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Butterfly (1998)

Butterfly (1998)

Book Info

Author
Genre
Series
Rating
3.67 of 5 Votes: 1
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ISBN
0671020293 (ISBN13: 9780671020293)
Language
English
Publisher
pocket books

About book Butterfly (1998)

"Butterfly" is the first novel in the "Orphans" mini-series, which consists of four novellas and ends with the full-length novel "Runaways". Even though this series seems to be aimed towards even younger girls than Andrews' other novels, this book was actually pretty decent and showed more themes and issues than incest and sexual assault. Yay!Janet, an orphan since birth, is adopted by Sanford and Celine Delorice, a wealthy couple with no children. Celine was a professional dancer but was injured in a car accident with her husband and must use a wheelchair for the rest of her life. It seems like Janet hit the jackpot with a nice new father and a doting new mother in a big house, but Celine soon shows her true colors as she pressures Janet into being a star ballerina. She tortures her with hours of privates lessons and doesn't allow her to have friends or eat junk food, and Sanford is too afraid of her to stand up for Janet. I liked Sanford- he really loved and cared for Janet but he was too pressured by his mentally ill wife to know how to defend himself. It is also a hard time for thirteen-year-old Janet because she is going through puberty without a real female figure to help her (which, of course, includes a creepy male dancer named Dimitri who tries to grope her, wouldn't be a V.C. Andrews novel without one of those, eh?). As things get worse and worse and she is driven harder and harder, Janet wonders if she can ever impress Celine and make her see her as a real daughter.This is definitely a read for middle school or even elementary school girls and it doesn't hold the broad appeal of her other novels. It was a quick read, and I was glad to read an Andrews novel where the girl has a trusted adult she cares for and a nice crush who treats her respectfully. I think I'll read the rest of the series. It ain't Shakespeare, but if you suspend your disbelief and give in to the campiness, then you'll enjoy it.

A pretty good read over all. I know I'm reading V.C. Andrews series out of order from when they were published, but it's only because it was the order I could get ahold of them. This is a series that was written before the carelessness of Neiderman totally took hold. I really don't want to sound mean but its true. I liked Janet, the main character, but I expected the plot to end differently, but I'm not the worlds best plot-guesser. It is good for a quick read, if you want a little strangeness but you don't want the length. The little book is easy to get through and you still feel like you know Janet. This book is getting me excited for the rest of the miniseries.

Do You like book Butterfly (1998)?

I have read a couple of V.C. Andrews books, and this is my least favorite so far. The whole book was very predictable. In Andrews' other book i could never guess what was going to happen in the next scene. In butterfly i completely guessed the ending after the first 3 chapters. This is the first book in the Orphan series. I haven't started to read the 2nd book, but hopefully that book is more upbeat and interesting. Butterfly took me awhile to get through, because jt was very slow and predictable. Even though the book was very predictable, i still enjoyed this read for the most part. The book does show real world struggles for children and i really enjoy the story behind the book. When i was reading this book i did get really vivid pictures in my head, because Andrews used very descriptive words and described everything completely and fully. I really expected this book to be more dark than it was. A lot of his other books are all dark and mysterious. For the most part the book was happy moods until the end. This leads me to believe he gets more dark in the next book in the series. I also liked how he left the book in a cliff hanger. Most readers would absolutely hate them, but i love them. I love the intense anticipation of waiting to get the next book in your hands to find out what happens. I rated this 3 stars mostly because i could predict the end of the book. If the book wasn't so predictable i would most likely have liked this book ten times more.
—Lane

When I read these novels back in the day I would have given them 3-3.5 STARS and now would say about one StarI started reading VC Andrews books in the 1991 and stopped about 2003. I have read:-Dollanganger Series-Casteel Series-Cutler Series-Landry Series-Logan Series-Orphans Series-Wildflowers Series-Hudson Series-Shooting Stars Series-DeBeers Series-Broken Wings SeriesAs a preteen reading these novels was a rebellion and the gothic theme also seemed cool. I stopped reading this author because the novelty wore off, the novels are too formulaic that I could not tell one book from another and gothic aspect was lost.
—Kris - My Novelesque Life

On its own - as a novel geared for an younger audience and having an interesting story - this book isn't a bad read. However, as part of the VCA collection, it is unacceptable. Mr. Neiderman should have written this series under his own name, or under a different nom de plume to attract a younger crowd. This does not even begin to compare to the Dollanganger or Casteel series, and is a far cry from even the recently-published-before-this Logan series.The story of Janet is mildly interesting and provides a light read for teenagers, and is a nice quick read, but had no real depth. I don't know why Neiderman decided to go in this direction. For a diehard VCA fan, this book (and the rest of the books written after the Logan series) simply aren't good reads and are barely reminiscent of VCA's writings.
—Delicious Strawberry

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