Rating: 
Summary: The "happily ever after" dream turned sour
Review: "Garden of Shadows", the prequel to "Flowers in the Attic", stands head and shoulders above "Flowers" as far as storytelling and plot. For one thing, our tragic heroine is NOT a beautiful young maiden in distress, which has gotten downright tiresome, especially since a new series of a new "tortured beauty" are relentlessly cranked out by Andrew Neiderman on a twice-yearly basis (for heaven's sake, PLEASE give V. C. Andrews a rest. We KNOW the difference between HER work and NEIDERMAN's. Give us some CREDIT.). Getting back to the story, Olivia Foxworth (who will soon grow up to be the steely-eyed Evil Grandmother) is a tall, gawky adolescent with no social skills (the ability to flirt is a very important thing in the early 1900's). Clearly, Olivia is ahead of her time, being a smart, shrewd businesswoman who's a whiz with numbers, but her father despairs of her being the perpetual "old maid" and wants her married off immediately. Therefore, this poor "Hedda Gabler" woman, who is too strong and masculine for most men, meets her match in the young, dapper Malcolm Foxworth. It's fascinating to read about Olivia's "blushing" and "shyness" in the presence of the handsome Malcolm, and being reminded that this is the same Evil Grandmother who whipped her daughter and starved her grandchildren. In any case, poor Olivia is delirious with joy when Malcolm proposes, and dreams of being the Queen of the Castle to Malcolm's King, living in a heavenly state of matrimony forever. As the wedding approaches, and Olivia gradually learns that their union is far from a "love" partnership, her pain is so devastating that one can easily see how Olivia became so bitter. To make matters worse, her father-in-law and his beautiful new bride are the exact picture of the happy couple in love, and the sight of their affection torments Olivia at an even deeper level. The real problem for Olivia is that, also like Hedda Gabler, she is far too conventional to do the unthinkable (a divorce, for instance), and therefore resigns herself to a lifetime of loneliness and humiliation at the hands of her philandering husband, who shows no sexual desire whatsoever for his wife. The usual V. C. Andrews plot elements surface here: death, betrayal, and scandal, and these tragedies afford Olivia the chance to show her masculine power and give Malcolm a run for his money (literally). If she cannot be the woman he desires, Olivia thinks, she will be a business partner with intelligence and the ability to command respect from her husband. One drawback of this story (and this is true of most of the series) is that we don't get to see enough of the children's point of view. Little Mal is obviously a stubborn "live wire", but he is never seen arguing with his father, nor do we learn much about him as a person. That also applies to Joel, the "sensitive artist and musician" who is constantly berated by his father for being a sissy. Most of all, Corinne, the "daddy's golden girl", is shown to be silly, shallow, and overly concerned with her effects on men, but it would be interesting to see more of her personality, especially in light of the later revelations, particularly John Amos Jackson's stalking of her. There are numerous inconsistencies here, too, although that might be because of the "narrator", but not once in this story do we see the "religious fanaticism" that Momma complained about in "Flowers". Nor do we see Olivia as a "selfish cruel woman" who never gave Corinne "an ounce of love", and this is rather puzzling. Even a small incident, such as Corinne's first period, is told in a dramatically different way by Olivia, than the story Corinne relates to her children in "Flowers". The result, needless to say, is confusing. Are we to believe that Olivia is a liar, or Corinne, or both? Then again, maybe that's the whole point: the eye of the beholder, and so forth. Another drawback: Christopher Garland, who will become Papa Dollanganger, is merely another version of his son: perpetually cheerful, optimistic and bordering on god-like (excepting his predilection for his dazzling blonde half-niece). It would be nice if he (and his son) could be more developed as characters; instead, he's a mere symbol of Prince Charming and eternal love. The drawbacks notwithstanding, Olivia is still a fascinating character, and so is Malcolm (it's too bad we don't get to learn a little more about his twisted past than his "little black book" in "Thorns").
Rating: 
Summary: my favorite V.C. book
Review: this was the best bok in the series! i liked it because it brought everything out into the open. before i read it i absolutly hated Olivia Foxworth. but then i read it. i can't say that i agree with everything that she did (and she probably could have handled things diferently) but now i understand why she was the way she was. i almost sympathise with her. her life was basically a waste. nothing ever went her way, she was married to a terrible man who cheated on her a number of times. who's to say that if any other person in her spot wouldn't be the same.
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Summary: very sad and very suspencefull
Review: I loved this book I think it totally explained why she is such a grump. Her mother died when she was young, no man liked her, and her husband couldn't stand her and just used her. Not to mention cheated on her with his step-mother. Then her husband hated her cause she had two boys and not one boy and one girl, and couldn't have any more children. Okay one it's hard to live without love. Two when both your wonderful boys die and your spoiled brat daughter, that isn't even yours, doesn't, when you wish she did, you would feel like your life is over. Then to make it better her daughter marry's who she thinks is her half-Uncle and really her half brother!!!! Come on that's got to be a terrible life she lives. She has no excuse for the things she does, but you've got to feel sorry for her. But even though I mentioned all that it was a fantastic book I could read it again.
Rating:
Summary: GREAT
Review: I love V.C. Andrews books. This one is great, one of the best.
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Summary: A brilliant prequel to a astonishing series of horror books.
Review: I first started reading about the Dollanganger family when I was about fifteen thanks to a friend. When I read the other books, I remember being dumbfounded and even crying for poor Carrie in "Petals On The Wind" when her classmates cruelly taunted her. However, reading "Garden Of Shadows", I do realize the true meaning of that old saying "There Are Two Sides To Every Story". This was never more obvious than in this story. From the beginning when Olivia actually believed that Malcolm loved her to finding out that she was married to an "emotionally unstable" man, she was a woman who really knew how to stand up for herself.
Even though she may have been very cruel to put Alicia in the Northern Wing for safety purposes, she did try her best not to spoil Corrine nor Christopher and how do they pay her back, by committing incest. Instead of having a life of happiness, she had a life of pain and lonliness however, I would have never allowed Corrine to come back to Foxworth Hall. Instead I would have paid all of her bills, and made her and the children live in small apartment while she trained to be a secretary. Only after did Malcolm die would I have allowed her to come back and make sure that I controlled the house and not Corrine and furthermore, I would have told Corrine the true circumstances of her birth. Her father was a rapist who forced himself upon Christopher's mother and she was the result.
Rating:
Summary: A Good Book!
Review: I really like this book! I liked Olivia because she was more real for me not being extremely beautiful with every single guy after her! I did feel sorry for her, I liked her, but even if I'd gone through what she did I don't think I would have turned out to be that much of a cow!
Rating:
Summary: Perfect for a cold winters day
Review: This book is the start of the Flowers in the attic series
It gives an explanation for why Olivia Foxworth is the way she is today
After reading this book you ALMOST feel bad for Olivia.
Garden of Shadows starts off with a brief summary of Olivia's life,and quickly progresses to her marriage to Malcom Foxworth.
Much is glossed over until the Alicia and Garland enter the picture, and Corrine is born.
However, the book never explains why Olivia, who is obviously miserable, stays with Malcom when in reality he has no hold, financial or otherwise, upon her.
Garden of Shadows also does not give any specifics to the childrens lives, i.e. Mal, Joel & Corrine.
The entire book is written from Olivia's point of view.
The book really takes hold when Christopher enters the scene, which sets precedent for the remaining books in the series.
One does wonder how Christoper & Corrine managed to make a living & legally get married considering they were half brother/sister.
None the less it is a very interesting book to read, and a necessity for any one who has, or is reading the Flowers in the Attic series.<BR
Rating:
Summary: A good prequel to Flowers in the Attic
Review: Garden of Shadows held many strengths - it was dramatic, interesting, and answered several questions on why things come to be later on in the series. Being in Olivias head was different, to say the least. If you're a tragedy hound and want to experience heartbreak, then this is your book.
For negatives, some of the writing was a bit too flowery, even for Andrews. Some of the writing was a bit repititive, which interrupted the flow. Also, the beginning was pretty slow to get through, even though it was still eventful.
I recommend this to anyone starting the series - it explains a lot and packs a lot of punch.
Rating: 
Summary: An excellent prequel, but doenst satisfy me
Review: While I enjoyed the book, Olivia's plight against Malcom and society by no means justifies what she does to the Dollanganger children in FITA. While I do have a great deal of symapthy for her(losing her children,living without love etc) torturing innocent children because of what their parents did is inexcusable. Perhaps she was miss guided my her cousin John Amos, her only ally after the death of her sons. Perhaps if she had been more mature and not been so jealous of Corrinne 1/2 the bad things that occured in the book would have never happened-but then we wouldnt have a story now would we?
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Summary: How the whole mess started in the first place...
Review: This was quite a nice ending to the Dollanganger series, as it explained what happened in the first place. It gave me a better understanding of the entire mess. Spinsterish Olivia longs for the love of a man, but thinks it is out of her realm, until handsome Malcolm Foxworth comes to dinner. Although he takes her out on dates and acts like prime marriage material, Olivia doesn't realize what a ruthless snake he really is, and how she is heading for nothing but disaster, scandal, betrayal, and cruelty.
In short, this was a good ending to a good series. You find out why Olivia turned out the way she did. But one thing that kind of bothered me was how shallow and stupid women were betrayed to be. It seemed as if Olivia was the only bright one and that everybody else of the female population was dull. Whether Neiderman wrote this or not, I don't know, but I wouldn't be surprised. But then, this took place in 1918 or so, and I can kind of get an understanding.
But this is a good book, otherwise, and I suggest you read it last.
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