Raven

Rating:
Summary: Raven
Review: I liked the book, it was half frightening(how uncle Reuben treated Raven..), and half funny and enjoyable. I found it very interesting, but some parts were a little bit too irrealistic, because of the aggressive uncle and his wife. I also found it a bit strange that a teenager like Raven was able to deal with such a problem so easily. But I enjoyes it most of the time, but however I prefered Runaways.

Rating:
Summary: what a surprise!!!
Review: I thought Raven was the best book out of the whole series. It brought back the horror and suspense that you read in the Heaven stories and My sweet Audrina. I thought the others didn't have any real story depth until I read Raven and couldn't put it down. I hope Runaways will be this way, back to the old style because the last couple of books were slow and had no depth. Looking forward to Runaways.

Rating:
Summary: Suprised by the Reaction
Review: I'm very suprised by the reaction to the books in this series. So many people liked them, while I was sorely dissapointed by all of them execpt for Raven. They were hardly horror stories at all. Sure, being an orphan must be not be the greatest situation to be in, but all of the first three of these girls got a chance to be in a real family (even if it didn't work out well for them).

Also, the half of the plots were all taken from other full length V. C. Andrews series. Remember ballet from the Dollanganger series? And remember Heaven having to be absolutely perfect in every way? They're in this series too.

These books all seem to be like the young adult books I read when I was in junior high school. I may have found these books good back then, but now they're boring. I only hope that Runaways will be take V. C. Andrews back to the original style of writing in her earlier series.

Rating:
Summary: Please, gag me
Review: I've been reading V.C. Andrews novels since I was 12. They have always kept me guessing and amazed at the craziness of the characters. However, I found Jennifer and Reuben completely unbelieveable characters. Granted, there are a rather large amount of broken homes, but Jennifer and Reuben are so unrealistic. And Raven! All of a sudden, she moves away from her terrible mother and in with her evil uncle. And what does she do? She starts going to school and doing her homework? What the... If anything, I'd expect her to do worse. The only (absolutely only) good thing about this book is she didn't come from that silly orphanage the other three came from. This story was slightly more original than the first three. Slightly.

Rating:
Summary: Seat Gripping
Review: I've just finished reading Raven yesterday and I totally loved it, even thought some scenes scared me(u know which-with the uncle adn the abuse). The book was good but the qwriting style is definatelly different. Since V.C Andrews passed away her family has been writing the books adn they're almost like a sugar substitute for the real thing. Sweet but not quite there. She gave more depth, the houses were more descriptive and the evil sisters, cousins, mommas, grannys etc, were REAL bitchy. But so far I have Heaven series to read, didn't get to those yet. All in it's time I suppose. Ruby series I loved! And the Flowers in the attic to! Great books for those cold snowy winter days!

Rating:
Summary: Great
Review: I've just finished reading Raven yesterday and I totally loved it, even thought some scenes scared me(u know which-with the uncle and the abuse). The book was good but the writing style is definatelly different. Since V.C Andrews passed away her family has been writing the books and they're almost like a sugar substitute for the real thing. Sweet but not quite there. She gave more depth, the houses were more descriptive and the evil sisters, cousins, mommas, grannys etc, were REAL bitchy. .Heavem series were my absolute favorite, the poverty, loss, fear, frustration and pain were very real, and they made for a tantalizing read.
All in it's time I suppose. I also loved Ruby and the Flowers in the attic ... Great books for those cold snowy winter days!

Rating:
Summary: Best in the Series
Review: Raven's mother, an alcoholic and a drug addict, has finally gotten herself into big trouble. As in, legal trouble, as in, she very well may go to jail. Raven is sent to live with her Uncle Reuben, Aunt Clara, and her cousins Jennifer and William. Reuben beats her, Clara won't stand up to him, Jennifer makes things unbearable for Raven in school. Raven dreams about getting away from them, but nothing seems to go right for her. Eventually, however, Reuben beats her badly enough for the school officials to find out, and Raven is taken from the home.

This is the best in the series, easily. It's better written and Raven is a better character than Butterfly or Crystal, equal with Brooke. The last two of the series, have characters that are more concrete, and that the reader will empathize with. If you are going to read the series, at least try to get to Raven.

Rating:
Summary: Best in the Series
Review: Raven's mother, an alcoholic and a drug addict, has finally gotten herself into big trouble. As in, legal trouble, as in, she very well may go to jail. Raven is sent to live with her Uncle Reuben, Aunt Clara, and her cousins Jennifer and William. Reuben beats her, Clara won't stand up to him, Jennifer makes things unbearable for Raven in school. Raven dreams about getting away from them, but nothing seems to go right for her. Eventually, however, Reuben beats her badly enough for the school officials to find out, and Raven is taken from the home.

This is the best in the series, easily. It's better written and Raven is a better character than Butterfly or Crystal, equal with Brooke. The last two of the series, have characters that are more concrete, and that the reader will empathize with. If you are going to read the series, at least try to get to Raven.

Rating:
Summary: A bit unrealistic but still a good read
Review: Raven's upbringing wasn't the best. Her mother smoked ..., had one too many one night stands, and drank too much. She never knew her father and her mother never remarried. But some how out of all of this she managed to blossom as a good, strong person. But she's put to the test when her mother gets in troulbe for drugs and she has to live with her spoiled cousin Jennifer, her cruel uncle Reuben, her sweet cousin William, and gentle aunt. Life dosen't get any easier for Raven since her Uncle and Jennifer seem to be trying to ruin her life. Will she be able to survie?

I've only read another book in this series (Butterfly) and I found this one to be not so realistc but still a good read. I'm planning on reading the other two (Brooke and Crystal) with high hopes. VC Andrews is a talented writer or suspense and mystery. I hope her other books are just as good.

Rating:
Summary: Some people are morons not to like this book!
Review: This book was much, much, MUCH better than the first three in the series! Sadly, that's not saying much. Raven's story is different from the other girls', however, and not quite as predictable. I really liked Raven's character. She is bold, smart, and not afraid to speak her mind!
I would have loved to see this book made into a full-length novel, without the ugly cover! I am tired of these teenybopper "mini-books" V.C. keeps writing, but if you have to read one, pick this one.