The Orphan Series

By: Nicole Shalit

VC Andrews has written a number of book series that many of us have heard of. My favorite of her books are the Orphan series. The series is about four girls, who are orphans, and runaways. They all have a few things in common, their lives aren’t how they pictured them, and their families are anything but perfect. The first installment of this series, Butterfly, found its way to the bookshelves June 1998. Janet had lived in an orphanage for as long as she could remember, until one day Sanford and Celine Delorice came and whisked her away. She loved her new father, he ws kind and handsome. Celiene, who was paralized and forced to spend her days in a wheelchair, was the most elgant and beautiful women she had ever seen. Janet suddenly had it all, a family, a grand estate, everything a girl could want. It was a fairy tale come try, or was it? Is the grass really green on the other side? She soon finds out her new mother has big plans for her. She is to spend all her time practicing ballet and become a star. Suddenly everything she was looking forward to (family outings, meeting friends, fun time) is flushed away. What can she do? If she fails as a ballarina will she be sent back to the orphanage? Soon it seems as if her becoming a ballarina is the only thing making Celiene happy, and holds her parents marriage together. Can she be strong and hold her family together? Or will she give in and go back to her troubled past? The only way to find out is to read book 1 of the Orphan series. The Orphan series has been published in many countries. Below are a few of the different covers that can be found for Butterfly. Bellow is the US cover.

Book two of this series is Crystal which came out July 1998. Crystal was also an orphan. She was full of optamism when the Morrises chose her among all the others in the orphanage. Karl, her new dad is proud at how well she adapts and how well her grades are from the moment she gets to her new school. Thelma, her new mother makes her feel wanted for the first time in her life. She can’t believe it, she even finds herself a boyfriend, which her parents approve of. Crystal soon learns her mother is more in to her soap operas than real life, and it is often as though she can’t tell the difference. Can Crystal over come the sadness she discovers hides in the mist of her family, and the tragedies that are around the corner? Book 2 holds the answers.

Brooke, the third book came out August 1998. At two years old Brookes mother abandoned her with only a pink ribbon in her hair to remember her by. She is taken in by Peter Thompson, who owns a glass factory, and his spoiled beauty queen wife Pamela. Brooke is amazed at her new life. She has a masion to roam around, a private all girls school to attend, and new clothes when ever she wants. When Brookes talents on the softball field are revieled, Pamela will stop at nothing to squash the “masculenity” out of her. She quickly enrolls Brooke in piano lessons, photo shoots, and bestows upon Brooke her over obsessive beauty rituals. All she wants to do is play baseball and make friends like her. Getting fed up with all the fuss of beauty pageants, and the lack softball in her life, Brooke starts rebelling. Finally she chops off all her hair causing Pamela to faint and possibly have a heart attack. Will she be sent back to her troubled past at the orphanage? Read book 3 for more information.

The forth book is called Raven. Raven is different from the other girls, she isn’t technically an orphan. Raven lives with her drug-abusing mother in a rundown apartment in the slums of their town. Her father left when she was young, being that he was Cuban and Raven inherited many traits from him, she was forced to face the racial bigotry alone. One night she is woken only to find her mother has been arrested and that she is now being sent to live with her uncle Reuben. Uncle Reuben and Aunt Clara are concerned about their reputations around their quaint town, and try hide Raven as much as possible inside the house. Her cousin jennifer finds great fun in seeing Raven get in trouble for everything. Jennifer goes so far as to plant marijuana in Ravens backpack at school, however Raven smartly disposes of it before being caught. One night at a partly jennifer gets drunk and claims to have been raped. Of course these things never happened before Raven got there, and now she is blamed for this as well. Reuben beats her with a belt, and contuies to do some until one day in gym class the coach sees the welts on her legs forcing Raven to exposed her uncles abusive behavior. Where will she go when CPS takes her away? The answers lie within book 4 of this series.

The final novel in this series, Runaways, find the four girls together in a home called The Lakewood House. The house is run by a sweet lady named Louise Tooney and her husband Gordon. Raven soon discovers that Louise has made it so that no one can adopt hte girls from this house. The four meet a girl named Meg who likes making trouble for them. The last straw is when Meg plants cigarettes in the girls rooms. Brooke forms an idea for the four of them to run away together. Not wanting to loose each other, because this is the first real family they have ever had, the others (except for Crystal) quickly jump in and start making the Plans. They decided that California is the best place to go. Raven hopes to be a singer, Janet wants to be a ballerina, Brooke thinks her mother fled to California, and Crystal, who finally agrees to the plan after Gordon sees her naked and tries to toucher, wants to go to college out west. They steal Gordons car and set off on their journey. After rescuing a man who has a heart attack on the side of the road, the police quickly catch them, and they are returned to The Lakewood House. Gordon asks where the cocaine they had found in his car was, and they sent him on a wild goose chase giving them the chance to run again. This time they are taken in by a couple on a Navajo reservation. Will Gordon find them again? Will they get to California and follow their dreams? The conclusion to Orphan series will fill you in.