“Love doesn’t always come when you want it to. Sometimes it just happens, despite your will.”
Flowers in the Attic is a 1979 horror book by V.C. Andrews and the first entry in her Dollanganger series. The story follows the Dollanganger children: Cathy, Chris and their younger siblings: Cory and Carrie. After the sudden death of their father, their mother takes the children to live with their wealthy grandparents in Virginia. However, upon arrival, they are confined to the attic, with their mother telling them that their grandfather cannot know they exist. As days turn into weeks, months and then years, the children’s captivity becomes more harrowing and the siblings are forced to rely on each other for comfort and survival. Dark, twisted and completely captivating with its themes of neglect, family dysfunction, the psychological impact of abuse and the resilience of the human spirit, if you loved V.C. Andrews’ story, join us at What We Reading for the best books like Flowers in the Attic!
Call Me Mummy – Tina Baker
Kicking off our list of the best books like Flowers in the Attic is Tina Baker’s Call Me Mummy. Glamorous, stylish and beautiful Mummy has everything any woman could possibly want. Except for a daughter of her own. When she sees Kim, heavily pregnant, clued to her phone and ignoring her eldest daughter, she does what anyone else would. She takes her. Except the foul-mouthed Tonya is hardly the daughter Mummy was hoping for.
Elsewhere, Kim is quickly branded ‘scummy mummy’, the negligent mother who doesn’t deserve to have any of her children. Haunted by the memories of her own childhood, she begins to spiral, turning on those who care for her the most. Whilst they are worlds apart, Mummy and Kim have more in common than they would imagine, though it is the five-year-old Tonya who finds herself caught in the middle.
Forbidden – Tabitha Suzuma
Seventeen-year-old Lochan and sixteen-year-old Maya have always felt more like friends than siblings. Together, they have stepped in for their wayward, alcoholic mother to take care of their three younger siblings. Taking on the role of de facto guardians, both Lochan and Maya have had to grow up fast. And the daily stresses of their lives – and the way in which they understand each other completely – have brought them closer than most other siblings find themselves.
In fact, they have become so close that they have fallen in love. Their forbidden romance quickly blooms into a deep, desperate love. They know it is wrong and needs to stop. But they can’t seem to halt something that feels so right for them. As Tabitha Suzuma’s Forbidden follows these two young carers, it soon becomes clear that a love this devastating isn’t capable of throwing up a happy ending.
Speak – Laurie Halse Anderson
Another coming-of-age book similar to Flowers in the Attic comes from Laurie Halse Anderson in Speak. From the very beginning of her time at Merryweather High, Melinda knows that, when the school says they want to hear what she has to say, it’s a big fat lie. After calling the cops on an end-of-summer party, she’s found herself friendless and a social outcast. As time progresses, she practically becomes mute, barely speaking to anyone. Her only outlet is her art class.
And it is through her artwork that she is able to face what really happened at that party: a harrowing assault from an upperclassman. A guy who is still at the school and, therefore, still a threat to her. When he attempts another violent encounter with her, however, Melinda fights back, refuses to be silent and finally absolves herself. Powerful and believable, Speak is a tale of disenfranchised teenagers and the importance of finding your own voice.
The Roanoke Girls – Amy Engel
Lane Roanoke is fifteen years old when she moves in with her grandparents and cousin at the rural family estate following her mother’s suicide. Over the course of one long, hot summer, Lane is shown all of the benefits and privileges of being one of the rich and beautiful Roanoke girls.
However, what Lane doesn’t realise is that being a Roanoke girl carries with it a terrible legacy. Either the girls run, or they die. There is a darkness at the heart of Roanoke, and when Lane discovers its insidious pull, she is forced to make her choice. With dark gothic vibes and a creepy rural estate, it should come as no surprise why we’ve included Amy Engel’s The Roanoke Girls in our list of books like Flowers in the Attic!
The Secret History – Donna Tartt
If the psychological elements and themes of control in Flowers in the Attic were something you loved, another dark and twisted book like it is Donna Tartt’s The Secret History. The story follows a group of brilliant and eccentric misfits who, under the tutelage of their charismatic classics professor are taught to think and live a different way to everyone else in society.
But, as they are encouraged to step further and further beyond the boundaries of normal morality, their humanity begins to slip. Gradually, these students descend into obsession to corruption and betrayal before finally arriving at pure terrifying evil.
Check Out The Best Books Like The Secret History
Room – Emma Donoghue
If you’re looking for a book similar to Flowers in the Attic that celebrates resilience, Emma Donoghue’s Room is a must-read. To five-year-old Jack, Room is the entire world. It is where he was born and raised, where he lives with his Ma, where he learned to eat, sleep, read and play. Every night, he is safely tucked away in the wardrobe where he is meant to be asleep by the time Old Nick visits.
Whilst Room is home to Jack, it is a prison to Ma. The place where she and her son have been held captive by Old Nick for seven years. Through her ingenuity, determination and unwavering motherly love, she has fashioned a life for the pair of them. But she knows it isn’t enough. And she has devised a plan to escape, one that relies on a fair slice of luck and the bravery of her little boy. Told entirely through the energetic language of Jack, Room is an uplifting portrait of the bond between a parent and their children.
The Secret Keeper – Kate Morton
Another one of the best books like Flowers in the Attic, The Secret Keeper is a historical fiction mystery novel by Kate Morton. During a summer party at her family’s farm in the English countryside, sixteen-year-old Laurel has run off to her tree house and is happily dreaming of her future.
She sees a stranger approaching the home from the long winding road that leads up to it, and watches as her mother speaks to him. Before the afternoon has passed, Laurel will witness a shocking crime. A crime that threatens to shatter everything she thought she knew about her family, and especially about her seemingly perfect, doting, loving mother. Fast forward fifty years and Laurel’s family are gathering for another party at the estate – her mother’s ninetieth birthday. Realising this may be her final opportunity, Laurel searches for the answers to the questions she has carried with her all her life.
Part-time reader, part-time rambler, and full-time Horror enthusiast, James has been writing for What We Reading since 2022. His earliest reading memories involved Historical Fiction, Fantasy and Horror tales, which he has continued to take with him to this day. James’ favourite books include The Last (Hanna Jameson), The Troop (Nick Cutter) and Chasing The Boogeyman (Richard Chizmar).
