If There Be Thorns

First lines

Whenever Dad didn't drive me home from school, a yellow school bus would let me off at an isolated spot where I would recover my bike from the nearest ravine, hidden there each morning before I stepped onto the bus.

About this book

*If There Be Thorns* is a novel by Virginia Andrews which was published in 1981. It is the third book in the Dollanganger series. The story takes place in the year 1982. The book is narrated by two half-brothers, Jory and Bart Sheffield. Jory is a handsome, talented young man who wants to follow his mother Cathy in her career in the ballet, while Bart, who is unattractive and clumsy, feels he is outshone by Jory. By now, Cathy and Chris live together as common-law husband and wife. To hide their history, they tell the boys and other people they know that Chris was Paul's younger brother. Unable to have more children, Cathy secretly adopts Cindy, the daughter of one her former dance students, who was killed in an accident, because she longs to have a child that is hers and Chris's. Initially against it, Chris comes to accept the child. Lonely from all the attention Jory and Cindy are receiving, Bart befriends an elderly neighbor that moved in next door, who invites him over for cookies and ice cream and encourages him to call her "Grandmother." Jory also visits the old lady next door, and she reveals that she is actually his grandmother. Jory initially doesn't believe her, and avoids her at all costs. The old woman and Bart, on the other hand, soon develop an affectionate friendship, and the woman does her best to give Bart whatever he wants, provided that Bart promises to keep her gifts—-and their relationship-—a secret from his mother. ---------- Also contained in: [If There Be Thorns / Seeds of Yesterday](https://openlibrary.org/works/OL16526063W)

Themes & subjects

About the author

V.C. Andrews

6 June 1923 – 19 December 1986

V. C. Andrews - vcandrewsbooks.com **Cleo Virginia Andrews, better known as V. C. Andrews or Virginia C. Andrews, was an American novelist.** She was born in Portsmouth, Virginia. Andrews died of breast cancer at the age of 63. Andrews' novels combine Gothic horror and family saga, revolving around family secrets and forbidden love, and sometimes include a rags-to-riches story.Wikipedia Born:Cleo Virginia Andrews, Jun 6, 1923, Portsmouth, Virginia, U.S. Died:Dec 19, 1986, Virginia Beach, Virginia, U.S. Occupation:Novelist