Saturday, August 15, 2015

Five books featuring runaway parents

Jeff Somers is the author of Lifers, the Avery Cates series from Orbit Books, Chum from Tyrus Books, and We Are Not Good People from Pocket/Gallery. He has published over thirty short stories as well.

At B & N Reads Somers tagged "five novels in which parents ran off and left their children to fend for themselves—with powerful consequences," including:
Flowers in the Attic, by V.C. Andrews

Okay, Corrine Dollanganger doesn’t literally run away from her family. In fact, when her husband dies and leaves her deep in debt, she brings her children with her to her parents’ estate, where her own mother initially insists the children live in the attic, hidden from their grandfather. Later, seeking to ensure her inheritance and have a clean slate for a new marriage, Corrine turns into the villain of the story when she increasingly ignores her own children—making her metaphorical flight from her family very real, very sad, and very horrifying. Corrine Dollanganger proves you don’t have to physically leave in order to run away from your family, though most readers would likely agree they’d prefer parents just go one and run if the alternative is imprisonment and, ultimately, attempted murder.
Read about the other entries on the list.

Flowers in the Attic is among Nicole Dieker's top nine books even non-readers will love.

--Marshal Zeringue