The Unwelcomed Child by V.C. Andrews ……….. A Review

"My mother had looked into the face of evil so many times she knew what it was. It was me. I was born without a soul…" 
                                   The Unwelcomed Child by V.C. Andrews

Satan's child. Pure evil. Or an innocent baby victimized by superstitions and hard fought beliefs? I could not put this book down! It's horror, but it's psychological horror. V.C. Andrews plays tricks with our minds. Leads us down a path, but veers to another. But there is so much more to The Unwelcomed Child than the psychological horror; there's first love, and first passions awakened…

Elle was born from an unwanted pregnancy, an act deemed evil by her over-the-top religious Grandmother. Abandoned right after her birth by her Mother, who was escaping both the pregnancy and the prison she called home, Elle was suspected to be pure evil, born from an unholy act. To keep Satan from his ultimate prize, Elle was forced into a life of confinement, laborious housework, strict religious teachings and no outside contact with the living world all under the watchful eye of her Grandmother… until one day Elle had a chance meeting. Was this the start of the sin that was just waiting to emerge?

What can I say about this book? It was a definite page turner. I was slowly pulled into the book innocently enough, with a well crafted story and more than well written characters, but then I was so wrapped up in the protagonist, Elle, I had to keep reading into the long hours of the night to see what was going to happen next. There are so many dynamics to the story too- What  creates the relationship between Mother and Daughter? What makes us the person we are? What is that fine line of protecting and suffocating? Can evil acts ever be justified? The story is filled with psychological horror, the way Elle was raised in such an atmosphere void of much normalcy, but then Elle starts to become a person, with feelings, a curious mind and questions that just can't be beat out of her. Is her Grandmother truly guarding Elle & protecting her from the devil inside her, or punishing her for a deed not of her own doing? The turning point in Elle's life, in the book, will have you on the edge of your seat wondering which direction V.C. Andrews is going to take you.

I felt the horror and fears of Elle's everyday life, but then I also felt that giddiness of falling in love for the first time. The plot was building up as the pages turned, my heart pounding at times, and then without warning I was gently brought back to the real world. Sometimes a story can drop you off a cliff at the end, but this one did not, and I found that to be very satisfying. I thoroughly enjoyed The Unwelcomed Child! If psychological horror is not the norm for your reading tastes, but this story sounds intriguing to you, I would recommend giving The Unwelcomed Child a try. It's a well crafted story and a great example of this type of genre.

It has been probably over 20 years since I've read any horror, and thank to the folks at Pocket Books, I had the opportunity to rediscover V.C. Andrews and a genre that I had overlooked for some time. Thank you Pocket Books! Putting some "horror" back in the TBR pile! The Unwelcomed Child by V.C. Andrews will be available in Kindle Edition and a Kindle Edition on January 21st!