The Umbrella Lady by V.C. Andrews - BOOK REVIEW

A young girl who has lost her father finds herself at the mercy of a mysterious woman who is not quite what she seems.

Left on a train platform in an unfamiliar village, little Saffron Faith Anders is certain her father will return shortly, just like he promised. She holds out hope even as the hours pass and the station grows dark. When a strange old woman with a large umbrella approaches and inquiries about her situation, Saffron doesn’t immediately trust the imposing do-gooder, but with the chances of her father returning growing ever slimmer, she agrees to rest at the old woman’s house.

Her stay was supposed to be for a few minutes, hours at most, but soon, Saffron soon realizes she has been confined to a house of dark secrets and is now at the mercy of the enigmatic Umbrella Lady. One minute grandmotherly and the next wickedly cruel, she shears Saffron’s hair, burns all the clothes she had in her suitcase, and pretends that the photo of a young girl hanging on her bedroom wall is no one in particular. When strange letters arrive from Saffron’s father, claiming that he will send for her shortly, hope returns to her young heart. But Saffron soon discovers that those who claim to love you will often hurt you the most....

In the latest V.C. Andrews thriller, a young girl who has lost her parents finds herself at the mercy of a mysterious woman who is not quite what she seems.

This book was a surprising read, as I quickly found myself invested in the main protagonist – this was a different avenue to have a child narrating the story, as most VCA protagonists are deep in adolescence whereas Saffron is a character we follow from childhood into her early adolescence.

Suffering as a character was definitely an interesting and well developed lead, she actually had more awareness and agency than past heroines in this genre. The transition from innocence to experience (as Philip Pullman describes the many changes of growing up) was well done and the contrast between childhood Saffron and her slightly older self was apparent in her thoughts and decisions throughout.

So the story itself sees Saffron abandoned at a train station, having escaped from a fire that saw the death of her mother and her flaky father leaving her on a bench - his promise to return is unfulfilled and she is later collected by The Umbrella Lady, who becomes her unofficial guardian.

As the weeks progress into months and years, our protagonist soon realises that this situation is permanent and the characteristics of the Umbrella Lady was actually an interesting aspect. Maisie shifted from sweet to sometimes disturbing and downright hysterical, which fed into her eccentric mannerisms as she was determined to make a young ward a “proper lady”. This book did take me a few pages to realise it was set in modern times - especially when taking into consideration that all three of Saffron's responsible adults were anything but - this book did give some classic Flowers in the Attic vibes, the claustrophobic scenes of being unable to leave the house in particular were relatable... especially after this past year.

This novel really had me second-guessing my thoughts on each character, especially when you realise that Saffron’s childhood was not as perfect as she initially thought - especially with the strained relationship between her parents before the fire. Saffron also starts to question both what she remembers and what she’s been told.

The dynamic between Saffron and the Umbrella Lady was the beating heart of this story and it kept me hooked from the first page. Underneath it all, Umbrella Lady actually had Saffron's best interests at heart. It's rare - especially in the V.C. universe - to see this kind of relationship unfold.

Ghostwriter Andrew Neiderman really captured a beautifully gothic coming of age story here. It had its fair share of dark themes, which complimented the emotionally complex story of a girl learning the harsh realities of growing up and what really counts when family. I would also like to give praise to the narrator Emily Lawrence, who really brought the story to life through my experience listening to the audiobook.

This was a four star read for me - as stated, once I started I really couldn’t put the book down till I reached the final page - and I for one cannot wait to read Out of The Rain this autumn.