Forbidden Sister by V.C. Andrews
Series: The Forbidden, #1
First published on February 26, 2013 by Simon & Schuster
Genre: Contemporary, Young Adult
400 pages
Format: eBook
Source: Purchased
Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
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Emmie Wilcox was only six when her older sister, Roxy, was thrown out of their New York City apartment. Their stern father’s military-style rules left no room for rebellion, and Roxy was continually defiant and rebellious. Emmie, now an outstanding student at a private school, is obedient, respectful, a fille parfaite, as her Parisian-born mother lovingly calls her. Two sisters, total opposites—yet Emmie is secretly obsessed with the mystery and imposed silence surrounding Roxy: What had she finally done to deserve being cast out of her home? Where is she now? Emmie can’t help but wonder if there is a hidden side to her that resembles Roxy’s defiant nature. Sometimes she fantasizes that she is more like Roxy than she appears. Sometimes she wants to be. She wants excitement, and being a good girl all the time is harder than it seems. Finally learning that Roxy is a highly paid escort to wealthy and powerful men, Emmie goes behind her father’s back to track down and spy on the sister she can’t help but be fascinated with, a sister whose influence might run deeper than Emmie ever dreamed.
Review
I’ve been wanting to try reading books from V.C. Andrews the moment I watched a movie based from her book. It was a long time ago so I forgot the title. I just remembered about this author when I was looking for some books to read in my Kindle. I’ve haphazardly added some of her stories that I could find in my TBR before so it was pretty hard to pick what book to start. But I remembered that the movie I’ve watched has something to do about sisters, so I chose this one.
I noticed in its first chapter how well written this story is. It even reminded me of MHClark’s writing style. It’s so easy to read because they use very easy to comprehend words. Their way of amusing you is not on what are the words or terms that they know but on how to make its readers focus on their story without having to consult the dictionary of its meaning.
This story started with the main character’s POV, Emmie, wherein she talks about her older sister and how she became the forbidden child. We were also introduced to her strict father and how her big sister, Roxy, hated her father. We also got to find out how their hatred started and nourished until the time came that their father kicked her out of their house and forbade them to talk about her. And because of her sister, she struggled to become the perfect daughter her parents, especially her father, were proud of.
I really thought at first that the forbidden sister was Roxy, but when I’ve got to read more about this story, I realized that it’s Emmie. This story started pretty slow but changed paced when it came to the conflict part and then back to slow pace again. But what’s interesting is that, just like Emmie, I’m intrigued about Roxy too. Nothing was mentioned about what happened to her the moment she was kicked out from their house so that’s quite a letdown, but when I found out about the second book, I became excited!
I’m not totally sure about the conflict part though, it was a little cruel especially to a teenager like Emmie. But I guess it’s all for the best, because of that, she got reunited with her sister. And little by little, the tough Roxy is starting to care.
The POV were all from Emmie, the betrayal, the hurt and sadness she felt were just too much to read. The characters were fine, plus they’re so easy to keep track too since there’s not much of them.
The idea of having a prodigal son/sister in the family and a strict father isn’t new to me. But even if the idea of this story is quite cliché, I have to say that the twist and turns surprised me. I may not have been a fan of how the story was written in quite a slow pace, I could still honestly say that I enjoyed it. This story isn’t something that will make you sob but will sure to make you soft because of its family theme.
This story talks about family and that blood is really thicker than water. It may not have received a higher star from me, but it’s still a good read. It’s my first time from the author, and I’m sure it wouldn’t be my last, *wink.
Challenges
- 2017 New To Me
- 2017 Mount TBR Reading
- 2017 eBooks Reading
- 2017 You Read How Many Books?
- 2017 Review Writing
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I keep meaning to try this author but maybe I won’t start with this one. 😉 Thanks for the honest review!
I want to try My Sweet Audrina next though, but I can still remember the twists because of the movie that was based on that book that I’ve watched before. Maybe you may want to start with that one 😉
What a cool surprise about which sister ended up being the forbidden one. Glad you got the chance to try an author you had on your list for a long time.
Me too Sophia. Thank you 🙂
I used to be obsessed with V.C. Andrews. She only actually wrote some of her very early books and since then it has been a ghostwriter. The books that she actually wrote are much better than some of these newer ones – in my opinion. It has been a while since I read any new books with her name on it though so maybe they have improved.
Really? I think I’ll try her early books next. Thanks Carole 🙂
Gosh I used to read V.C. Andrews years ago when I was in high school. She has had a ghost writer for years and years so I am not sure when she actually wrote her last books. However, if you want to read Vintage Andrews, I think you are thinking of the Flowers in the Attic series which was made into a movie in the late eighties or perhaps 1990. The Dark Angel series was really good too.
Wow, I think I now know what book of hers that I will read next. Thanks Heidi 🙂
It’s been a long time since I’ve read this author — I loved Flowers in the Attic and the rest of the books in that series. Did you watch those Lifetime movies? I did, and it definitely renewed my interest in the books. I’m glad you enjoyed the twists and turns in this one, and I’m excited to see which book by this author you’ll read next 😉 Great review!
Hehe, I think I’ll try Flowers in the Attic soon Michele. Thanks stopping by 🙂
I loved her book! I always enjoy twists in a book!
Yay! I’m about to try other books from hers soon 🙂