April Shadows

I hadn't read a V.C. Andrews book since I was in middle school so when I came upon this at the grocery store the other day, I picked it up. Wow...if I needed a reminder of how awful people can be to each other, then this book did the trick perfectly. Anything bad that could happen to a person, happened to April all before she hit adulthood. Oh wait....except incest, which is a typical Andrews plotline and I imagine might make a comeback in the next book? And of course, you have the standard overall creepiness of general atmosphere. Uncle Palaver? I'd like to know a bit more about that situation. *shudder* Anyway, a poorly written novel that might as well have been penned by a sixteen year-old for all of it's skill and depth of emotion. show more But you know, I've known plenty of sixteen year-olds that had much more talent than this, so I shouldn't make such a generalization. I'll just end by saying that if you are feeling nostalgic for your middle school days when yourself and your friends gathered together to giggle at the naughty parts then, by all means, indulge yourself. But chances are you'll tire of it halfway through (if you make it that far) and toss it in the trash where it belongs. show less

I stopped buying VCA books after Black Cat, and sold all of my VCA books that came after the Logan series. The only reason I read the April Shadows was because my roommate had both books, and since it was free... why not?

Even free, I still feel used and wasted. These two books are NOT VCA. Nowhere even close. April is not a good VCA name like Heaven, Dawn, or Ruby. The titles did not make sense. 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.

Back when this series came out, it was supposed to be zong so groundbreaking because it had a gay character as the main show more character!

Except oh wait. We're forced to deal with will she/won't she for two whole books, and at the end, we still don't know if April is straight, gay, or bi. Her constant struggles with/bitching about her weight was also tiresome, and for a character that was meant to break the mold, she was nothing but a whiny-ass bitch, and Neiderman absolutely sucks when it comes to portraying deaf people, Echo was a whiny little bitch too and apparently so helpless because she's deaf that she's OMG totally incapable of taking care of herself and everyone treats her like someone with a intellectual disability. Which I saw the same of with the character of May in the Logan series.

Do not waste your time with this series. show less

If you ignore the name on the cover and the fact that it's marketed as adult fiction instead of YA as it should be, this is a decent book. However, it does not have the darkness and disturbed nature that one expects from V.C. Andrews. April is a girl who finds herself in quite a few tragic and unpleasant situations, but not anything near the horror related in "Flowers in the Attic" or even more recent works like "Melody." Sadly, V.C. (or the ghost writer, rather) has completely lost her edge. It makes me sad.

I registered a book at BookCrossing.com!
http://www.BookCrossing.com/journal/12932045