Review: The Unwelcomed Child by V.C. Andrews

Title: The Unwelcomed Child
Author: V.C. Andrews
Format: Paperback
Publisher: Pocket Books
Publish Date: January 21, 2014
Source: I received a copy from the publisher; however, this did not affect my review.

What's the Story?

From Goodreads.com: "Elle Edwards grew up believing that because of her mother's sinful ways she was born without a soul; that's why she was abandoned and left in the care of Grandmother Myra and Grandfather Prescott, who try to ensure her evil will not infect them;by raising her in a virtual prison. Because her days are occupied with homeschooling, strict religious studies, and vigorous housekeeping in their upstate New York home, Elle knows practically nothing of the outside world, even as she emerges as a young woman with impressive artistic talent. But when she makes a secret, forbidden connection to vacationers at the nearby lake: a handsome boy and his precocious twin sister, Elle's world will shatter. Will discovering the truths about her past send her future plummeting to hell?"

My Two Cents:

"The Unwelcomed Story" is the story of Elle, a product of her mother's rape who is in the care of her horrible grandmother and her pushover grandfather. Elle is sheltered, very sheltered until she meets the twins who will change the way she sees the world.

Having recently read "Flowers in the Attic," I could not help but to compare that book and this book to each other. There were a lot of similarities and this book definitely felt formulaic at times because of it. For instance, you have a child kept away from the outside world through no fault of her own. You have a terrible grandmother. And you have a whole bunch of psychological issues to boot. If you enjoyed "Flowers in the Attic," you will probably enjoy this book.

Even with all of the similarities between this book and "Flowers in the Attic," I still flew through this book. The writing is not particularly striking but the story matter definitely pulled me in because of all of the psychological issues explored in this book. I just really did not understand the grandmother at all in this book and really enjoyed reading about her to try to figure out what was going on. My heart really felt for Elle. She is so naive and really doesn't understand the ways of the world at all. I really enjoyed following her story.