Customer Reviews

MY SWEET AUDRINA

5 star:		(76)
4 star:		(16)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Its hard to review this book because I don't want to give away any of its twisted plot that never ceases to amaze me each time I read this. My mother bought this when I was about ten years old and I snuck it to my room to read late at night. Now its not suitable reading for a kid but I found this to be amazingly frightening in a way that a family could be this strange Its a Gothic novel. Twisted characters... and its quite bizarre. Its also a heart-felt romance as well.

When you start reading this, you must understand that nothing is what it seems. This is what made the VC Andrews books before she died so incredibly amazing and this is one of her very best. I read this once about every five years and I still enjoy it every bit as much as that first time as a kid. Simply put, amazing!

I love this book! It's just so creepy, so engrossing, so much fun. It also has an odd and compelling beauty and powerfully evokes the passing of time, the dynamics of a deeply dysfunctional family, and the fractured character of a young woman who must come to terms with the bizarre reality of her life-if she can find out what that is. Audrina is a strong, sympathetic, interesting character, and all the characters in the book are well drawn and very intriguing. Audrina is one of the most admirable characters Andrews ever created-she is compassionate, courageous, and a true survivor. I think she's also the nicest of the Andrews' characters. I really like her.

I first read this book at 13,and I didn't guess the ending, and was utterly shocked, but I've reread it since and I think adults would. Actually I know adults would-I lent it to some, and they figured it out, but still enjoyed the story. I won't give it away here though.

This book tells the story of Audrina, who is a beautiful child born to a ruined Southern aristocratic family (they never explain how it was ruined), living in a run down mansion with her older cousin Vera, her father Damian, her mother Lucietta and her aunt Ellsbeth. These are the characters in the beginning, although more come into the story over the course of 400 pages. As usual, most of the characters are in possession of movie-star looks, except aunt Ellsbeth, who is somewhat frumpy, but mostly by choice.

My favorite character is Vera, which may surprise readers. Hey, I'm not excusing her actions, and I would not want to know her in real life, but I love her! She is the most perverse, bizarre, cruel, violent, unrealistic character in all of Andrews' books. For that matter, in a lot of books. There cannot possibly be anyone like this in real life. Come on. It was a little silly.

But the fact that she's not credible doesn't take away our interest in her. How can there be anyone like this? You enjoy watching her obsession with sex, (she definitely gives us some of the weirdest sex-scenes to grace an Andrews book), her inexcusable torturing of Audrina, her gory miscarriage scene, her vicious acts against just about everyone she meets, but also, somehow, Andrews' also makes us feel bad for her. That's a real accomplishment. And, Vera's kind of funny. In a disgusting way.

She had been completely neglected and abused from her earliest days and made to feel inferior to Audrina in every imaginable way, so as Audrina says, her father "made her what she is." We don't blame her for resenting Audrina, although as I said, most of what she does as a result is just too dramatic for me to buy. But, I still feel sorry for both her and Audrina. No one is paying proper attention to these girls and they are living in a mad house!!!

After Vera, I most enjoy the character of the bitter yet sensible and ultimately kind-hearted aunt, Ellsbeth. She, like Vera, also has a weird gallows humor, but we admire the way she stands up for Audrina. At first she appears to be only self-interested and scheming, but then can't help but admire the persevering Audrina's attempts to disengage from her father's pathological and smothering control. I don't think we've ever seen anyone like her in Andrews', and it's hard not to sympathize with her getting the short end of the stick in life while her sister, the greatest beauty on the East Coast, gets all the attention. (this symbolically duplicates the Audrina/Vera relationship-although Vera is described as very pretty and sexy, Audrina has the "unearthly" beauty that all Andrews' heroines do, plus, she's acknowledged by the family, while Vera is constantly told she's unwanted.)

Lucietta, another likeable character, fights with Ellsbeth a great deal, though she too has been cheated out of what she wanted most-in her case, a music career. Her "Tuesday Tea Times" are some of the funniest episodes Andrews' ever created. During these times, Audrina's mother and Aunt get dressed up, channel their dead sister, and "invite" her photo to tea while they insult each other and get drunk. Pretty fun, eh?

Then there's Arden, Audrina's long suffering suitor. A lot of people don't like Arden, but I do. He makes a lot of mistakes, but they are all human and understandable under the circumstances. He truly loves Audrina, but isn't sure how to help her. Although, we all have to wonder why everyone doesn't just tell her what's up and get her some real therapy. However, since no one will do that, Arden does what he can.

Arden's handicapped mother, Billie, is also an extremely lovable character and one of the warmest in the story. She's a nurturer and we're glad someone is treating Audrina to some real attention.

Sylvia, Audrina's developmentally disabled younger sister, is another likable character. Although her problems seem so drastic that they doubt she will be able to ever take care of her own most rudimentary needs, she turns out to be a fiercely loyal and willful character.

Damian, Audrina's father, is also a very well-drawn, very well-developed character. He's also the only character I really despise. A controlling narcissist, he is a womanizer who neglects his responsibilities, feels the need to completely control the women in his life, stifles their hopes and aspirations, beats Lucietta, and may be responsible for Sylvia's disabilities. Physically, he is a handsome, tall, commanding man; he is also charming and seductive. Ironically, he is the most "crippled" of the family, although his problems don't manifest themselves overtly like Billie's, (she lost her legs), Sylvia's, Vera's (one leg is shorter than the other due to repeated fractures), etc.

I enjoyed Damian's character, though, even though I was pretty disgusted with him. A lot of women like jerks,(I'm not one of them), so his control over the women around him seemed plausible. But after awhile, everyone's obsession with getting Damian's approval gets tiring-Ellsbeth wants him to praise her cooking, Arden wants him to admire his business skills, Vera wants him to praise her, Billie wants the same, blah blah blah.

That's why Audrina is the true heroine of the book, because ultimately she doesn't care about pleasing her father, just about healing herself. Whether or not she physically separates from him is irrelevant-emotionally, she has fought for real knowlege of herself, and won it, and she has learned to stand on her own two feet. It's the most complex character study Andrews' has ever done.

Never having read any of V.C. Andrew's work I was both skeptical and curious when her name kept appearing during searches for "gothic horror" type literature. What I found in My Sweet Audrina was something terrifying, engrossing, and very psychologically complex; to the point of having teh story stay with me long after I finished the last page.

Audrina Whitefern is a young girl who doesn't go to school, has no friends, and is constantly under the watchful eye of her overprotective father. Secondly, Audrina is not the first young girl in the Whitefern family by such a pretty name--but the second, after her older sister, the much reverred "First Audrina" was killed in the woods near their home.

Everyone in the family knows the secret surrounding the First Audrina' death. In addition to the second Audrina and her father, they are also joined by her mother, aunt, and cousin Vera. Each of them also knows the secret, something so horrifying and unbelievable you won't want to be spoiled until you discover it for yourself.

And as the second Audrina begins to question her past, her life, and the strange happenings around their gloomy victorian mansion, the secret is unveiled, and nothing will ever be the same. This tale of stifling parental love, rape and abuse, and lies and deceit all comes together in the end, leaving the reader with a haunting conclusion that ensures the legacy of Whitefern will continue.

This is the real thing. V.C. Andrews herself wrote it and you don't want to miss this one! I find myself reading it again and again over the years. The story is haunting, mysterious, and full of interesting characters. In recent years, Andrew's books have been written by someone else...but this book was penned while Andrews was still alive and has her skillful writing in it & you get hooked into the story. Sensual, cruel and dowdy women can't keep Audrina from the truth about herself. Reminds me of a Stephen King book, except not so long and from a female point of view.

This book and "Petals on the Wind" are V. C. Andrews' absolute best, and as far as I'm concerned, the only ones worth purchasing. Some of her series books, such as "Garden of Shadows" are worth checking out of the library, while some ("Flowers in the Attic") are mediocre at best, with few redeeming qualities other than a couple of interesting characters. Everything after the Dollanganger series ("Heaven" and so forth) are simply unreadable, they are so badly written. (Note to ghost-writer: quit while you're miles behind; V. C. Andrews' fans are not fooled.)

After all of the insipid plots of sweet young maidens who are so breathtakingly beautiful that they get sexually attacked by their brothers and fathers, "My Sweet Audrina" is a breath of fresh air. True, our heroine Audrina is another beautiful girl with "glorious" hair that changes colors, and yes, she is going to discover a well-guarded family secret, but her character is much more developed than, say, Heaven Casteel's. As the story begins, Audrina is a young innocent seven-year-old with the inability to recall past events. She is kept insulated in her family's secluded mansion and rarely ventures outdoors. Her lack of contact with the outside world makes her feel desperate and lonely. Even such routine activities as going to school are denied her for mysterious reasons. At night, Audrina is haunted by nightmares, in which she replays visions of her dead older sister in the woods. Her sister was left for dead after being sexually attacked by several young boys. Her father compounds the situation by demanding that Audrina be just like the older sister (also named Audrina), who was perfect in his eyes.

For all of Audrina's frustrations about having to live up to the memory of her sister, she is still given a lot of love and attention from her parents. Her cousin Vera (who will later become another V. C. Andrews "Street Tart") is envious and spiteful toward Audrina, and often lashes out at her, calling her "spoiled" and a "baby". Vera and her mother, Aunt Ellsbeth, live with Audrina and her parents, and Aunt Ellsbeth is one of the most fascinating characters. Her personality is a great deal like the young Olivia Foxworth in "Garden of Shadows": someone who was idealistic about love at first, and then became disillusioned and bitter. Because of this, she does not allow herself to love anyone, even her own daughter. Audrina is often the target of Aunt Ellsbeth's disdain, but Vera incites her rage. Vera has learned very well how to get attention in the Adare household: she is the "problem" child, the tarty "bad" girl who is the very opposite of Audrina's innocent, child-like "good" girl.

In this story, the first-person narrative by Audrina works very well, because the reader is able to become Audrina, and get inside her thoughts. As Audrina gradually unravels the deep, dark secrets of her memory loss, so does the reader. She is also capable of being strong-willed and fighting back when her father attempts to repress her, even when it is obvious that "pleasing Papa" is very important to her.

The drawbacks: Vera is too one-dimensional. Only rarely are we given a glimpse of her vulnerability, and she seems too calculating and clever to inspire much pity, even as badly as Aunt Ellsbeth and Papa treat her. Arden Lowe, as the Perfect Handsome Boyfriend, is a cardboard cut-out; bland and boring, he is more or less interchangeable with Logan, the boyfriend in the "Casteel" series. We never learn exactly what is wrong with Sylvia; at times, she seems like Chief Bromden in "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" since she is obviously capable of retaining SOME knowledge. Nevertheless, V. C. Andrews has never been more effective at storytelling than she is here; she is careful not to reveal too much about the protagonists at once and leaves the reader guessing until the very end. Overall, I recommend it.

Even though Petals on the Wind and Dark Angel tie for 1st place on my charts on best V. C. Andrews book, I would have to say that My Sweet Audrina is #2 all the way. I could believe it!!! I remember when I found the hardcover in a used book store and was shocked at the cover, I realized that this was the only V. C. novel that was published as a hardcover first and then a paper back, rather than paperback originals like all the others. I was glad to find this book, I cherished it as a rare treasure, but strange enough, I never really read it for two years. I've read all her other books, and the dollanganger and casteel series over and over because that's her real books, not those silly cutler, landry books. But anyway, I knew this was a 100% genuine Virginia Andrews novel, so I know it would be great. Boy, I was so shocked!!! It was superb! Usually V. C. tells a horror story that has the heroine (except if there be thorns is narrated by boys) telling the story about family secrets and lies. My Sweet Audrina has all that as well, but it has something else that no other V. C. Andrews novel has, it just is different. It has more sex, much more violence, more swearing, it a lot more creepy and hold forever to it's gloomy atmostphere. Vera was one of a kind, she was a great villain, and I loved the character Lamar Rensdale, You never here a V. C. Andrews novel describe sex in so much detail, but this one is so different, that characters a SO weird, Vera, Lamar, Damian, Ellsbeth, Arden, and of course, Audrina. Audrina was different too, she didnt' posess the fire that Heaven and Cathy had, but she had her own sense of strength. END

As a high school student I am taking a contemporary novel class. The book "My Sweet Audrina" was one of the books this year that I decided to read. It was a little slow toward the beginning and confusing, but as you keep reading you will began to understand in full detail. Audrina was a beautiful young intelligent little girl whose past is confusing and to jumbled up to comprehend. Her father treats her as if she is made of glass, and her mother and aunt and cousin seems to be hiding something very important from her.

Her father convinces her that the first Audrina( her older sister) had a gift, but since she died she doesn't need the gift anymore and that she (the second Audrina) should try to catch it and only then "will her pitcher be filled".

She struggles to be accepted by her strange family as she was not the first Audrina, but the second; she strives to please her father and to find out clues to who she really is and her age and why she can't go to school like her "cousin" Vera. She can't understand why Vera doesn't like her and treats her inferior to her. As she gets older her fear becomes another obstacle that she and her husband try to conquer.

Other strange and loving twist happens that would strain the soul as mysteries began to unravel. Overall I give this book a ten from beginning to middle to end. I would gladly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a good book that would maybe lighten the load of today's world by showing that love conquers all.

This is, without a doubt, the best V.C. Andrews' book. II read a few reviewers had suggested that this book may have been written by the infamous ghost writer (I must admit, I do still read the books written after her death in 1987, but anyone who knows anything about V.C. Andrews knows that A) the books were not ghostwritten until the late 1980s, and B) stylistically, this absolutely must be her book.) I'm appalled that someone would be so irresponsible as to claim that the book was ghostwritten. It's brilliant, and I hardly think the "V.C. Andrews Empire" would take the trouble to write a single book rather than go with their series franchise, which has to be a better money maker. To those of you who haven't read this book yet: go buy it, and don't read ahead! For the rest of you, read ahead.
About the book itself: My Sweet Audrina transcends popular fiction and is in fact a work of art. I first read this book when I was 13, and I'm 27 now, but it hasn't lost any of its appeal. I just read it. I admit, I was floored at 13 when the book's secret was revealed: I have no idea if I would've figured it out now ahead of time, given that I'm older and more sophisticated. However, some things remained the same: the book has the rare talent of making you feel that time is really passing, that you're really living through the years with this bizarre and extraordinary family. And although it is clearly a very unusual family, and although there are dramatic things that occur in it that don't ordinarily happen, it is still a very realistic story in other ways. I loved the other V.C. Andrews' books, but few of them gave me the feeling of providing rare insight into the failings, weaknesses, and quirks of individuals. The characters in this story have a lot of qualities, flaws, and virtues I've seen in others, and they are richly drawn character studies. I think that although some people have called characters such as Vera "a typical V.C. Andrews tramp" those who take the time to notice will see that she isn't typical. We learn quite a bit about why she acts the way she does: and although her behavior is exaggerated for dramatic purposes, anyone who has been rejected by a parent knows the insane behavior that can cause. The advice given by Audrina's Aunt Ellsbeth, and Billie, are perceptive pieces of information about human life, something we don't often see in Andrews' other books. Furthermore, I don't believe Arden is a boring character, nor should we reject him for what he did to Audrina. He felt rejected and cast away by her. Someone else brought up some of the plot lines as unnecessary, E.g. the strangely named Lamar Rensdale, but I think that was a necessary story to move the general plot along. Finally, about the ending, I don't think Andrews' was in any way condoning the smothering and abusive behavior of Damian with that particular ending. Pay close attention to the book, which is so hauntingly beautiful it deserves to be read several times over: Damian is repeatedly condemned for his behavior by all characters in the book and by Audrina herself. I think that, rather, she recognized that she owed it to Arden to work out their marriage, and that she loved Sylvia, whom she couldn't leave behind. As for her father, she was starting to realize that he would never change and to accept that. But the house was rightfully hers, and the point was that she thought she could run away from her past by running from the house, and at the end she realized that she couldn't run from her past. So it was more symbolic of her acceptance of herself and her past, her ability to heal and rise above what had happened to her, than anything we should take as Andrews' condoning "Papa's" selfish, dysfunctional behavior.

When I was in high school, all the girls used to read Andrews' books, but this was my very first 25 years later. I have to say this is one of the weirdest, darkest books I have ever read, but I mean that as a sincere and mindblown compliment. If you think your dysfunctional family is weird and abusive, give the clan of Whitefern a try. You may find this is your chicken soup for the freaky family escapees' soul. I loved every dark and twisted moment of it, and now can't wait to get my hands on more of this delightfully dark author's creepy works. If you like eery stories about families who make sleeping upside down in the closet at night look like normal frivolity, pick up My Sweet Audrina and, in the words of Elvira, sweet drea-eams...

This is the only standalone VCA ever published, but oh what a book it is. Things are not always as they seem, and there are always enough plot twists to leave me satisfied. Every time I read it, I always notice new details.

The revelation about the First and Best Audrina was a shocker, and I shall not say what it is because I shall not spoil you! And as for who the real villain is? Well, doubtless Vera is a villain! But as you read it, you will realize that Vera is but the tip of a iceberg. So read this book, gasp and thrill at the secrets and twists, and enjoy!