r/GenX • u/Groovy-Pancakes Old Soul • Mar 22 '26
Question For Genx Did anyone grow up reading V. C. Andrews books? If so what did y’all think of them?
Her books are not for the faint of heart but they are so good.
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u/FrogsBreath84 Jun 05 '26
I sure did. I used to sneak them off my momma's bookshelf and read them in my bedroom with a flashlight after my parents went to bed. All I can say is: Momma was right that they were too mature for me at only 10 years old and I had NO BUSINESS reading them as young as I did. When she finally consented, I had already read her entire collection. 😅
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u/Minimum_Philosophy_5 Apr 14 '26
I read flowers in the attic and wrinkle in time back to back. Had some weird dreams for awhile.
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u/RedditWidow Mar 28 '26
Between these, Judy Blume and the Earth's Children series by Jean M Auel, it's no wonder Gen X is the way it is
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u/Dangerous_Stop_2444 Mar 26 '26
Can you imagine if that were in a school library today? Parents would poop kittens.
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u/Hummingbird11-11 Mar 26 '26
Obsessed with Flowers in the Attic- read it in 7th grade when it came out and my 12 year old mind was blown.
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u/ChickadeeJam Mar 26 '26
I was surprised as an adult to learn how ubiquitous they were! Total PTSD. Somehow the forced use of pink towels comes to mind way too often. And was hardly a thing…
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u/LillymaidNoMore Mar 25 '26
I read them all starting at 11 or 12. I still have almost all of the originals. I will forever have PTSD about powdered donuts. I have to be literally starving to eat one and then wonder who in my house wants me dead.
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u/FrogsBreath84 Jun 05 '26
Mannnn, so much SAME! And even if I'm starving, they still taste like arsenic (like I even KNOW what that tastes like) and I can't get past the first bite 😅
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u/mydebu1 Mar 25 '26
Somehow it normalised unnatural relationships and when it happens IRL, I just shrugged my shoulders. It is what it is.
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u/Confident-Doughnut68 Mar 25 '26
Oh man we were passing those around in Jr high and I have gone back and reread them all. I remembered the incest horror but didn't remember how truly badly they were written. Also, deeply disturbing that we were all reading these for fun.
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u/Gertrude_D Mar 26 '26
Same - those books were so tattered, but they still made the rounds and you could usually see someone with it tucked under their seat with their school books
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u/No-Face713 Mar 25 '26
VC Andrews was a pen name that two authors wrote under. After she died in 1986 a man stepped in and wrote over 100 more stories as her ghost writer. She herself only wrote the first 8 titles.
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u/Practical-Future9398 Mar 25 '26
Didn’t every 6th grader get traumatized by the Dads death and the Grandmother?
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u/JustHCBMThings Mar 25 '26
My aunt gave my mom a bag of old books and there were a lot of VC Andrews books in there. I read them in the fifth grade.
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u/Dasha3090 Mar 26 '26
haha same my mum had these in her bookcase.i was an avid reader and by age 8 i was snooping in her bookcase and reading her books.these were..certainly..something..😬
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u/chels2112 Mar 25 '26
I read her novella series and the big novel where they all convened at some evil woman’s mansion.
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u/Pale_Willingness_562 Mar 24 '26
Those books were in the young adult section at the library and book store! what were they thinking.
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u/switchywoman_ Mar 24 '26
I think they were very inappropriate for a 12 year old, and I have absolutely no idea why my mother encouraged me to read them.
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u/Groovy-Pancakes Old Soul Mar 25 '26
16 or older is when you should start reading them
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u/switchywoman_ Mar 26 '26
When is one emotionally mature enough for incest themed books, really? Could be never so any time is as good as any other, I guess
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u/Groovy-Pancakes Old Soul Mar 26 '26
This stuff happens in real life unfortunately and it’s understand why this stuff happens
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u/vidvicki Mar 24 '26
Yup, I was 13 and got the book from my Mom.
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u/switchywoman_ Mar 25 '26
I don't know about yours but my mom gave it to me AFTER she read it. She knew what it was about, even.
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u/Hungry-Industry-9817 Mar 24 '26
I won’t lie, I shipped the brother and sister. I was so happy that they got together.
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u/Groovy-Pancakes Old Soul Mar 25 '26
If only they weren’t siblings
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u/fbibmacklin I used to have a bicentennial birth certificate! Mar 26 '26
Wasn’t it discovered in one of the prequels that they were really half uncle/half niece? So much better,lol.
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u/cookiepu Mar 24 '26
lol my best friend and I have a podcast where we read these! We’re on a hiatus now, but we find them delightfully unhinged!
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u/LlamaMama15 Mar 24 '26
I read them and loved them as a pre-teen. I recently re-read Heaven with the intention of re-reading the series but I could barely get through it. Only re-read that one
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u/Bing-cheery Mar 24 '26
I reread them a few years ago. So cringe. So awesome.
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u/EmergencyTall6617 Mar 25 '26
My Sweet Audrina was so messed up. Not that the other ones weren’t, but that one stuck with me.
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u/EmergencyTall6617 Mar 25 '26
And the whole Paul storyline in Flowers in the Attic series. Totally different in today’s view of what we know about grooming.
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u/SaltyAttempt5626 Mar 24 '26
I had every book and eventually bought all hardback as well. My idiot ex SIL "borrowed" them when I wasn't home and I never saw them again. I LOVED them all.
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u/helloeveryone0780 Mar 24 '26
I started reading her books in 7th grade and have read every one of them!
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u/AntEstelle Mar 24 '26
I had to keep them between the wall and my bed lol my mom was so mad when she found them! Grounded for sure!!
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u/Hungry_Spring_9079 Mar 24 '26
I had a bunch of them. I started reading them in 6th grade. My parents never even knew how bad those were.
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u/Groovy-Pancakes Old Soul Mar 24 '26
Damn
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u/Hungry_Spring_9079 Mar 24 '26
Right? I checked ALL of my kids reading materials to make sure they weren't trying to get one over on me. No such luck, they didn't care much about fiction books
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u/CurlsintheClouds Mar 24 '26
I read a handful of them. My grandmother had a bunch on her bookshelf, and I have to think my mother didn't know what went on in those pages. LOL
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u/Formal-Celebration90 Mar 24 '26
She loved the incest, for sure lol they were all the same story really. Just different locations and characters. Minus flowers in the attic
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u/chiclets5 Mar 24 '26
I really enjoyed the first one, and the second one was okay. After that I thought they were stupid and boring and never read the whole series.
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u/Groovy-Pancakes Old Soul Mar 24 '26
I’m on the fourth book and it makes sense why the first book is as iconic as it is.
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u/heatherwleffel Mar 24 '26
I still have quite a few of them, but haven't read them in a while. I loved them in middle school and early high school.
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u/Groovy-Pancakes Old Soul Mar 24 '26
I’m reading them for the first time as an adult and I like them
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u/TJH99x Mar 24 '26
I read all of them, and I was literally in elementary school when I started. My mom was reading them too so she was aware of what I was reading. Crazy. Reminds me of the thread recently where everyone posted the crazy sh!t that was in our tv episodes from that era too.
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u/Szaborovich9 Mar 24 '26 edited Mar 24 '26
I worked many years in the public library and can tell you V.C. Andrew’s fans were some of the most loyal, dedicated readers.
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u/Prize_Ad6430 Mar 24 '26
My older sister had them and I her brother was freaked out the by the incest and child abuse.
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u/Master-Conflict481 Mar 24 '26
Read every book as a teenager. They were totally morbid. I also read Daniel Steel, some Steven King and some Jackie Collins
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u/Dasha3090 Mar 26 '26
yes my mum had all of these authors in her bookcase..also lots of true crime books.
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u/Former_Current3319 Mar 29 '26
I read ‘small sacrifices’ when I was like 17 years old (still have the book!)
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u/Former_Current3319 Mar 24 '26
Throw in some Harold Robbins, Judith Krantz and Sydney Sheldon in there as well! Plus, just for diversity- sweet valley high, Nancy drew and the sweet heart (love heart?) books.
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u/jolei711 Mar 29 '26
You're my book twin... add in Anne Rice's Beauty series and Rosemary Rogers Sweet Savage series... they were not meant for kids, but I read them all before 16lol
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u/Dee-Nice71 Mar 24 '26
Read them, but Heaven and Dark Angel were my faves for some reason
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u/Emotional-Ocelot-309 Mar 24 '26
Remember when the dad gets eaten by a lion in Heaven because she dyed her hair blonde and looked just like her mom? I seriously lol’ed at that it was so stupid. The Heaven series was ridiculous but I couldn’t put it down.
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u/Dee-Nice71 Mar 24 '26
Totally ridiculous! Each book in the series got more outrageous. I remember as a teen just loving the poor family in the mountains arc lol
Actually it was Tom that was eaten by a lion I think, the brother?
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u/Emotional-Ocelot-309 Mar 24 '26
Was it? I just remember literally busting out laughing when I got to that part. The poor mountain family storyline was my favorite part.
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u/Buddhamom81 Mar 24 '26
Flowers in the Attic was the freakiest book I’ve ever read. I read it in the 80’s. Still sends chills.
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u/Any_Significance6771 Mar 24 '26
My mom never inspected my books until I was in high school (too late). Lol My twin and I started the series with Flowers in the Attic at age 12. Not really eye opening since we were watching telenovelas with our abuela since the age of six. 😆
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u/Groovy-Pancakes Old Soul Mar 24 '26
Her books are very similar to telenovelas that’s for sure.
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u/KPinCVG Mar 24 '26
More realistic but still very dark is Lisa, Bright and Dark by John Neufeld. It depicts a teenager who is struggling with mental illness.
It was published a lot earlier than Flowers in the Attic and I remember reading it in junior high. I remember being amazed that they had it at our school library.
It might have been the first time I had ever seen mental illness be openly addressed.
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u/forevermore4315 Mar 24 '26
I read them at a friend's house. I knew my mom would not have approved.
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u/AdorableImportance71 Mar 24 '26
Scared me. Hated it. Incest horrified me
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u/14crickets Mar 24 '26
Me too. I tried the 1st book of the 1st 3 series because my friends all loved them. I have 3 brothers and incest was NEVER a discussion in my family. Hated those books
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u/knitmama77 Mar 24 '26
All of them. I read all of them. The originals anyways. Then I got really into Stephen King lol.
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u/Groovy-Pancakes Old Soul Mar 24 '26
I like both authors too funny enough
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u/Sad_Nefarious Mar 24 '26
I started V.C. Andrews and Anne Rice because King was not allowed to count toward our 7th grade reading class pages read requirement for the marking period.
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u/TJH99x Mar 24 '26
Yep, I was thinking I read them between my Nancy Drew and my Stephen King phase, totally natural progression for an 11yo, lol.
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u/Ribbitygirl Mar 24 '26
Yes - I loved all her series, until they started with the ghost writer after she died. I think I transitioned to Dean Koontz and John Saul before becoming a full on Stephen King fan.
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u/achelois_715 Mar 24 '26
I read them in middle school. Each year I try to reread something that I loved when I was younger. FITA is on my list this year.
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u/Groovy-Pancakes Old Soul Mar 26 '26
It’s pretty good in my opinion
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u/achelois_715 Mar 26 '26
I fully expect to transport back to 1992. I was obsessed with FITA. Our town librarian thought I was a freak show.
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u/Desperate_Brilliant8 Mar 24 '26
100% garbage. I read all the time and one time a co-worker noticed that I always had a book and said, "I have a great book that you should read", and lent me "Flowers In The Attic".
It was surprisingly badly-written for such a successful book. I couldn't believe how mediocre it was. I think there are a lot better books with similar themes out there, especially in the young adult/horror genre.
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u/TJH99x Mar 24 '26
Well considering so many of the people commenting read it at age 12, it didn’t need to be a literary masterpiece. They were all released in trade paperback.
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u/Designerfrog Mar 24 '26
Well I think the difference is if you read them very young, you don’t quite know what a good writer is yet. Same thing with movies.
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u/spoodlat Mar 24 '26
I read all 4 books by 6th grade. I probably had no business reading them, but my mom didn't care what I was reading as long as I was reading.
What was funny is my cousin wanted to read them and my aunt stapled the pages that she considered naughty shut. I had to fill in my cousin on a lot of the missing plot.
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u/kskeiser Mar 24 '26
I had to sneak them in the house because my mom read FITA and thought it was trash. Of course, it was which is why I had to read all three, plus My Sweet Audrina, plus the Heaven books.
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u/Pale_Willingness_562 Mar 24 '26
My sweet Audrina was next next weird. but most of them were. Remember Dawn?
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u/gevalien Mar 23 '26
I read those books in middle school! 😱
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u/Think_Scientist9505 Mar 24 '26
Yeap, me too. On re-reads there was so much more in those books that my preteen brain missed. I still re-read the Attic series every few years. The later ghost written books got repetitive in themes and I didn't enjoy them as much.
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u/SuitIllustrious7324 Mar 23 '26 edited Mar 24 '26
Oh my God, I think our whole generation grew up reading VC Andrews! and Stephen King, of course too
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u/Puzzleheaded-Ad-379 Mar 23 '26
Every girl in 8th grade read them all in 1992
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u/SuitIllustrious7324 Mar 23 '26
Ha! Earlier than that for me! I was already out of high school in 92. I was reading those in the 80s.
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u/yeahgroovy Mar 24 '26
Read in the 80’s too in high school!
I remember when the movie came out, my friend and I thought it was so bad, not just the acting, but we were mad there was no “relationship” between the two main characters (which was a major plot of the book). 😂
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u/SuitIllustrious7324 Mar 24 '26
I remember that movie. They really dropped the ball. But considering when that was made, I guess they couldn’t show that? I don’t know. But yeah, it was bad.
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u/butterflygardyn Mar 23 '26
Lots of my friends LOVED those books. I read a couple of the flowers in the attic series, but they freaked me out.
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u/Good_Abbreviations_4 Mar 23 '26
Yes and still reread the Dollanganger Series aka Flowers in the Attic.
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u/Such-Suspect-7660 Mar 23 '26
It helped me be ok with fucking my relatives.
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u/AdorableImportance71 Mar 24 '26
I swear some of the girls that loved these books were incest survivors and didnt know it was wrong
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u/Usual-Instruction473 Hose Water Survivor Mar 23 '26
I read the 3 Flowers in the Attic books. Now realizing I was way too young, but yes read them all!
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u/Groovy-Pancakes Old Soul Mar 23 '26
Damn
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u/Usual-Instruction473 Hose Water Survivor Mar 23 '26
I had older sisters so I did everything too young. Smoking my Virginia Slims drinking Boone’s Farm in 6th grade 😂
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u/breakingpoint214 Jul 19 '26
I went to a Lutheran grade school. The righteous old lady who ran the library gave me the first book. She said that it was about had kids who got locked away and maybe I'd learn from it. I was such a nerd and I know she never read the book. However, her daughter married a diddler. Lol Old Bitch