The book: "Flowers in the Attic" by VC Andrews
Of course I read it, everyone was reading it
22(66.7%)
Lots of my friends read it but I stayed away, do you know what that book is about?
0(0.0%)
I've heard of it, but eh
4(12.1%)
The who in the what now?
2(6.1%)
Ticky in the attic!
5(15.2%)
Your age range please.
0-20
1(3.4%)
21-30
11(37.9%)
31-40
16(55.2%)
41-50
1(3.4%)
age has no meaning
0(0.0%)
From my perspective: this book was everywhere when I was in junior high, and I wanted to know what the fuss was. Given the subject matter it's the only book my mother ever directly told me I wasn't allowed to read.** So I had a friend check it out of the library on her card and smuggled it home. It was certainly interesting, but I didn't love it and never read the sequels. Mom found it while she was cleaning and I got into some trouble for reading it, but mostly we talked about the subject matter and why she had told me not to read it in the first place.
**I was allowed into the adult section of the library after the sixth grade. The only standard book rule in our house was Mom had to know what I was reading before I read it and would occasionally offer advice. (When I wanted to read 1984 in 1984 at age 11, she suggested I wait a few years so I would get it. That seemed reasonable to me and I ended up reading it as a sophomore.) Anything she was nervous about she would either check with the Lit teachers at school (she worked in the school office) or read herself when I finished with it. I unintentionally introduced my mom to a lot of authors and books that way.
I wasn't grossed out by the book, just not very invested in what might happen next.
The movie of FitA was TERRIBLE.
Heh, Mom mostly let me read way above my level but was still careful about anything with obvious sex or too much violence, so this book set of all of her sensors.
I just had the discussion with my mom this last Xmas about how there was no book in the house that was taboo for me to know about, but there was definitely a limit to what I was allowed to pick up. But rather than "oh no that's not for you, put that away, where did you even get that" it was "now is not the time for you to be reading that, but when you're older you can check it out." And even in that it was implied that it was my level of comprehension that was at issue not so much the subject matter. The only two books I specifically remember being an issue were Little Birds by Anais Nin and Tropic of Cancer by Henry Miller. So yeah... I could pretty much read whatever, I still usually chose to find my own books rather than what was around the house.