chantilly20's Full Review: V. C. Andrews - Runaways
This book is second and last in a series that started with, "Orphans".
In "Orphans",the book was about four girls that were around the age of twelve years old. They all were sent to homes but something went wrong. They all ended up at The Lakewood House and became fast friends. The house is ran by Louise and Gordon Tooey.
The Tooey's aren't what they seem to be. Louise was over heard telling a couple that was going to take Butterfly. They were told she had a lot of health problems. Louise has no intention of letting any of the kids go because they would lose money from the Government. Gordon is mean to all the kids. He walked in on one of the girls while she was taking a bath. They decide they need to get away from there. So they leave late one night in Gordon's Station Wagon with his Gas Credit Card.
The girls are:
Butterfly-Janet, she is petite ,fragile. The other girls always come to her aid. They protect her. Everyone that sees her thinks she's a lot younger,around twelve years old,but she is almost seventeen years old. When she gets very nervous about something she goes into some kind of emotional psychological seizure. All the other girls would gather around her,heads together and repeat,"We'll always be sisters. What happens to one happens to all. When one is sad,we'll all be sad. When one is happy we'll all be happy." This would always bring Butterfly back.
One thing I don't understand is in the first book Butterfly wasn't this fragile. She stood up for herself. In this second book she acts too childish.
Crystal, is the one with the brains. She is very intelligent.
Brooke, is more like a tomboy. She's the one that really tells this story of their runaway.
Raven, is the pretty one. She was the only one out of the four that got to live with her Mother for the first Ten to Twelve years. Her Mother was a drunk and a drug user and one night she was put in jail. Raven had to go live with her Uncle and his Family which didn't last. Her Mother was never seen again. She has the street smarts of the bunch.
The night they decide to run away,Brooke takes Gordon's Car Keys and Credit Card and off they go heading for California. Brooke is behind the wheel.
They run into some problems along the way. Their adventure starts.
The first thing they do is run into some Bikers that give them some bad advise on traveling. The girls end up on a back road and are stopped by the Bikers. They want money. Brooke floors it and runs over some of their Motorcycles.
That night they try to sleep in the car but are waken up by an Elderly Man. He tells them they are on his property and invites them to come to his home. It is a farm and the couples names are Norman and Nana. The girls love it there. Their Son shows up one morning and tells the girls to leave.
Next they pick up a hitch hiker. A girl by the name of Sunshine. She tells them some wild stories of her travels. She has been all over the States. They wake up one morning with all their money gone. Sunshine had left in the middle of the night with their money. Now they are broke.
They come up with an idea that maybe under the car seats they might find some money. They do,but they find something else."Cocaine". Gordon's Cocaine. So they don't get caught with it,they empty it into the wind. Now they know for sure they can't turn back. Gordon would kill them for dumping his cocaine. They only found a few dollars under the seats so they hope to find work.
Now they are back on the road not knowing where they're going to get the money to continue to California.
They come upon a Restaurant called "Crossroads". They stop there to get something to eat and end up working there for a while. Some money disappears and the owners Son says they took it. So they're on the road again.
They break down on the road. It's the Water Pump. Brooke walks to a station about two miles down the road. She meets Todd Mayton. He works on their car. Brooke and Todd fall in love,but Brooke and the others have to leave to follow their dreams. Brooke and Todd promise to keep in touch.
Next they meet an elderly Lady out in a parking lot of a Restaurant. Her name is Theresa James. She tells them she had missed her ride home so the girls give her a ride. She tells them stories about her family. They find out when they let her out that she is homeless. Her home is a Cardboard Box.
On the road again they see a lady trying to get someone to stop to help her. They stop. Her husband has had a heart attack back at her car. She also has two small Children. Crystal saves her husband by giving him CPR. The girls drive the families car to the hospital.
The Police show up. One is to take the girls back to their car. He had ran a check on the plates of their car. They are found out. He takes them to the Police Station for questioning. The Police find out they are runaways from their Foster Home. Gordon is called,but he says he will not press any charges all he wants is the girls back. Really all he wants is his Cocaine. What will he do when he finds out what they did with it?
I'm not telling the rest of this story. All I'll say is Butterfly finds a home and Brooke and Todd get Married.
All of the V.C. Andrews books that I have read have been GREAT!!
Even though Virginia Andrews has passed away,her Family fines a writer to continue with her stories and to create additional novels of which this is one.
The culmination of this summer s Orphans series in which Brooke, Crystal, Raven, and Butterfly escape from their grim foster home. Featured author on ...More at Buy.com Marketplaces
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