I’ve got another review for you all. I have finished the second book in the Dollanganger series Petals on the Wind. Like I warned with my first, if you haven’t read it and you want to, then proceed with caution. There may be spoilers ahead.

This book is just as a good as the first. It also sends you on just as much of an emotional roller coaster, if not more so. It made me cry at one point, and there was one character that I wanted to rip his head off.

So this book picks up right where the other left off. The kids are trying to head south. While on a bus heading through South Carolina, Carrie starts trowing up. Everybody starts fussing about it, but this lady, Henny, goes to the kids and helps them. She then tells the bus driver to go to the place where she works and lives, which was not on the bus route. Henny introduces them to Dr. Paul Sheffield.

I’m not going to walk you through the whole books step by step, so, to make a long story short, Paul takes them in, makes them all better, and becomes their legal guardian when their mother doesn’t come after being sent a summons (shocker).

I had to keep reminding myself that these books took place in the ’60s and not in modern times. There were things done and said that annoyed be based on how things are now. But back 50 years ago, they were completely normal.

Chris and Cathy really become their own person. Carrie, not so much. She never really got over Cory’s death, and she couldn’t overlook the fact that her growth had been stunted because of the three years and four months they had spent in the attic. She pretty much stayed in a deep depression who whole life, even if she did put on a facade of a happy face. Unfortunately, she was a little too good at acting.

Paul gave the kids everything they ever wanted and made sure that they were happy. Chris became the doctor he wanted to be. Went to Duke University, had an internship at the Mayo Clinic. Cathy got to become a ballerina. She didn’t quite get to be a prima ballerina, but she did get to dance in New York and travel the world. The biggest thing that held her back was the fact that she wouldn’t let go of revenge against her mother and grandmother. This ended up with her having two sons by two dead men.

Now, she did get involved with Dr. Paul and eventually married him. She also married a ballet dancer Julian who was an utter ass, but that had more to do with the way his parents raised him more than anything.

I do have to say, Cathy got on my nerves some with her revenge plan. I won’t reveal any of that. I will let you read it for yourself, and you should. But she was a great mother. She doted on her children and made sure she was a better mother than her mother had ever been to her. And I felt really sorry for her at the end of the book. Death has plagued her life. She can’t help but feel responsible for all of them, even though she probably couldn’t have done anything to prevent most of the deaths.

While Chris kept telling her to forgive and forget, that God would exact the revenge on their mother when he saw fit, Cathy wouldn’t listen. She kept on with her plan. But, and I’m going to give you a little insight into my mind, maybe God (or whatever Universal power you want to believe in) was exacting his revenge the way he wanted, through Cathy. That what Cathy did is what she was meant to do. Just a little thought for you.

There is a lot more to this story. It fills the span of around 12 years of their lives. There is probably more death and heartache in this book than the first, but it’s definitely worth a read. It really makes you think about religion, society, and the stress that both of them puts on us. And if you’re wondering, yes, Cathy and Chris get to see their mother again in person. Trust me, it’s a great meeting.

Make this book series your next read. I can’t wait to get finished with the third.