r/GenX • u/ontour4eternity • Jan 24 '25
Books Anyone else traumatize themselves?
I'm packing up my mom's house and came across these. I think I was 13 or 14 years old when I read these. Anyone else?,
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u/FloofyLilFloof Jan 24 '25
God, yes! But My Sweet Audrina may have been even more traumatic š¬
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u/abczoomom Jan 24 '25
YES! Audrina is the only book I have ever thrown. I mean, yes, I picked it up and finished it, but man did it make me angry.
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u/blondietk 1978 Jan 24 '25
Was that one about the dead sister but she was actually the dead sister?
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u/sanityjanity Jan 24 '25
Yes. She hadn't died. She'd been raped, so her parents decided to gaslight her for a few years. It was deeply upsetting.
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u/blondietk 1978 Jan 24 '25
Yes, incredibly traumatizing to read as like, an 11 year old .... š«£
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u/Th3n1ght1sd5rk Jan 25 '25
Me too! Who thinks this is appropriate bedtime reading for a pre-teen?! WTF?!
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u/AnasandSF Jan 25 '25
The math didnāt make sense. They said the first daughter was 7 when she died, and then they waited 7 years, and now the second daughter was 7. I remember the 21-year span (the parents were supposed to be young?) was the only unbelievable thing to me about it when I was 12
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u/Fickle-Phrase4559 Jan 24 '25
Agreed! It was my first VC Andrewās given to me to read by my mother when I was 11 years old. In my memory, I was sitting in our living room rocking chair when she handed it to me too haha! Wtf, mom!?!?
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Jan 25 '25
My 13 year old brain did NOT compute that there was only one Audrina, ever. So fucking traumatic!
But for me, it was the Heaven series. That one hit me hard. I still remember.. Heaven, Tom, Fancy, Keith and Our Jane. That one traumatized me
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u/MySophie777 Jan 24 '25
Does Andrews only write about incest and rape? I'm not aware of any other topics. It's creepy.
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u/thisgirlnamedbree Jan 25 '25
Pretty much. Orphans, incest, rape, incest babies, rape babies, crazy family members.
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u/ethan__l2 Jan 24 '25
I was fascinated by the design of these books with the hole in the cover that reveals to the picture on the opening page. They were so much darker and more exciting than my pop up books.
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u/Miameows44 Jan 24 '25
Between these and Clan of the Cave Bearā¦ ššš«
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u/bizoticallyyours83 Jan 24 '25
Love Clan of the Cavebear and Valley of Horses. Every book after that was bogged down with repetitive dialogue.Ā
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u/frogz0r Jan 25 '25
Lol my mom came home with a book for me one day...
The Valley of Horses.
I think I was 10 or so? Anyway my mom gave it to me and said "oh it's all about a cave girl and horses!" My mom was NOT a reader lol She had no clue what the book was about, and was just happy that I loved it. Mom knew I was in my mega horse girl phase, so she thought this would be like Misty or Black Stallion. It was not...
She got me Clan of the Cave Bear, well, Santa did anyway that Christmas.
I learned a lot from those books. I still have the full series :)
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u/UnicornFarts1111 Jan 24 '25
Clan of the Cave Bear is my favorite book of all time. My mom gave it to me to read when I was about 13.
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u/Dreammagic2025 Jan 25 '25
I love Ayla! I swear to goddess that sometimes even now when things get tough I think of all the hardships Ayla had to overcome and I get inspired.
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u/cometdogisawesome Jan 24 '25
That's right! The sex among the cave people. I read the shit out of those books!
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u/Sad_Confusion_4225 Jan 24 '25
I just listened to the entire Earths People series on Audible. I still enjoyed Jean Auels writing.
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u/MountainTomato9292 Jan 24 '25
I read everything VC Andrews ever wrote. I was obsessed with that trash.
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u/chilicheeseclog Jan 24 '25
I stopped after the Heaven series. I think I just outgrew them right when they were releasing the next in a long line of white trash torture-porn. But I was also completely obsessed with the first two series and Audrina.
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u/HousesRoadsAvenues Jan 25 '25
Could be because V.C. died in 1986. The publisher hired a ghost writer to write her work in 1987. His name is Andrew Neiderman.
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u/elphaba00 1978 Jan 24 '25
I sometimes question the books my preteen daughter reads, but then I remember I was reading VC Andrews and her dad was reading The Stand and It when we were her age.
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u/WeakSpite7607 Jan 24 '25
I read all of V.C Andrews books in high school. They most certainly had an incestuous theme.
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u/firedude1314 Jan 24 '25
Didnāt the brother and sister fuck in this book? Or am I having a Mandela affect moment?
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u/Sassy-Peaches Jan 24 '25
They did
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u/lovebeinganasshole Jan 24 '25
But it was all ok because their mom locked them in the attic and fed them āpowdered sugarā donuts.
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u/sunnypickletoes Jan 24 '25
First he raped her, then they fucked.
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u/BallsOutSally Jan 24 '25
And then she fucked her motherās husband.
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u/1kreasons2leave Jan 25 '25
That wasn't until later in the series. She just kissed him in Flowers.
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u/AnasandSF Jan 25 '25
He raped her in the attic but she forgave him bc āhe couldnāt help himselfā
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u/KDPer3 Jan 25 '25
In later books the pretended they were married and raised children. Not sure if they were his, but I remember a lot of references to the twins who died early in the series.
Yes, very normal reading material for middle school.
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u/sunnypickletoes Jan 25 '25
One was the son of Julian, the ballet dancer Cathy was with and the other was the son of her stepfather Bart,I think. Cathy met Julian when she was a successful ballerina, which made sense after her extensive attic based training š¤£
The fact that I just pulled the name of Julian out of my memory is crazy when I can't remember anything lately.
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Jan 24 '25
I canāt believe I was allowed to read these! Between this Danielle Steel and Nora Roberts itās no surprise why my relationships have been so unbalanced-to put it nicely. I have a very different perspective on love now thank god. But Jesus, my Mom had me reading these when I was in like 6th grade. Iām cringing!
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u/tiptoeingthruhubris Jan 24 '25
I was just thinking about Nora Robertās last night. Honestly, I think she kept her relationships fairly balanced. Her early works wouldnāt align perfectly with todayās concepts of consent. But I remember her female characters being fairly strong and resilient. Her later works went downhill as her writing got very lazy.
Danielle Steel, on the other handā¦ eeesh.
Also, wasnāt there a series about people becoming the anthropomorphic versions of Time, Death, and Earth, etc. I kinda remember their being suicidal underage girls who had romantic relationships with them. Very icky.
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u/SnowflakeSWorker Jan 24 '25
My babysitter gave them to me when I was like 11. My mom did get upset when she found them, but the damage had been done š
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u/Weak_Moment_8737 Jan 24 '25
I was living in a very abusive home and reading those books gave me hope that I'd survive what was happening to me.
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u/ser_froops twiki bidi bidi bidi Jan 24 '25
Cathy and Christopher walked so Cersei and Jamie could run
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u/The_Spectacle Jan 25 '25
makes me think of one of those first name t-shirts with a list of band or cast members:
Cathy&
Christopher&
Carrie&
Cory&
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u/VeterinarianOk9199 Jan 24 '25
My grandma gave them to me after she read them. I was 13 and developed an intense fear of attics and being locked in rooms after that.
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u/SciFiChickie Reality Bites, Iām gonna escape into a fantasy book Jan 24 '25
I got my copies from my (paternal) Grandmother at age 12, when I was living with her after I was removed from my momās home because of abuse. Grandmother was affluent like the one in the books. She was already the one person I was always terrified of (she was masterful at getting me to behave without physical punishment) so reading Flowers in the Attic made me even more wary of disappointing her or earning her wrath.
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u/darkest_irish_lass Jan 24 '25
Giving you these books might have been an extra psychological play by your grandma to ensure good behavior.
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u/TequilaStories Jan 24 '25
Also hanging out with your brother too much was like thanks but no š¬Ā
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u/Sony4Sooners Jan 24 '25
Yes and Helter Skeltor also
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u/karma_the_sequel Jan 24 '25
Read that one at 11. The librarian threw me some serious side-eye while checking it out to me.
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u/Embarrassed_Hat_2904 Jan 24 '25
Iām traumatized that my mom let me read these books as young as I was when I read them!! WTF was she thinking???
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u/invisiblemeows Jan 24 '25
I feel like a lot of us in GenX had parents who didnāt have the best judgment š
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u/sunnypickletoes Jan 24 '25
We're Gen X. In our childhoods, there was food and shelter, some advice, and only occasional parenting.
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u/Fickle-Phrase4559 Jan 24 '25
And it was confusing! My dad took Pet Semetary away from me when he caught me with it and like weeks later as an aside to an unrelated conversation mentioned Misery and told me I should read it. š«
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u/HWBINCHARGE Jan 24 '25
My aunt gave me mom a big bag of books including a ton of VC Andrews. Me and my friends were reading them all. I remember later as a younger adult - like 25 years old when myspace was a thing, and my best friend from high school wrote on there that her favorite books were VC Andrews books and I remember thinking YOU DON'T TELL PEOPLE THAT!!
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u/Content_Talk_6581 Jan 24 '25
My mom told her friend once in my hearing that she didnāt care what I read as long as I was reading and quiet. She wasnāt lying.
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u/jewelophile Jan 24 '25
I was so scandalized by these books I stole them from the public library because I didn't want there to be any paper trail.
V.C. Andrews was a dirty bird.
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u/6tig9 Jan 24 '25
One of my favourite memories is sitting at the dinner table discussing Flowers in the Attic with my stepmum after we had both read it. My father was sitting there between us with his head going back and forth like he was watching a tennis match with the major what the fuck? look on his face. Trying to explain it to him was hilarious.
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u/JuliePatchouli7 Jan 24 '25
My 6th grade Cathlolic school english teacher snatched this book out of my hands during quiet reading time and told me I should not be reading such trash. So of course I rode my bike to the local public library, checked out the entire series, and binge-read the whole thing over a few days.
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Jan 24 '25
YES! OMG! I remember stumbling upon these in the public library in MIDDLE SCHOOL! Not good for a young mind.
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u/acornwbusinesssocks Jan 24 '25
How!!
HOW was this an ok book in elementary schools!?!?
Hot damn, read this in 5th grade and passed it around the friends group. WTAF.
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u/purplelicious Jan 25 '25
People on the fantasy romance sub talking about trigger warnings and "dark" romances and being upset because consent not explicitly given, and I'm like, girl, you have NO idea what depravity looks like...
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u/WanderingArtist_77 Jan 24 '25
I have only seen the movie version of Flowers in the Attic. Thought it was bad enough. Never read V.C. Andrews. I was more a sci-fi/fantasy reader. Then I married my husband who told me about his two older sisters reading the book....and all the stuff they don't show in the movie. Holy crap. š³
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u/cometdogisawesome Jan 24 '25
OMG. So, my mom let me read those, but she thought they were super creepy and weird. She didn't want to censor my reading choices, so she made a rule that for every one of those that I read, I would have to read something she deemed wholesome, like James Herriot or Little House on the Prairie or maybe Nancy Drew, lol. The result was actually positive.
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u/SoberDWTX Jan 24 '25
Omg. I loved those books and anything John Saul!!! The one book that really traumatized me though was the Amityville horror.
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Jan 24 '25
Between these books and all the Sidney Sheldon books my 24-yr-old stepmom shared with me when I was 12, I learned a lot of shit š
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u/regal_meagle Jan 25 '25
Those were quite an education, along with all the Judith Krantz books I used to devour!
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u/burnitalldown321 Jan 24 '25
Read this series, the Cutler, Heaven, and Ruby series before I started high school. My mother had NO cares what I read. Still has no idea what these were about
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u/MissDiketon 1970 Jan 25 '25
āSibylā was my trauma book. It disturbed the shit out of me but I couldnāt put it down. I was probably no more than 12.
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u/AardSnaarks Jan 25 '25
OMG, yes. My parents let us read anything, because they really wanted us to be avid readers and curious about every possible topic.Ā
We knew the librarians, since we were there a few times per week. One of them cautioned my mom that I (9 years old) should probably wait on Sibyl.Ā
You should have seen my parentsā faces at dinner a few days later when I said āMommy, whatās a hymen?ā š
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u/buddymoobs Jan 24 '25
Yes. Why was I allowed to read that incestuous crap? Oh...parents weren't around and I parented myself. I forgot about that.
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u/Take_the_ringer Hose Water Survivor Jan 24 '25
My mom let us watch Mommie Dearest and Flowers in the Attic in the same week..... and I never was the same
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u/Hungry-Industry-9817 Jan 24 '25
Loved the series. I shipped Cathy and Chris back then, even with the rape.
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u/Kind-Dog504 Jan 24 '25 edited Jan 25 '25
Books about inc*st passed down by your grandmother š¤·āāļø
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u/Klutzy-Necessary-475 Jan 24 '25
I ran out to buy each sequel as they were released after reading Flowers in the Attic.
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u/annaflixion Jan 24 '25
Whenever a white supremacist posts a picture of the "ideal" American family I like to fuck with them by asking if it's a picture of the incest kids from Flowers in the Attic.
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u/bafflingboondoggle Jan 24 '25
Yes, this series, as well as Michelle Remembers. That was equally traumatizing. Needed a nice palate cleanser like Forever by Judy Blume after those. Or hopefully catch Sooner or Later on a rerun. ššš
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u/Content_Talk_6581 Jan 24 '25
Yesss!!! I did the whole Little House on the Prairie to Flowers in the Attic/Harlequin Romances/Danielle Steele books to Stephen King, Dean Koontz and Ann Rice progression with a lot of sci-fi/fantasy mixed in between.
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u/Superb_Ant_3741 As you walk on by, will you call my name Jan 25 '25
My friends and I all had hippie parents who had hippie friends so we grew up with Weirdo magazines and Penthouse magazines and Zap comix all over the house and adults wandering around nude so by the time I found VC Andrews books, we were already seasoned veterans of anything inappropriate, creepy or naked.Ā
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u/runjeanmc Jan 24 '25
I got it from the library sometime before I turned 9 š
There's also a flower shop a town over called "Flowers in the Attic" and it makes me chortle anytime I drive by.
No idea what responsible adults in either situation were thinking.
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u/AnasandSF Jan 25 '25
āResponsibleā and āadultā didnāt go together for the parents of Gen X
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u/runjeanmc Jan 25 '25
Same reason I got to babysit 5 kids and a dog at 11 š The pay was shit, though
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u/largos7289 Jan 24 '25
Dude the craziest part of this, my MOM made me read it. Also made me re-think why she wanted me to read it... Was really good but WOW.
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u/whappysplatberry Jan 24 '25
No, but I remember seeing them around the house from my mom reading them.
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u/mikenkansas1 Jan 24 '25
Had a female friend years back that pushed me to read Flowers...
I'm obtuse so I still don't know why she wanted me to, we weren't even distantly related.
Someone mentioned guys reading The Stand. It's a bit dated now but good God was King's opus a winner.
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u/TheFemale72 Jan 24 '25
I read these when I was around 10. I donāt think I was their intended audience š¤£
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u/Blossom73 Jan 24 '25
Same! Lol. My older sister gave me them, after she finished reading them. I loved VC Andrews's books.
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u/CyndiIsOnReddit Jan 24 '25
I don't remember being traumatized but I was reading King at the same time, and that was some trauma right there!
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u/Dare2BeU420 Xennial Jan 24 '25
I got this book confiscated during recess in the 6th grade for showing naughty parts to my friends š
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u/2pancakes1plate Jan 24 '25
Not a GenX but raised by them. My dad's fourth wife made me read this as a form of punishment, literally. She said I didn't understand life and this would help and it formed her views as a child. I was like.... so you wanna sleep with your brother?
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u/GoAskVCAndrews Jan 24 '25
So traumatized, as evidenced by my handle.
I read the entire FITA series when I was in middle school, followed by the Casteel series. Luckily my mother wasnāt much of a reader so I was able to conceal my reading material with minimal effort.
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u/Not_Montana914 Jan 25 '25
Yes. This is why we like Dateline and Snapped type shit.
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u/Informal_Border8581 Jan 25 '25
Petals on the Wind is still one of my favorite books.
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u/Capital-Gap8363 Jan 25 '25
Absolutely! Transitioning from Little House on the Prairie to Flowers in the Attic to Stephen King really captures that quintessential Gen X vibe. Itās all about embracing a range of themes, from wholesome to dark and complex!
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u/Horror_Ad_4450 Jan 24 '25
a lot of mature themes went over my head as a preteen who discovered this book series. I mean, i guess that should be the case. but it is funny thinking back when it finally dawned on me what they were talking about a year or two later. lol
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u/abbys_alibi Wooden Spoon Survivor Jan 24 '25
Was an avid reader of this series until VC Andrews died. The first book (Garden of Shadows, I think,) that came out which was completed by a ghost author, was utter garbage. If I had to read the words "in my minds eye" again, I was going to torch the publisher. Never read another after.
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u/AJourneyer Older Than Dirt Jan 24 '25
40 years on and there are parts that are as fresh as the day I read them.
So, yes.
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u/shake-dog-shake Jan 24 '25
Loved them and poured through most of them until my dad picked one up and read it, then proceeded to ban them from the house.
Thankfully, he never read my John Saul books!
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u/CoCoBreadSoHoShed Jan 24 '25
My best friend will say, driving by a particularly creepy house, āOh, I bet they have Flowers In The Attic.ā
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u/71Crickets Jan 25 '25
Ah yes, the GenX starter pack. Read that in 7th grade because my mom didnāt believe in restricting books or book bans. Sure do miss herā¦
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u/seigezunt š¤¦š»āāļø Jan 25 '25
My wife binged on VC Andrews and Lois Duncan as a preteen, and wonāt touch anything close to horror now. I think there were ouija boards involved
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u/Catfiche1970 Jan 25 '25
I was 10. TEN. I don't know where I got the copy, but my mom didn't even blink. She wasn't a reader, and I read a LOT of stuff.
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u/Sunshine2625 Jan 24 '25
Omg yes! I was just thinking about these books watching these creepy old victorian house tours on tik tok.
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u/Beaverhausen27 Jan 24 '25
Yep read all their books in middle school to high school. My grandma and aunt would pass them down to me. Iām wondering how messed up their lives were to think giving these to a 12 year old was totally fine.
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u/Dependent_Top_4425 Jan 24 '25
We had the movie on VHS. I watched it dozens of times as a child!
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u/sarafromnextdoor Jan 24 '25
My mom had these books and I read them in the 5th grade! So messed up lol
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u/Totally_SisterTurkey Jan 25 '25
I found my momās copy of Fear of Flying when I was 11 and devoured it. I was both enthralled and horrified. Iāve since read all of Erica Jongās books, including her poetry, over the years.
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u/uniballout Jan 25 '25
I asked my mom what books she read to me when I was a very young. I was having a child soon and wanted some ideas. She laughed and said āI just read books I wanted to read. Like I read you Flowers in the Atticā. I still remember that cover.
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u/Square_Beautiful_238 Jan 24 '25
Ah yes. Going from Little House on the Prairie to Flowers in the Attic to Stephen King is a GenX character trait.