empieza el encierro, la primera mitad, cuando todavía vemos a los niños disfrutando sus últimos ratos de libertad, la verdad es que te engancha.. te importan un montón las ocurrencias de la pequeña Carrie y cómo se llevan los gemelos.

Corey, en especial, con esa ternura medio callada, me tuvo con el corazón en un puño cuando su historia da un giro trágico; fue tristísimo, pero de alguna manera, la carga emocional está escrita de forma brillante, en cambio, la onda entre los hermanos mayores, Chris y Kathy, se siente un poco más forzada, aunque la voz de Kathy sigue siendo lo mejorcito del libro. Ver todo desde la perspectiva de Kathy es el corazón de esta historia.. su forma de narrar es una maravilla: clara, sincera, sin andar juzgando, y eso hace que hasta las cosas más jaladas de los pelos parezcan creíbles, cuando Kathy te cuenta cómo la abuela les daba sus buenos golpes o le echaba alquitrán en el pelo a su propia hija, te crees todo ese horror por lo cruda y honesta que es ella.. ni hablar de las apariciones de la mamá: son pocas, siempre muy glamorosa ella, pero al mismo tiempo te dan un escalofrío que ¡uff!, le meten otra capa de complejidad al asunto. Nunca sabes si es la que los va a salvar o la villana, y eso me tuvo en una incertidumbre constante.

Okay, and now for the themes... wow, what themes! Incest is the main course, let's say... the '87 film sort of skirted around it, the 2014 one sort of hinted at it, but the book... the book goes all out, no anesthesia! Chris's abuse of Kathy ends in a rape that, look, you say "I've read everything," but this overwhelms you! It leaves you frozen... the ugliest thing, the thing that turns your stomach, is how Kathy blames herself, looking for reasons to say it was "because of her." That wave of self-blame, as a reader, made me furious and something... terrible! This thing about how family affection twists and turns into something forbidden, it already gives you goosebumps even before the confinement; afterward, I won't even tell you, it's a total nightmare... you can't help but wonder: what's all the ugly stuff for? What's the point?

That doubt lingers, doesn't it? Why such a dark story if the only moral in the end is "life sucks" and that's it? Some people say it's dark just because, just for the hell of it, and the truth is, I can't get that idea out of my head... the lack of a clear message makes it seem at times like a parade of horrors one after another, with no one safe, without a bit of light. Something that did throw me off in the middle was the routine... sure, the day-to-day confinement can get to you, but there comes a point where it becomes repetitive, as if you're reading the same page in the diary: "we wait, we're starving, we're scared," and so on every day. It gets tiresome, and I completely understand why some lose interest and think the book could have been much shorter; imagine a 15-hour audiobook of this!

And then there's the whole Stockholm syndrome thing, the kids so scared they don't even try to escape... that frustrates you even more! I was mentally screaming, "Break a window, for God's sake!" But, mind you, I can't deny that Andrews has a knack for creating tension in such a small space. She turns two small rooms into a psychological battlefield, and when the siblings finally hatch a plan against Grandma, I was biting my nails, on the edge of my seat! But the ending... oh, the ending. That's my biggest complaint... after years of abuse, you don't feel like there are consequences. They don't want to go to the police for fear that everything will be found out or that they'll be separated... I really didn't believe that. I mean, who in their right mind passes up the chance for justice after suffering so much? It doesn't make sense!

Bueno, y ahora, los temas... ¡uff, qué temas! El incesto es el plato fuerte, digamos.. la película del 87 como que le sacó la vuelta, la de 2014 medio lo insinuó, pero el libro... ¡el libro se va con todo, sin anestesia! El abuso de Chris a Kathy termina en una violación que, miren, uno dice "ya leí de todo", ¡pero esto te rebasa! Te deja helado.. lo más feo, lo que te revuelve el estómago, es cómo Kathy se echa la culpa, buscando razones para decir que fue "por ella", esa onda de culparse a sí misma, como lector, me dio un coraje y una cosa... ¡terrible! Eso de cómo el cariño familiar se va torciendo hasta volverse algo prohibido, ya te pone los pelos de punta desde antes del encierro; después, ni les cuento, es una pesadilla total.. uno no puede evitar preguntarse: ¿para qué tanta cosa fea? ¿Cuál es el punto?

Te queda esa duda flotando, ¿no? ¿Por qué una historia tan oscura si al final la única moraleja es "la vida es una mierda" y ya? Hay quienes dicen que es oscuro nomás porque sí, por el gusto de serlo, y la verdad, esa idea no se me quita de la cabeza.. que no haya un mensaje claro hace que a ratos parezca un desfile de horrores uno tras otro, sin que nadie se salve, sin un poquito de luz. Algo que sí me sacó de onda en la parte de en medio fue la rutina.. claro, el día a día del encierro te puede atrapar, pero llega un punto en que se vuelve repetitivo, como si estuvieras leyendo la misma página del diario: "esperamos, nos morimos de hambre, tenemos miedo", y así todos los días. Se hace pesado, y entiendo perfecto por qué a algunos se les va el interés y piensan que el libro pudo ser mucho más corto, imagínense un audiolibro de 15 horas de esto!

Y luego está el rollo del síndrome de Estocolmo, los niños con tanto miedo que ni intentan escapar... ¡eso te frustra más! Yo mentalmente gritaba: "¡Rompan una ventana, por Dios!". Pero, ojo, no puedo negar que la Andrews tiene un talentazo para crear tensión en un espacio tan chiquito, convierte dos cuartitos en un campo de batalla psicológico, y cuando los hermanos por fin arman un plan contra la abuela, ¡yo estaba comiéndome las uñas, al borde del asiento! Pero el final... ay, el final. Esa es mi queja más grande.. después de años de abuso, no se siente que hayan consecuencias, no quieren ir a la policía por miedo a que se sepa todo o a que los separen.. eso sí que no me lo creí. O sea, ¿quién en su sano juicio deja ir la oportunidad de que se haga justicia después de haber sufrido tanto? ¡No tiene lógica!

But be careful, the vibe between the little ones, especially with baby Carrie, hits you hard, you know? Her innocence, her fragility, clashes a lot with all the filth that goes on upstairs, and suddenly, in the midst of so much horror, there are like sparks of tenderness... despite all the chaos, I recognize the author for making you want Kathy to take care of her siblings with all your might... that initiative she puts in was what kept me hooked for a good part... but hey, it's not all rosy, right? There are things that could have been better, apart from the strange dialogue and that part in the middle that was repeated, the rhythm seems to fall apart in some parts... the reasons why some characters do what they do... like Chris's blind faith in his mom... you don't seem to believe it, it feels forced, the lack of a thematic closure that leaves you satisfied, it leaves you with a void. You finish the book and you wonder, what about this? Was it just meant to be shocking?

Now, who's this book for? If you've never read anything this disturbing but are curious, then go for it. This could be your gateway... although, I repeat, it's tough if you like gothic horror and aren't afraid of a creeping horror... if you like psychological thrills. But if incest, rape, and total darkness really put you off, it's best not to go near it. For me, it was like a mishmash: very powerful parts, but too dense and uneven, it's like the idea of ​​a psychological masterpiece that stumbled when putting it together. I give it a 3/5, and I think it's fair. It has a force that you can't deny and sparks of genius –Kathy's voice, what happens with Corey, that atmosphere that suffocates you– but those good moments are overshadowed by very obvious flaws, so, in conclusion: if you want to know a little piece of the history of horror and you don't mind delving into the darkest corners of fiction, check it out... but chances are you won't take it as your first gothic read, if you're looking for a story with a clear message and that makes you feel something liberating at the end, better look for something else, this is a very dark journey that some will applaud for how daring it is and others will question for how crude it is. and well, that's all for today, I hope you are well, Take care of yourselves! Bye!

But be careful, the vibe between the little ones, especially with baby Carrie, hits you hard, you know? Her innocence, her fragility, clashes a lot with all the filth that goes on upstairs, and suddenly, in the midst of so much horror, there are like sparks of tenderness... despite all the chaos, I recognize the author for making you want Kathy to take care of her siblings with all your might... that initiative she puts in was what kept me hooked for a good part... but hey, it's not all rosy, right? There are things that could have been better, apart from the strange dialogue and that part in the middle that was repeated, the rhythm seems to fall apart in some parts... the reasons why some characters do what they do... like Chris's blind faith in his mom... you don't seem to believe it, it feels forced, the lack of a thematic closure that leaves you satisfied, it leaves you with a void. You finish the book and you wonder, what about this? Was it just meant to be shocking?

Now, who's this book for? If you've never read anything this disturbing but are curious, then go for it. This could be your gateway... although, I repeat, it's tough if you like gothic horror and aren't afraid of a creeping horror... if you like psychological thrills. But if incest, rape, and total darkness really put you off, it's best not to go near it. For me, it was like a mishmash: very powerful parts, but too dense and uneven, it's like the idea of ​​a psychological masterpiece that stumbled when putting it together. I give it a 3/5, and I think it's fair. It has a force that you can't deny and sparks of genius –Kathy's voice, what happens with Corey, that atmosphere that suffocates you– but those good moments are overshadowed by very obvious flaws, so, in conclusion: if you want to know a little piece of the history of horror and you don't mind delving into the darkest corners of fiction, check it out... but chances are you won't take it as your first gothic read, if you're looking for a story with a clear message and that makes you feel something liberating at the end, better look for something else, this is a very dark journey that some will applaud for how daring it is and others will question for how crude it is. and well, that's all for today, I hope you are well, Take care of yourselves! Bye!

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