Flowers in the Attic - Classic Gothic Novel by V.C. Andrews | Family Secrets & Suspense | Perfect for Book Clubs & Gothic Literature Lovers" （注：根据您提供的极简标题"Flowers in the Attic"，我默认这是指V.C. Andrews的经典哥特小说。若实际为其他商品类型，请提供更多信息以便精准优化）

I read this book when I was growing up and after the release of the movies on Lifetime, I decided to read the first one again. Perhaps the fact that I re-read it as an adult and as someone with more knowledge has skewed my thoughts as I found myself rolling my eyes and getting quite annoyed and frustrated several times throughout the book.Firstly, I got tired of hearing about how perfect the family was. How beautiful they were, how handsome the father was, how gorgeous the mother was, how everyone just thought they were the most beautiful looking family in the universe with their blonde hair and blue eyes. Gag. From the very beginning of the book you get the sense that something just wasn't quite right with that family. Perhaps it is the fact that I read the book when I was a teenager and I knew about the relationship between Cathy and Christopher that gave me that sense but as I read the first few chapters -- and later as the book went on -- I got the feeling that Cathy was in love with her father -- not that she simply loved him, that she was IN love with him. The way she described him and her actions towards him, especially the childish way she acted when she found out her mother was pregnant, going on and on about how her father will love the new baby more than her if it's a girl, made me wonder what their relationship truly was.And, of course, with every V.C. Andrews book there has to be some catastrophic event that happens that throws the main characters into their horrific predicament. With this book it was the car accident that killed their father. While I understand that accidents aren't supposed to be funny I must say that this one was. It was so laughable the way he died. It couldn't have just been a simple "he was in a car accident and died". Oh NO! It had to go on, and on, and on with the cop saying "and that wouldn't have killed him but then THIS happened. And still he would have lived if THIS didn't happen". I honestly found myself cracking up when I read it.The characters were so unbelievable and it seems in every one of her books there is an issue with the daughter and the parents, more specifically, the daughter and the father. When I read the books it makes me wonder if the author had some weird things going on with her father. It always seems as if the fathers dote on their daughters in a really creepy way while the mothers despise them. This can be seen in this book as well. If anyone has read the prequel to this book -- Garden of Shadows -- you will get what I mean. Malcolm Foxworth was head over heels for Corrine while Olivia hated her (and again if you read the book you would understand why). In this book, it seems to be the opposite: there seems to be some weirdness going on between Corrine and her son Christopher. The way he talks about her you get the feeling that, like Cathy being in love with her father, Christopher was in love with his mother but also that the mother was a little bit in love with him as well. She constantly talked about how Christopher looked just like their father did when he was his age, and how he was just as handsome as he was. Perhaps I was reading too much into it but it does stand to reason that this might be the truth because what would a V.C. Andrews book be without incest? Why, just another boring book! (One thing that bothered me about this book is how they continuously said that Corrine married her half-uncle when in fact he was her half-brother).Cathy and Christopher -- yeah, you get the feeling that there was something weird going on with them from the beginning. Again, from the way she described her father and how her brother was starting to look like him you got the sense that her feelings for him were a bit more than brotherly and it had nothing to do with being locked in the attic for so long. I got sick of hearing about how they had always seen each other naked when they were younger and how it's "no big deal", even when they grew older in the attic. They even seemed taken aback when not being naked around each other was one of their grandmothers rules. Sure kids take baths together and yes, you probably have seen your siblings naked when you were little but NOT when you're in your teens. To me it seemed like Cathy flaunted herself in front of Christopher even when she knew he was "turning into a man" and was having the same kinds of feelings she was having. Wearing her see through pajamas around him, prancing around in her leotards, cuddling him like he was a child all the while, in her mind, thinking about how much he looked like daddy and how handsome he was growing. Thoughts that a sister should never have about her brother or even her father for that matter.Carrie and Cory - good lord almighty I wanted to kill those two obnoxious kids! They're probably the reason I long ago decided I didn't want children. They were by far the most ill-behaved children I had ever met! Carrie was a loud mouthed bratty little banshee and Cory was just as bad as her. I got tired of reading about how close Carrie and Cory were (again, I wonder if Cory didn't die if they would have carried on some weird relationship as well). I get it. They're twins so they will be close (oh, and thank you so much Captain Obvious, for explaining that they weren't IDENTICAL twins but FRATERNAL because I would never, in a million years have guessed that) but I didn't have to hear about it every other page. I hate to say it but as the book went on and they were slowly being poisoned I was kind of glad because it at least shut Carrie up for the rest of the book.Now, here's the thing that got me. They were locked in an attic for three years. THREE FLIPPING YEARS! It wasn't until I don't know how many years later that they decided to make a copy of the key and go out at night. It wasn't until the obnoxious brats began getting sick that they decided to start stealing from their mother. It boggled my mind. What also boggled my mind is the fact that Christopher still -- and even after they set themselves free (because I can't call walking out of the house escaping) -- believed in his mother and loved her. I also can't believe that Cathy pretty much let her brother call the shots. There were plenty of times that she begged him to escape and he wouldn't -- they had the means to escape too: the rope ladder that they made. Nor did he listen to her about stealing jewelery from their mother until it was too late and she and Bart were gone. I don't know about you but after a week of being locked up I'd demand to be let out. A month? I'd knock my mother to the floor, steal the key and run. I find it hard to believe that anyone could be that trusting of their parent and what they tell them after being locked away for so long. And yet, there they were. Listening to what their mother said about how their grandfather was going to breathe his last breath "any day now" and "you'll be set free!" Did they honestly think that would be the case? Oh, and the funniest part was the addition that he had in the will about how she loses everything if it's found out that she had kids with her previous husband or her new one.Duh.You were disinherited for marrying your half-brother. What did you think was going to happen?!Which now brings me to my rating. You're wondering why, after reading this review, I could have possibly given the book five stars. The reason is simple: despite its short comings (and there were a lot), the ridiculousness of the book and how far-fetched it was I enjoyed it for the pure entertainment that it brought.And yes, I will more than likely re-read the subsequent books in the series.