V. C. Andrews

Heaven

Ivy X

It was a little dark in many parts. Nonetheless, I was addicted and absolutely adored the story. It has a rather haunting appeal.

Of all the folks on the mountain, the Casteel children are the lowest.

Even the families that buy them think so.

Heaven Leigh Casteel may be the prettiest, smartest girl in the backwoods, but her cruel father and weary stepmother work her like a mule. For the sake of her brother Tom and the other little ones, Heaven clings to the hope that someday she can show the world that they are worthy of love and respect.

But when the children’s stepmother can’t take it anymore and abandons the family, Heaven’s father hatches a scheme that will alter her young life forever. Being sold to a strange couple is just the beginning; ripping away the thin veneer of civilization and learning the adult secrets of the world around her means Heaven must abandon someone, too—the child she was, to become the woman her mother never had the chance to be.
--back cover

Jessica 

Blog | Twitter | Instagram | Tik Tok | You can find my review here.

 
  “I want my name to mean something after I’m dead.”


Wow, and I thought that the Dollanganger Saga was twisted and full of thorns. Turns out the Casteel family is just as wildly horrifying and inappropriate. Heaven is a definite V.C. Andrews classic that leaves jaws on the floor and a feeling of secondhand embarrassment. This book was enthralling in the most horrifying way; I wanted to look away so often but couldn't bring myself to. No matter how hard my stomach churned, Heaven held my focus for the duration of the novel. 

There's something so indulgent about the original V.C. Andrews books. Are they full of cringy, highly problematic tropes and archetypes? Yes. Are they well-written? No. Hello, guilty pleasure. Er, well, I wouldn't call them a pleasure, necessarily. They're just... V.C. Andrews books. And Heaven is one of the strongest of the originals. 

While there are a lot of things within Heaven that I wouldn't call well written or realistic, I found that Andrews really captured poverty in a way that other authors never have. If anything, that may be one of her biggest and best accomplishments. For every surreal moment, there were little truths sprinkled in.

And to be perfectly honest with you, the horrifying nature of this book was a lot to stomach. From the very start, I found myself almost wanting to flinch from the tone that Heaven took on. I had very strong feelings towards this book, if I'm being honest. There were characters I wanted to scoop up and protect (Tom!) and others I wanted to knock out with a baseball bat (Fanny! Kitty! Cal!).


Like all V.C. Andrews novels, Heaven is not for the faint of heart and serves only a few purposes: to entertain and shock its audience. You don't walk away from it thinking, "I LOVED this novel" but you certainly cannot get it out of your mind for days. It is melodramatic from the start and wastes no time in setting the scene of future cringe. Heaven starts off fairly simple and follows a similar formula to the author's other novels, but soon drifts into new territory--and boy, does it get dark. 

(THE CASTEEL SIBLINGS ARE SOLD?! WHAT?!)

Much like with her beloved Gothic Horror masterpiece Flowers in the Attic, Heaven engrossing its audience in a vividly terrifying and messed up family tree. Nothing is quite as it seems and, in true V.C. Andrews fashion, soon, nothing will be the same. From cruelty in the family and revelations, to growing up in poverty, to sexual predators, and more, Heaven sets the stage for a wild ride in the Casteel Saga.

Kellie Rittershausen

Sarah Olson 

Miralis Davis

Stavroula Kalantzis

Lacy Clagg

edith w.

erin hanley

Andrews

Follows the experiences of Heaven, one of the very poor Casteel children who are sold to different families by their father.

Heaven

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