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A review by lisa_d9
Honey by V.C. Andrews
3.0
Damn you, V.C. Andrews ghost writer! Your books make me cringe when I compare them to the ones the actual V.C Andrews wrote before she died.
The ghost writer, Andrew Neiderman, just uses the same cliches over and over, thinking these cliches will make his books similar to the original V.C. Here are his most loved cliches:
1) Cheesy character names. In this book, the M.C is named Honey. Neiderman has been guilty of using every cheesy, lame name that's ever existed, yet he keeps finding more. Names he's used include Dawn, Ruby, Melody, Butterfly, Crystal, Raven, Star, Cat, Rain, Cinnamon and Ice, to name some of the cheesiest ones. The original V.C. Andrews mainly used normal names such as Cathy, Chris, Carrie, Cory, Audrina and okay, Heaven. I just don't get where Neiderman got the idea to give his characters such strange names.
2) Overly religious character(s). In this book, we have the crazy grandfather who constantly has a bible in his hand and actually threatens to swing a machete at Honey and her boyfriend for being sinners. I can see where Neiderman got his idea for this(Flowers in the Attic) but I don't think V.C. Andrews would've continued writing about overly religious characters. Plus, Neiderman can't write about the subject with the same skill. I just think it's a lack of creativity on Neiderman's part.
3) Pretty much all of Neiderman's books have the main characters calling their parents "Mommy" and "Daddy". In the original V.C. Andrews books, this was fine because they were either set in a time where this was normal or they were the appropriate age. However, Neiderman's books are usually set in present times(aka nineties and noughties) where teenage girls tend to not call their parents mommy and daddy. He needs to let go of this cliche.
4) Incest and/or rape. Again, Neiderman took inspiration from the Flowers in the Attic series and My Sweet Audrina and obviously decided that he should stick in some incest/rape wherever he could. Thankfully, its not in every book(not in this one) but it's in so many.
5) Main character is always beautiful, doesn't know it and doesn't fit in with kids her age. Maybe because they call their parents "Mommy" and "Daddy".
6) The lame witing and overuse of metaphors. For example: "I could feel the heat rise to my face immediately, and just knowing my skin was starting to glow like the inside of a toaster made me even shier." Just weird stuff like that.
I guess my point is I loved V.C. Andrews as a writer and respected her as a storyteller. The books she wrote before she died were so entertaining and original. In comparison, I just don't think Neiderman has those same qualities. I wish they'd replace him with another ghost writer. A better and more creative ghost writer.
Anyway, this book. It was okay. Three stars is technically too much for it but I enjoy the cheesiness to some extent. Apparently, this book was written in 2001 and I'm assuming set in the same time. I don't remember a specific time period being mentioned. But Honey doesn't know what a DVD player is. She's a bit sheltered. I can understand not owning a DVD player but not knowing what it is?! Yikes.
There's a lame boy who seems to be trying to get in her pants the whole book. He's pretty uninteresting.
Eh, not much else to say. I wouldn't recommend this V.C. Andrews beginners. I'd definitely recommend Flowers in the Attic or My Sweet Audrina instead.
The ghost writer, Andrew Neiderman, just uses the same cliches over and over, thinking these cliches will make his books similar to the original V.C. Here are his most loved cliches:
1) Cheesy character names. In this book, the M.C is named Honey. Neiderman has been guilty of using every cheesy, lame name that's ever existed, yet he keeps finding more. Names he's used include Dawn, Ruby, Melody, Butterfly, Crystal, Raven, Star, Cat, Rain, Cinnamon and Ice, to name some of the cheesiest ones. The original V.C. Andrews mainly used normal names such as Cathy, Chris, Carrie, Cory, Audrina and okay, Heaven. I just don't get where Neiderman got the idea to give his characters such strange names.
2) Overly religious character(s). In this book, we have the crazy grandfather who constantly has a bible in his hand and actually threatens to swing a machete at Honey and her boyfriend for being sinners. I can see where Neiderman got his idea for this(Flowers in the Attic) but I don't think V.C. Andrews would've continued writing about overly religious characters. Plus, Neiderman can't write about the subject with the same skill. I just think it's a lack of creativity on Neiderman's part.
3) Pretty much all of Neiderman's books have the main characters calling their parents "Mommy" and "Daddy". In the original V.C. Andrews books, this was fine because they were either set in a time where this was normal or they were the appropriate age. However, Neiderman's books are usually set in present times(aka nineties and noughties) where teenage girls tend to not call their parents mommy and daddy. He needs to let go of this cliche.
4) Incest and/or rape. Again, Neiderman took inspiration from the Flowers in the Attic series and My Sweet Audrina and obviously decided that he should stick in some incest/rape wherever he could. Thankfully, its not in every book(not in this one) but it's in so many.
5) Main character is always beautiful, doesn't know it and doesn't fit in with kids her age. Maybe because they call their parents "Mommy" and "Daddy".
6) The lame witing and overuse of metaphors. For example: "I could feel the heat rise to my face immediately, and just knowing my skin was starting to glow like the inside of a toaster made me even shier." Just weird stuff like that.
I guess my point is I loved V.C. Andrews as a writer and respected her as a storyteller. The books she wrote before she died were so entertaining and original. In comparison, I just don't think Neiderman has those same qualities. I wish they'd replace him with another ghost writer. A better and more creative ghost writer.
Anyway, this book. It was okay. Three stars is technically too much for it but I enjoy the cheesiness to some extent. Apparently, this book was written in 2001 and I'm assuming set in the same time. I don't remember a specific time period being mentioned. But Honey doesn't know what a DVD player is. She's a bit sheltered. I can understand not owning a DVD player but not knowing what it is?! Yikes.
There's a lame boy who seems to be trying to get in her pants the whole book. He's pretty uninteresting.
Eh, not much else to say. I wouldn't recommend this V.C. Andrews beginners. I'd definitely recommend Flowers in the Attic or My Sweet Audrina instead.