Customer Reviews

Girl in the Shadows (Shadows)

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Overall I've enjoyed this "Shadows" series-the two books are intriguing stories with lots of twists and turns, and an ultimately positive message of an adolescent girl finding self-esteem, strength, and resilience in the wake of successive tragedies. She also learns compassion and there's a lot of sensitivity in the character portraits in the book. I really grew to like April, and the plot was pretty exciting, but some parts of the book were just too repetitive and boring-I had to skip them.

And I must renew my original objection to the series, which is that there is no romance in it. That seems to actually be a pattern as of late with the ghostwriter; beginning with Willow, whose only really passionate love interest ends up being callously uninterested in her, I feel the VC Andrews franchise has begun to neglect to provide our heroines with a faithful, utterly devoted lover. What happened to Christopher from "Flowers in the Attic", Troy from "Heaven" etc. etc.? VC NEVER had a heroine who didn't have some man who was obsessed with her. April's relationship with Tyler is depressing and unfulfilling both for her and us.

The voyeurism Tyler seems to want to experience with Destiny, April's ventriloquist "dummy", follows with creepy VC tradition, but the plot is not really developed. I just think that if Tyler was going to be that dysfunctional, then a better lover should have shown up at the end. These later books don't have much real passion in them; just a lot of "hook-ups".

This isn't what VC readers want. And as intriguing as April was, and as much as I congratulate the author's willingness to create a character that went against VC "type" (i.e., chubby and of ambiguous sexual orientation), I just felt the series story could have had more emotional resonance if it had allowed April one more book to truly find herself, resolve her family issues, work out her relationship with Brenda and find meaningful intimacy with someone. Ultimately the book just didn't have the romantic magic outerworldly element that we need from VC books.

Still, I recommend it as an entertaining few hours. Just don't expect to be swept away the way you were with early V.C...but then again you probably already knew that.

This has to stop, seriously. When Neiderman first ghostwrote for VCA, he did a decent job. I liked the Cutler series, and he did a good job of finishing up the books that VCA had started but didn't finish for the Dollanganger and Casteel series. The Landry and Logan series, while not the best, were still very decent, and I enjoyed them. However, it all started to go downhill with Orphans. That was not what VCA would have written. I endured the Hudson and DeBeers series with disgust. Broken Wings and Gemini were intolerable.

April wasn't a real heroine. There were no horrible, dark secrets (her father's secret was laughable) and no real family secrets at all. This book focused a lot her stumbling (and unrealistic) explorations of her own sexuality as well as her struggle with weight. It seems as if the ghostwriter is venting his dislike of fat people because April is obsessed about her weight and everyone else makes fun of her, and in this book the struggle continues and is contrived and predictable in many places. The scene where she was in the bath with the young deaf girl was creepy.

It also seems that Neiderman has a problem with deaf characters, as in the Logan series, May was portrayed as weak and fragile and helpless, and the deaf girl in this book is portrayed the same way, in a unfunny and unsympathetic caricature. Disappointing.

i really enjoy these books and this series was one of my favorites great book

What a wonderful second in a new series GIRL IN THE SHADOWS turned out to be for me. It is daring and yet believable, not everyone grows up in a Leave it to Beaver type household, hard-to-deal-with-things happen and people have different ideas of how they want to live and who they want to be intimate with. This book encouraged me to feel uncomfortable at times and happy other times and worried about the characters most of the time, all signs of a good story ... because it made me think of these characters as "real" people.

The product came on time and in a great condition.
Also a great price.

Yet again another boring book written with all the flair and emotional insight of the list of ingredients on the back of a shampoo bottle. I was not titilated or enlightened by this characters constant sexual confusion. I WAS IRRITATED AND DISGUSTED!!! When did V. C. Andrews turn into an after school special!?! I guess when she became a franchise! This is the only book of "hers" in the past 15 years that I have not purchased (HINT, HINT). Way back at End of the Rainbow I thought it couldn't get any worse. Sadly it has. I will not be purchasing any more of these books in the future.

I am honored to once again be the first to review a new V.C. Andrews release. I am honored to occassionally correspond with Mr. Andrew Neiderman, the V. C. Andrews ghostwriter. I love and respect his all his work - his own books and the beautiful V. C. Andrews books.

Now, don't get me wrong, this is not a clone of My Sweet Audrina, in fact, the storyline is nothing like it. However, I could feel the same stange, haunting, lonely undertones as that long ago V. C. Andrews masterpiece. A young girl surrounded by some strange and sinister people who finds her muster when she most needs it.

April's adventure in this book was a little unexpected. I thought there would be more of Brenda, but her absence (until the end of the book) is not noticed. Instead April turns out to be rock of strength of Brenda always hoped she would be and encouraged her to be. In fact, we are left questioning. What is April's sexuality? Does it really matter? I was glad to see Mr. Neiderman was braver in this book and didn't hesitate to use the terms gay and lesbian. It made the book so much real!

If you read any of my other V. C. Andrews reviews you will see that I never detail the book chapter by chapter. I just give my general feelings, and they are always good feelings. I am a fan for life. The excitement here is to pick up GIRL IN THE SHADOWS for yourself and find the good stuff for yourself!

My hat is off to Mr. Neiderman again. The sneak peek of BROKEN FLOWER is exhilirating. I cannot wait to the read it when it comes out. My only fear is that the days of V. C. series has come to an end.

A last note... the series RAIN is being made into a movie and the DVD will have the prequel packaged with it, at least that is my understanding. Can't wait! Bravo, Mr. Neiderman, Bravo!