The book is narrated by two half-brothers, Jory and Bart Sheffield. Jory is a handsome, talented fourteen-year-old boy who wants to follow his mother Cathy in her career in the ballet, while nine-year-old Bart, who is unattractive and clumsy, feels he is outshone by Jory. By now, Cathy and Chris live together as husband and wife. To hide their history, they tell the boys and other people they know that Chris was Paul's younger brother. Cathy and Chris have a passionate and very sexual relationship, described by Jory who has accidentally witnessed encounters between them. The more they fight, the more they make up with affection. Cathy is a loving mother to her sons, but shows favortism in Jory while she looks at Bart with shadowy eyes. Unable to have more children, Cathy secretly adopts Cindy, the two-year-old daughter of one her former dance students, who was killed in an accident, because she longs to have a child that is hers and Chris's. Initially against it, Chris comes to accept the child. Lonely from all the attention Jory and Cindy are receiving, Bart befriends an elderly neighbor that moved in next door, who invites him over for cookies and ice cream and encourages him to call her "Grandmother." Jory also visits the old lady next door, and she reveals that she is actually his grandmother. Jory initially doesn't believe her, and avoids her at all costs. The old woman and Bart, on the other hand, soon develop an affectionate friendship, and the woman does her best to give Bart whatever he wants, provided that Bart promises to keep her gifts—-and their relationship-—a secret from his mother.Her butler, John Amos, also seems to befriend Bart, but soon John Amos begins to fill Bart's mind with stories about the sinful nature of women. John Amos reveals that the old woman is truly Bart's grandmother, Corrine Foxworth. He also gives Bart a journal belonging to Bart's biological great-grandfather, Malcolm Foxworth, claiming that this journal will help Bart become as powerful and successful as that man. Bart is enveloped by the journal and begins to pretend that he is his great-grandfather, who hated women and was obsessed with their degradation. Bart becomes destructive and violent towards his parents and siblings; he kicks Jory in the stomach and cuts off Cindy's hair. Bart's family notices the change in the boy, but only Jory suspects that the changes are due to the mysterious woman next door. At the same time, Jory becomes suspicious of his parents' relationship. Although amazed by their love, which he describes as intense and heartful, he notices that they resemble each other and wonders why his mother would marry Paul, who was much older, before Chris.After Bart becomes ill and nearly dies, Jory finally tells Chris about his suspicions about the lady next door. They go to confront her, but Chris discovers that the woman is his mother, who pleads with him to love and forgive her. Chris is indifferent to her pleas and orders her to stay away from him, Cathy, and the children, especially Bart. However, he decides not to tell Cathy that their mother is living next door to them. At the same time, Cathy is injured in a ballet accident and is told that she will never dance again. From her wheelchair, she begins to write out the story of her life. Bart filches his mother's manuscript pages and is enraged to learn the truth about his parents: Cathy and Chris are brother and sister, and his "grandmother" locked them in an attic for years, feeding them poison to gain an inheritance. The news causes Bart to cling to the only person who has not yet lied to him: John Amos. Bart proudly calls his parents sinners and "devil's spawns". Jory finds out the truth when his paternal grandmother visits and confronts Cathy about her relationship with "her brother Christopher". Jory is shocked and disgusted, but soon forgives them after he learns of their tragic past.Cathy also discovers the truth about the woman next door when Bart accidentally says that the woman gives him anything he wants and she goes to confront the woman. The old woman admits that she is indeed Cathy's mother, She expresses remorse for her crimes against Cathy, Chris and the twins, and begs Cathy to forgive and love her again. Cathy is enraged and attacks her. Before she can storm out, John Amos knocks Cathy and Corrine unconscious. Working on John Amos' orders, Bart, who now believes he is a vessel for his great-grandfather's vengeful spirit, helps to lock Cathy and her mother into the cellar, where John Amos plans to starve them to death. In the course of this, Bart realizes how much he loves his mother and grandmother, despite their sins, and tells Chris where the women are. But before they can be reached, the house next door catches fire. Bart goes in and unlocks the cellar door. Corrine orders Bart outside, and Corrine goes back into the cellar and saves Cathy, but Corrine's clothes catch fire as soon as she gets outside. Chris runs to her and helps put out the flames, but her heart gives out and she dies. John Amos dies in the house as well.The epilogue, resumed with Cathy as narrator, describes Cathy's emotional forgiveness of her mother at the woman's funeral. Cathy and Chris, for the sake of their three children, realize that they must never allow their secret relationship to be revealed. Bart seems to have recovered from the worst of his madness, but still dwells on the power wielded by his great-grandfather, whose millions he now stands to inherit.Read this book only if you have read the first two series Flowers In the Attic And petals in the Wind.
Here we go again, picking up seven years later with the two remaining Dresden Dolls and Cathy's spawn. This time around Cathy is not our narrator, thank you Jaysus! Honestly, I cannot stand Cathy, she’s just all around terrible and any goodwill or sympathy she gained in Flowers in the Attic was shredded by Petals on the Wind. This story is her sons Jory (I can’t with that name) and Bart’s to tell. Jory (ugh, that name) and Bart (another ugh) are polar opposites. Bart is jealous of Jory and feels that everyone hates him and loves Jory. As the kids tell it Cathy and stepfather Chris sure are touchy feely, they dance in the living room, sneak off to their bedroom a lot, lock eyes and give each other long and meaningful looks and glow whenever they are together. Cathy has finally submitted to the lustful sin that was forged in the dust and gloom of the attic years ago and seems to be making up for lost time. Excuse me while I vomit. Their little slice of heaven turns into a big heaping pile of hell when a mysterious woman in black (not really) moves into the empty mansion next door and starts paying attention to lonely little Bart. She feeds him junk food, tells him that she’s his grandma and loves him and buys him whatever he wants, except a pony, while the evil butler John Amos starts to warp his mind with religion and hate. Oh James Evan Sr., how could you? I know you’re still struggling to get your family out of the projects but did you have to resort to this? Chris and Cathy’s secret gets spilled to the boys, a bunch of bad stuff happens, Cathy and Corrine get kidnapped. People die, scores have been settled blah blah blah.If There be Thorns is an addictive stupid read but it has an outrageous plot hole. A plot hole that’s just too big to ignore. Cathy’s former mother in law Madame M. seems to believe that Paul is still alive. I thought they lived in the same town? Wouldn’t she have known that he died years ago? And wouldn’t have the kids been calling Chris dad in front of her during their yearly visits to the graves and crazy Corrine? Cathy is still awful, Chris is still a pathetic mangina, Jory is an obnoxious goody goody, Bart is crazy and Corrine is just a third tier character that you don’t really care about. While this book is much better than Petals it’s still not as good as Flowers. You can tell Andrews started off trying but after awhile she gives up and rushes everything just to get to the end. And that rushed feeling just gives this story an oddness about it that I can’t quite explain. Thankfully unlike Petals, that oddness wasn’t as overwhelming.
What do You think about If There Be Thorns (1981)?
Jill wrote: "Omg, I was obsessed with these books as a teenager!"Me too! I came across the series again recently and thought I'd check to see what the adult me would think. I actually really enjoyed Flowers in the Attic & Petals in the Wind, in a guilty pleasure kind of way, but this one just didn't keep my interest.
—Dichotomy Girl
En un momento fue demasiado. Todo lo que hacia Bart lo que decía. Quiso ahogar a su hermanita, odiaba a su madre, a todas las mujeres y hablaba del pecado y el castigo que Dios les daría, era enfermo. Y tenia que? 10 años. Me ponía los pelos de punta.No puedo dejar de odiar a Corrine. Tendría que darme pena y pensar que se convirtió en una heroína? La misma mujer que encerró a sus hijos en un ático, que les quitó su libertad y tenia el descaro de hablar de frivolidades como paseos en barco, su c
—Giselle
Tredje boken i serien Flowers in the Attic. Här tas det ett nytt grepp i berättandet och Cathys båda söner berättar växelvis om sitt liv på gården, om sitt förhållande till sina föräldrar och släktingar. De får nya grannar vilket är mycket spännande, men vilka är de och hur kommer det sig att de vill flytta in i huset som stått öde så länge. I huset finns en butler som visar sig styra på ett obehagligt sätt och sprider ondska omkring sig, På olika sätt får pojkarna höra om deras ursprung och man får också lära känna pojkarnas olika personligheter ingående men framförallt kommer de att förstå att Chris är deras morbror och att han och deras mor, Cathy, har ett incestuöst förhållande med varandra.
—Anna Björklund
