Saturday, May 9, 2009

Celeste by V.C. Andrews


Celeste
by V.C. Andrews
Genre: Horror
Published: 2004
Hardback: 405 pages
Rating: 3

Inspiration: VCA Challenge

Description from book:
Celeste and her identical twin brother, Noble, are as close as can be -- until a tragic accident takes Nobel's life. It's a loss that pushes their mother, a woman obsessed with New Age superstitions, over the edge...

Everyone in Celeste's tiny rural town gossiped about Sarah Atwell and her strange beliefs in crystals and herbal potions. But no one except her daughter, Celeste, can know the depth of her madness in the wake of Noble's death. Desperate to keep her son "alive," Sarah forces Celeste to cut her hair, wear boys' clothes, and take on Noble's identity. Forbidden any contact with the outside world. Celeste has virtually disappeared -- until a handsome boy moves in next door, and Celeste will risk her mother's wrath to let herself come back to life.

My thoughts:
In-a-word(s): half an ear
All the elements of the V.C. Andrews template were in place, but the crazy Mother's antics just left me with the question WHY? I didn't mind that she was New Age-y and that she could commune with ghosts. But what was her motivation for treating Celeste the way she did?

Poor Celeste. I felt no sympathy for her. She was obedient and followed along naively. Her predicament made me think of what hermaphrodites must go through when forced to pick a gender and the struggle that occurs.

I think I'm gonna stick with the classic V.C. Andrews novels for the rest of the VCA Challenge.

Gemini Series:
Celeste
Black Cat
Child of Darkness

 
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