Our heroine is with her new family - Cal and Kitty Dennison - and headed to their home in Atlanta. Heaven is amazed at the new sights she sees along the way. They arrive at their home and Heaven is awestruck by the house. It was completely different from the cabin in the hills. Kitty shows off her prize possessions - ceramic animals that she makes herself. Kitty is very particular about her house and everything must be spotless. This should cause warning bells to go off in Heaven's head but it doesn't. Kitty sends Cal to K-Mart to buy Heaven some clothes. While Cal is away, Kitty tells Heaven that she needs to take a bath and get all the hill filth off her body. This bath consists of scorching hot water, Lysol and a brush. After fighting Kitty and eventually getting pushed into the tub, Heaven is bathed and scrubbed until her skin is raw. Kitty also uses some gunk to wash Heaven's hair and it gets tangled and matted on her head. After drying off using a white towel (pink towels are Kitty's, black towels belong to Cal, Heaven must use the white or faded pink towels), Heaven puts on one of her new gowns. Kitty then informs everyone that Heaven will be sleeping in the bed with her and Cal because hill girls do nasty things and you can't trust them.
Heaven is confused by Kitty's erratic behavior. She hopes that Kitty will be a good mother and that Cal will be the father she always wanted. That seems to be the running them in this book. Heaven looking for a father figure. Well she's not going to find it in Cal. He's sympathetic and tries to protect her from Kitty's madness, but he doesn't take a stand against Kitty because he's in debt to her. She has him by the balls because she helped get his TV repair business started. Heaven spends her time going to school and coming home and cleaning. On Saturdays, Cal treats Heaven to a dinner and a movie and shopping excursions. Sounds like a good old-fashioned date to me. They become closer; two wounded souls who have to put up with the abusiveness of Kitty.
The closeness between Heaven and Cal reaches the point of inappropriateness. Heaven and Cal kiss. Heaven knows that it's wrong but she doesn't want to push him away because he's the only good thing she got going in her life. She's lost her family and the love of her life. The only person she can depend on is Cal. And she's heard Kitty tell Cal "NO" so often and she didn't want to do that to him. So they have sex and Heaven feels like a slut. She starts to think that it's in her blood to be trampy.
Heaven has been living with the Dennison's for two years. Kitty develops breast cancer and they return to Winnerow to let her family take care of her. There Heaven hopes to see Tom and Fanny. She visits Fanny with no luck. Fanny shuts the door in Heaven's face. It turns out Fanny's pregnant with the Reverand's baby. She's going to sell the baby to the Rev and his wife for $10k and then go to New York City (why? i don't know) Heaven sees Tom and discovers that his life isn't as great as he said it was. Buck Henry works him to death and he hates it. Heaven sees Logan and keeps him at bay. She's a ruined woman after letting Cal have his way with her. Heaven more or less tell Logan that's she's not the innocent he thought she was and he runs away, not wanting to hear it.
Pa is back in the picture and it seems he's finally got his life together. He has a new wife. Tom wants to go live with Pa and try to be a family again. This pisses Heaven off. She feels betrayed. She wants Tom to go with her to Boston so that she can see her mother's parents so that she can claim her heritage. It's a no go. Heaven says good bye to Tom and Fanny. She hops on the plan, off to a better future. Hopefully.
Showing posts with label VCA Read Good-Trash Movement. Show all posts
Showing posts with label VCA Read Good-Trash Movement. Show all posts
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Heaven - Part I
I've finished the first half of Heaven. I thought a good stopping point is when Heaven is sold by her father to a young couple - The Dennison's - from Atlanta. While reading this book, I wondered if VCA wrote this book, wanting the readers to have sympathy for Heaven and her rough life in the hills of West Virginia? If so, she failed miserably. Personally, I found Heaven too whiny. If I could yell at her and tell her to get it together, I would. Now onto my summary:
Prologue: On the eve of Heaven's 10th birthday, she finds out from her Granny that Sarah really isn't her ma. Granny takes Heaven to a grave. It's the grave of Heaven's mother who died at the age of 14 during childbirth. Granny goes on to tell Heaven the story of how Heaven's mother ran away from home and end up meeting and falling in love with Luke. Apparently, Luke was devastated by the death of his angel and this caused him to completely ignore Heaven. This bit of information gives Heaven some insight as to why her Pa doesn't look at or speak to her. Granny explains how Pa came to be with Sarah shortly after his angel's death. He had cravins, physical cravins. Granny gives Heaven the suitcase her mother was carrying when she arrived in The Willies. The suitcase contained a doll with silvery blond hair wearing a wedding veil. It was Heaven's ma, Luke's angel that was named Leigh.
The book starts with Heaven, a 13 year old girl that lives in abject poverty with her Granny, Grandpa, her 4 siblings (Tom, Fanny, Keith and Our Jane) and her "mother" Sarah. They are poor hill folk. Her Pa, Luke, is in and out of their life. He shows up long enough to deliver food and have sex with Sarah. They don't know where he goes when he leaves but according to Sarah, he rolls out to go to Shirley's Place. Heaven is extremely close with her brother Tom. It could be because they are so close in age. How is that possible? Tom calls her Heavenly (even though her name is Heaven Leigh). Their sister Fanny is a whore in the making. She loves attention, hates Heaven and thinks that the only way to get boys to like her is to go into the closet with them and perform favors. Keith is quiet and I don't think he said more than a sentence in the first half of the book. Our Jane is babied by all because she was born sickly.
The only place where Heaven gets a respite from her poor life is when she goes to school. Everyday Heaven, Tom, Fanny, Keith and Our Jane walk 7 miles to go to school. Heaven and Tom have the same teacher, Miss Deale, who "specializes" in teaching hill folk. Heaven loves Miss Deale. Miss Deale makes sure to encourage their book learning by giving them books to take home and read because she knows that they can't afford to buy any. Things get better for Heaven at school when Tom introduces her to the new boy in school, Logan. His family owns the local drug store so you know he comes from money. Their eyes meet and Logan has fallen head over heels for the girl with the cornflower blue eyes. Wow! That was fast. Of course, Fanny does not like this and does everything to draw attention to herself. Unfortunate for her, Logan only has eyes for Heaven.
Things continue on, business as usual, until Sarah realizes one day that she's knocked up. When she tells Luke, he blows up at her. He gave her birth control pills so why wasn't she taking them? She didn't understand his instructions and took them all at once so she wouldn't forget. Well, that's one way to do it. Luke leaves again to his normal hangout. While he's gone, Sarah prays that she will provide him with a son that looks just like Luke. That will get him to stay. Not! Sarah goes into labor and gives birth - no Luke in sight. But something's wrong with the baby. It's funny looking. OMG! The baby's stillborn. Sarah goes into a tizzy. Granny dies. And Luke finally shows up and drops a bombshell - He has syphilis. His nasty ways killed Sarah's baby. And his Ma! Luke takes off again.
Sarah goes bat-shit crazy and starts mumbling to herself about how she has to get out of here. She needs to leave. And guess what? She does. So now the only adult in the cabin is Grandpa and he can't do anything except sit in his rocker and whittle. Heaven stops going to school so that she can take care of Grandpa and the sickly Our Jane. Fanny uses this as an excuse to not go to school also. Things get rough. Food runs low. It's winter and it's making hunting tough. Keith and Our Jane are whiny and cry because their belly hurts. Oh when is Pa coming back with food? Surely he wouldn't let his kids starve? In the nick of time, Pa shows up with a bag full of food. Our hero! And he's out the door again. He don't want his kids to catch the syphilis.
Pa returns just in time for Christmas Eve. He has a big surprise for his brood. Christmas presents? A winter coat? New shoes? NO! A new family! Ta-dah! Luke figured since he got more kids than he can support, why not sell them off to a family that don't have kids for the bargain price of $500 per child. The first kid to be sold is Our Jane and Keith. You can't break them up; they are a package deal. Heaven is sick with grief as Our Jane cries "Hev-lee!" Heaven hates her father even more and gives him the death stare. Fanny is pissed because she wasn't sold first. She has to get outta here! I should have been first! And Tom can't believe his Pa sold his own kids. Heaven can't believe that Grandpa just sat there and said nothing. Fanny gets her wish. She gets sold to the Reverend and his wife. Next on the block, Tom! He's a sturdy young man who can do go work. Now you go with Buck Henry. Last man standing - Heaven.
Heaven ponders her fate. Now she wishes for Miss Deale or Logan to come to her rescue. Too late now Heaven. Your pride got in the way. You didn't want any help when it was being offered now you are on your own. While Heaven waits for the other shoe to drop, Luke decides that he has the right to touch and feel on Heaven - inappropriately - cause she's from his seed. Yeah...okay. Luckily Grandpa decides to be lucid and stops this. The next day two couples arrive. Heaven has a choice. Which couple to chose. The older staid couple that won't look at her. Or the flashy young couple. Hmmm...who to chose, who to chose. She decides to go with couple #2! Heaven hugs Grandpa, gives Luke another death stare and leaves the raggedy cabin behind. She's now on her way to a better life...or is she?
Stay tuned.....
Prologue: On the eve of Heaven's 10th birthday, she finds out from her Granny that Sarah really isn't her ma. Granny takes Heaven to a grave. It's the grave of Heaven's mother who died at the age of 14 during childbirth. Granny goes on to tell Heaven the story of how Heaven's mother ran away from home and end up meeting and falling in love with Luke. Apparently, Luke was devastated by the death of his angel and this caused him to completely ignore Heaven. This bit of information gives Heaven some insight as to why her Pa doesn't look at or speak to her. Granny explains how Pa came to be with Sarah shortly after his angel's death. He had cravins, physical cravins. Granny gives Heaven the suitcase her mother was carrying when she arrived in The Willies. The suitcase contained a doll with silvery blond hair wearing a wedding veil. It was Heaven's ma, Luke's angel that was named Leigh.
The book starts with Heaven, a 13 year old girl that lives in abject poverty with her Granny, Grandpa, her 4 siblings (Tom, Fanny, Keith and Our Jane) and her "mother" Sarah. They are poor hill folk. Her Pa, Luke, is in and out of their life. He shows up long enough to deliver food and have sex with Sarah. They don't know where he goes when he leaves but according to Sarah, he rolls out to go to Shirley's Place. Heaven is extremely close with her brother Tom. It could be because they are so close in age. How is that possible? Tom calls her Heavenly (even though her name is Heaven Leigh). Their sister Fanny is a whore in the making. She loves attention, hates Heaven and thinks that the only way to get boys to like her is to go into the closet with them and perform favors. Keith is quiet and I don't think he said more than a sentence in the first half of the book. Our Jane is babied by all because she was born sickly.
The only place where Heaven gets a respite from her poor life is when she goes to school. Everyday Heaven, Tom, Fanny, Keith and Our Jane walk 7 miles to go to school. Heaven and Tom have the same teacher, Miss Deale, who "specializes" in teaching hill folk. Heaven loves Miss Deale. Miss Deale makes sure to encourage their book learning by giving them books to take home and read because she knows that they can't afford to buy any. Things get better for Heaven at school when Tom introduces her to the new boy in school, Logan. His family owns the local drug store so you know he comes from money. Their eyes meet and Logan has fallen head over heels for the girl with the cornflower blue eyes. Wow! That was fast. Of course, Fanny does not like this and does everything to draw attention to herself. Unfortunate for her, Logan only has eyes for Heaven.
Things continue on, business as usual, until Sarah realizes one day that she's knocked up. When she tells Luke, he blows up at her. He gave her birth control pills so why wasn't she taking them? She didn't understand his instructions and took them all at once so she wouldn't forget. Well, that's one way to do it. Luke leaves again to his normal hangout. While he's gone, Sarah prays that she will provide him with a son that looks just like Luke. That will get him to stay. Not! Sarah goes into labor and gives birth - no Luke in sight. But something's wrong with the baby. It's funny looking. OMG! The baby's stillborn. Sarah goes into a tizzy. Granny dies. And Luke finally shows up and drops a bombshell - He has syphilis. His nasty ways killed Sarah's baby. And his Ma! Luke takes off again.
Sarah goes bat-shit crazy and starts mumbling to herself about how she has to get out of here. She needs to leave. And guess what? She does. So now the only adult in the cabin is Grandpa and he can't do anything except sit in his rocker and whittle. Heaven stops going to school so that she can take care of Grandpa and the sickly Our Jane. Fanny uses this as an excuse to not go to school also. Things get rough. Food runs low. It's winter and it's making hunting tough. Keith and Our Jane are whiny and cry because their belly hurts. Oh when is Pa coming back with food? Surely he wouldn't let his kids starve? In the nick of time, Pa shows up with a bag full of food. Our hero! And he's out the door again. He don't want his kids to catch the syphilis.
Pa returns just in time for Christmas Eve. He has a big surprise for his brood. Christmas presents? A winter coat? New shoes? NO! A new family! Ta-dah! Luke figured since he got more kids than he can support, why not sell them off to a family that don't have kids for the bargain price of $500 per child. The first kid to be sold is Our Jane and Keith. You can't break them up; they are a package deal. Heaven is sick with grief as Our Jane cries "Hev-lee!" Heaven hates her father even more and gives him the death stare. Fanny is pissed because she wasn't sold first. She has to get outta here! I should have been first! And Tom can't believe his Pa sold his own kids. Heaven can't believe that Grandpa just sat there and said nothing. Fanny gets her wish. She gets sold to the Reverend and his wife. Next on the block, Tom! He's a sturdy young man who can do go work. Now you go with Buck Henry. Last man standing - Heaven.
Heaven ponders her fate. Now she wishes for Miss Deale or Logan to come to her rescue. Too late now Heaven. Your pride got in the way. You didn't want any help when it was being offered now you are on your own. While Heaven waits for the other shoe to drop, Luke decides that he has the right to touch and feel on Heaven - inappropriately - cause she's from his seed. Yeah...okay. Luckily Grandpa decides to be lucid and stops this. The next day two couples arrive. Heaven has a choice. Which couple to chose. The older staid couple that won't look at her. Or the flashy young couple. Hmmm...who to chose, who to chose. She decides to go with couple #2! Heaven hugs Grandpa, gives Luke another death stare and leaves the raggedy cabin behind. She's now on her way to a better life...or is she?
Stay tuned.....
Friday, January 23, 2009
V.C. Andrews "Read The Good-Trash" Movement
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I stumbled upon this challenge/movement while reading "Pop Candy" on USA Today.com. I remember reading "Flowers in the Attic" in middle school and becoming an instant V.C. Andrews fan. The book was as titillating as Judy Blume's "Forever". Incest, crazy grandmother, and a dead author who managed to continue releasing new novels posthumously. It should be fun reading her books again, as an adult, and see if they're just as good as I remembered. Probably not, but I'm looking forward to re-reading her books. I was supposed to start this challenge a couple of weeks ago so I better hop to it. I'm already behind. Yikes!
What - V.C. Andrews "Read The Good-Trash" Movement
Who - Hosted by The Chick Manifesto and Reviewer X
What - V.C. Andrews "Read The Good-Trash" Movement
Who - Hosted by The Chick Manifesto and Reviewer X
When - 2009
How - Read 1 book a month for 11 months of 2009
Why - To see if these books were as good as you remembered them to be.
Click here for the details. Also for a complete list of V.C. Andrews' novels, click here.
How - Read 1 book a month for 11 months of 2009
Why - To see if these books were as good as you remembered them to be.
Click here for the details. Also for a complete list of V.C. Andrews' novels, click here.
For this challenge I've decided to read the following books:
- The Casteel Series - Heaven, Dark Angel, Fallen Hearts, Gates of Paradise, Web of Dreams
- The Cutler Series - Dawn, Secrets of the Morning, Twilight's Child, Midnight Whispers, Darkest Hour
- The Dollanger Series - Flowers in the Attic
Enjoy!
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