#176. "Heaven" by V.C. Andrews

Among the young heroines of V.C. Andrews' novels, few are as curious as Heaven Casteel. She starts the story an outcast in her society for no other reason than her financial status. Living on the dirty edges of town, she does her best to keep her family afloat without losing the respect of her peers. The issue is that as a young girl, she's unable to have a larger influence over her own trajectory in life. The results feature the patented run of twists, finding the reader leaning forward and wondering what will happen next. While the latter half fails to capture the intensity of the early run, there's still enough here for fans of the morbid, desperately searching for the moment when Heaven's life will break free of its torment and give her a sigh of relief. If the best that can be said about "Heaven" is that the reader will have no plausible way of predicting where the story ends after a few pages, then this ranks as another success.
The first half of the story centers around the implosion of the Casteel family. Anyone who has read an Andrews novel will be sure to hold onto dread as the early moments of respite don't hold for long. While there's a clear affection among the younger family, the reality of knowing that their separation is inevitable. There is a cruelty written with the familiar anguish that the author brings to these characters, finding the thread slowly unraveling until the entire picture is a mess. The shock derives from a family whose desperation outweighs the need for love and trust. As a result, Heaven's journey transitions into something a bit more absurd and at times less enjoyable.

This isn't to say that "Heaven" is without its memorable turns of dysfunctional role models. Upon her adoption, Heaven has a particularly harrowing experience being washed by her mentally ill mother. The sinister undertones slowly boil to the surface as the paradise turns into imprisonment and suddenly there is a need to reunite with her family. Without delving into the juicy twists and turns that define a typical Andrews read, this is another case of letting sensibilities take the night off and embrace the trashiness of characters who are self-involved, unable to properly care for anyone around them. While Heaven remains the altruistic center, the rest forms a chaos that works as nightmare fuel. 

While "Heaven" may never reach the highs of "Flowers in the Attic," there is still a lot to love about Andrews as a writer. Her ability to craft leads who are vulnerable yet frustrating remains her strongsuit and her ability to draw the reader in to a cavalcade of disturbing adult characters allows the world to remain sinister. Yes, this is a novel full of bad tastes and plenty of uncomfortable subplots. However, one doesn't turn to these novels for safety. There is something thrilling about the danger of entering a world that's dark and melodramatic. While the prose isn't as fulfilling as other novels, the larger work still accomplishes the good times readers want out of Andrews. Heaven is a compelling character nonetheless, and that helps to carry any mediocrity into a worthwhile read for fans of the genre.