12 year old Cathy loses her father in a tragic car accident on his birthday leading to a move from her middle class home to her wealthy, as of yet unknown, grandparents' mansion in the hills of Virginia. She and her 3 siblings are brought by their mother to her parents' home to find that not only are the mysterious grandparents wealthy, the fatally ill grandfather does not know of the kids existence and they must be hidden until his death.
One night turns into many months and the four children continue to live in a tiny hidden bedroom and entertain themselves in a large, dirty attic. The grandmother shows hate towards the children, making their lives increasingly miserable, as their mother spends less and less time with them and becomes increasingly distant. With only each other for company, and without the sun and the freedom of being outdoors, the children grow weak and the youngest become emotionally and physically stunted. Cathy and her older brother begin to have feelings for each other that should be felt for classmates they won't ever have. Eventually, the youngest brother gets sick that prompts Cathy's medically inclined brother to discover that the Mother and Grandmother have been slowly poisoning the children and the remaining three siblings escape the mansion and their murderous family. | ||
Plot & Themes Tone of book? - depressed Time/era of story - 1980's-1999 Family, struggle with Yes Struggle with: - Grandma Is this an adult or child's book? - Adult or Young Adult Book Main Character Gender - Female Profession/status: Age: - a teen Ethnicity/Nationality Main Adversary Identity: - Female Age: - 60's-90's Profession/status: How sensitive is this character? Sense of humor - Mostly serious with occasional humor Intelligence - Average intelligence Setting How much descriptions of surroundings? - 9 () Misc setting Writing Style Sex in book? Yes What kind of sex: - vague references only - descript of kissing - touching of anatomy Amount of dialog - roughly even amounts of descript and dialog |