[REVIEW] The Unwelcomed Child – V. C. Andrews

V. C. Andrews [also published as Virginia Andrews]
The Unwelcomed Child
Simon & Schuster (US & CA: 21st January 2014; UK: 24th April 2014; AU: 1st May 2014)
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From the cover copy: Elle Edwards grew up believing that because of her mother’s sinful ways she was born without a soul…

Yet in the prologue we are informed that Deborah was raped, resulting in Elle’s conception. Because rape victims are “sinful”? (NOTE: I choose to believe all the shaming in these novels is to show that the characters doing the blaming are awful people. Authors are separate from their characters.)

From page 21: I gathered that my mother was far from the perfect child in their eyes and that the man who had raped her was obviously pure evil, if not the devil himself. But if she were a better person, he wouldn’t have been so drawn to her […] Not only was I fathered by a rapist, but I also had a mother who was more evil than most girls her age.

On the bright side, at least the rapist is blamed somewhat. On the bad side, THIS IS STILL VICTIM-BLAMING.

Look, I don’t know much about the mindset of strict, conservative parents, but… Why would you home-school someone when they’re YOUNGER, instead of when they are most likely to “sin”? Sending someone to school-outside-the-home for the first time when they’re fifteen doesn’t make sense in this context.

From page 238: “There are rapes, and there are rapes.”

AW, HELL NO! There are rapes. Period. Full-stop. Rape is rape, whether it’s by a stranger or someone you know. Whether you’ve flirted with them or not. Whether you’re sober or unconscious. RAPE IS RAPE. The scenarios may differ, but the end result is the same.

From page 250: “…but my parents have always been active professionals, my father the lawyer and my mother with her decorating business.”

Mason and Claudine Spenser are Elizabeth and Jessica Wakefield! (I realised this post-midnight, and it was hilarious at the time.)

From page 261: “Men don’t sin so easily with ugly women, and women don’t sin easily with ugly men.”

I take that to mean consensual sex, and not rape. Either way, it’s still pretty-blaming.

21st January 2014 Releases

Happy Release Day to:

V. C. Andrews
The Unwelcomed Child
Simon & Schuster Pocket (US & CA: 21st January 2014)
Buy (US) Buy (UK) Buy (CA) Buy (Worldwide)
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?

Sarah K.
Bonds of Love
HarperCollins (US & CA: 21st January 2014)
Buy (US) Buy (UK) Buy (CA) Buy (Worldwide)
Sarah K. lives in a quiet suburban town. She has a couple of kids; a steady job as a writer. But behind the bedroom door she enters a different world – a world of sexual power play and erotic control. For Sarah K. is a submissive, and she willingly surrenders her body to the passions of a dominant lover. Still reeling after ending things with her first dom, Max, Sarah finds herself unable to move on. As Max had warned, once you’ve tasted the forbidden fruits of dominance and submission, you can’t go back. So when Sarah meets Alex – a tall, handsome man who shares her erotic desires – she finds herself cast under the dark spell of pleasure and pain once more. As they explore one another, like an addiction, Sarah begins to crave Alex – his touch, his breath, his smell. Shocked at the emotions he has awakened within her, Sarah tells herself this is just lust. She had learnt the hard way that falling in love is one line that can’t be crossed. So why does it feel so wrong when Max re-enters her life, determined to possess her once more? Should she admit her true feelings for Alex, and potentially expose herself to the worst pain of all – heartbreak?

January 2014 Releases

Done with December 2013 Releases? Here are January 2014 Releases. For future releases, check Reading Wishlist.