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| Plot Summary of If There Be Thorns |
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"The thrid book in the Dollanganger Series tells about Christopher and Catherine's surprisingly normal family life. They are happy together, and have two sons, Bart and Jory. Bart, the younger feels slightly misunderstood, and jealous of his older brother. When a mysterious old woman and her butler move into the house next door, Bart bonds with her and she asks him to call her 'grandmother'. Slowly, 'grandmother' and her butler insinuate themselves into Bart's life, telling him shocking and terrible things about his parents. He is prompted to acts of violence against himself and others. Watching, frightened, as their son destroys their family, Christopher and Catherine realize that they cannot escape from the horrors that happened to them in an attic, years earlier, and are now returning to claim a second generation."
fran laniado, Resident Scholar
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"Cathy's children, Jory and Bart tell their story in the 3rd installment in the Dollanganger series.
Taking turns, stable Jory and emotionally disturbed Bart describe the mysterious woman who moves next door to their family. Slowly the truth is unraveled. The mysterious woman who loves to spoil Bart is Corrine, Cathy and Chris' mother and the butler is the same from Cathy and Chris' days of imprisonment in the attic.
The butler gifts Bart with the journal of the long dead evil Grandfather and uses mind control to encourage Bart to become his reincarnation and punish the sinners, the sinners being all of his family members.
Cathy and Chris adopt a little girl and this is the final straw for Bart that sets his mental illness loose. Both Bart and Jory peice together the truth of their parents' history and the fact that they are sister and brother living as husband and wife, by reading a transcript Cathy writes (which is to become "Flowers in the Attic" and "Petals on the Wind"). This causes even more tension for all members of the family.
Finally, the butler instructs Bart and works with him to lock Cathy and her mother up. Cathy can not believe that her mother is living next door to her and blames her for Bart's illness. Meanwhile, Chris and Jory struggle to find Cathy and Corrine. Finally, by appealing to what's left of Bart's good side, they free the two women as the large house goes up in flame. In saving Cathy, Corrine loses her life. Corrine left the enormous Foxworth fortune to the children, and Bart continued counseling while Jory came to terms with his parents history and relationship as the book ends."
ladyfriend, Resident Scholar
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| Review Analysis of If There Be Thorns |
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Our unique search engine provides a wealth of detail about books by breaking them down into many different literary elements, all of which are searchable (click here).
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Ratings are on a 1-10 scale (Low to High)
Plot
Tone of book?
- depressed
Time/era of story
- 1960's-1970's
Family, struggle with
Yes
Struggle with:
- Grandma
Is this an adult or child's book?
- Adult or Young Adult Book
Main Character
Gender
- Male
Profession/status:
- unemployed
- student
Age:
- a kid
Eccentric/Mental
Yes
Eccentric:
- obsessed
- mentally ill
- deluded
- emotionally unstable
Is this an ordinary person caught up in events?
Yes
Ethnicity/Nationality
- White (American)
How sensitive is this character?
- sensitive to others' feelings
- mean, arrogant
Sense of humor
- Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence
- Average intelligence
- Smarter than most other characters
Physique
- average physique
- healthy but a geeky weakling
Main Adversary
Identity:
- none
- Male
Age:
- long-lived adults
Profession/status:
- servant
Eccentric/Smart/Dumb:
Yes
Eccentric:
- obsessed
- mentally ill
How much of work is main antagonist actually present in:
- an above average amount
How sensitive is this character?
- mean, arrogant
Sense of humor
- Mostly serious with occasional humor
Intelligence
- Smarter than most other characters
Physique
- healthy but a geeky weakling
Setting
How much descriptions of surroundings?
- 5 ()
United States
Yes
The US:
- Southeast
Small town?
Yes
Small town people:
- nice, like Andy/Opie/Aunt Bee
Misc setting
- fancy mansion
Style
Person
- mostly 1st
- rotating 1st
Accounts of torture and death?
- generic/vague references to death/punishment
Unusual Style:
- a lot of stream of consciousness
- No single main character?
- written like a journal/diary/letters
Amount of dialog
- roughly even amounts of descript and dialog
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Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s). | |
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