Celeste

Definitely not a favorite of mine from Andrews. Very predictable and I just couldn't stay focused or enjoy the book. I would not recommend this novel to others.

I cried, it was as if I was there. Loved the book.

Celeste, the first novel in Andrews' Gemini Series starts out quite a bit different than her previous novels, with a family of four whose mother who believes she literally sees and speaks with the spirits of her deceased ancestors. However, soon the familiar conventions we've come to expect from this author rear their tiresome heads. Daddy dies and Mommy gets crazy(er). The twins are kept at home, never attending school or making any friends, forced to focus almost all their time on trying to see the spirits as well. Then, even more tragic, the boy twin who is Mommy's favorite dies and Celeste is forced to pretend she's him for pretty much ever. One day, when she's like 16, a boy moves in next door, and if you've ever read anything by V.C. Andrews before you know what happens after that. I pretty much skimmed the last hundred pages because it was so predictable. However, I do enjoy that sort of storyline and this premise is different enough that I'm interested enough to read the rest of the series. My biggest question, and one that is not answered in this first volume, is whether crazy Mom can "really" see spirits (as some fictional characters can) or if she's an untreated schizophrenic. I'm leaning towards mental illness myself.

Awesome book. It has been awhile since I have read a series book that made me hunger for the next one. Could hardly pull myself away while reading this one.

A unique and different book about a girl named Celeste. She lives with her mother and twin brother, Noble, until her brother dies. It's just Celeste and her mother but then her mother forces Celeste to dress and act like her brother as an attempt to keep her more favored child alive.

This book is an absoulute must read. Of all the series I have read, this is my favorite.