Flowers in the Attic

Summary: One book that our theme of overcoming grief is shown in is Flowers in the Attic by V. C. Andrews. Flowers in the Attic is a book about four children who lose their father. After their father dies their whole lives get turned upside down. They have to go live with a mean grandmother who doesn't want her husband to know that the kids exist. They are locked in a room and the only way for them to even be able to make sound is to go into the attic. The attic is a large cold room with tons of books, old clothes, and other knick-knacks. The oldest, Chris, has a younger sister, Cathy, and they have two younger siblings that are twins, Corey and Carrie. Because their grandfather doesn't like their mother or even know that the kids themselves exist, their mother abandons them and tries to regain the grandfather’s trust. Since the mother is gone they are left with only a little bit of cold left over food given to them by a very strict grandmother, who will jump on any opportunity she gets to beat or whip them. Since the grandmother is scared of small spaces and doesn't like going into the attic, the four kids often escape to the little taste of the outdoors they made for themselves in the attic. Chris and Cathy made flowers and trees and animals out of paper to make a little garden in the attic. Corey and Carrie help by making little animals as well, but they aren't as good and Chris and Cathy’s. This little fake garden they made would be the closest they got to the outdoors for years.

How did the grief affect them? Grief plays an important role in this book because their father dies and his death causes them to relocate because they lose all their money and need somewhere to go. They mourn over their father the whole time, saying things like none of this would have happened if he never died. They never blame him for his death or anything; they just wish things were different. Their grief affects them deeply because if their father would have never died then they wouldn't be locked away in the attic and none of this horrible stuff would have ever happened. Their father’s death is something they never truly get over. Eventually, however, they just stop talking about him, and Chris, whose full name is Christopher and was named after his father, doesn't like being called Christopher anymore and wants to be called Chris instead. 

How did their life change because of the grief? Their life changed because of this experience because they became more mature and grown up than they were before their father died. They all learned to not take things for granite and they all learned how important they are to each other. They all learned to love. 

How did they deal with the grief? They dealt with it by just telling themselves to get over it and eventually just never speaking of him the grandmother also did not like their father and forced them not to speak of him ever. 

Who would I recommend this book to? I recommend this book to people who like drama and romance. Flowers in the Attic is a sad, tragic book that is a great read. 

http://www.amazon.com/Flowers-Attic-Dollanganger-V-C-Andrews/dp/0671729411 This is a link to Amazon.com to buy the book Flowers in the Attic

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/43448.Flowers_in_the_Attic This is a link to goodreads.com where you can find more reviews of the book