Runaways (Orphans) 
The spellbinding Orphans series concludes in this thrilling new novel from V.C. Andrews®...
"All for one and one for all" was the girls' motto. In the grim foster home for orphans run by Louise and Gordon Tooey, at least Brooke, Crystal, Raven, and Butterfly had each other. Calling themselves "sisters," together they could forget the past and dream of a new chance...a real home. Then they discovered a secret even more haunting than Gordon's heavy boots pounding on the wooden floors. Their fragile hopes of a better life shattered, they escaped the only way they could. Soon they were runaways in a borrowed car, desperately wishing to wake up one morning in a place of sunshine and love.
Raven hoped to be a singer, Butterfly wanted to be a dancer, Crystal planned for college, and Brooke privately hoped to find her mother in California. On the open road the chains of sadness that had bound them seemed to melt away, and the kindness of strangers made a secure future seem almost real. But the highway was a dangerous place, and soon they were penniless and more vulnerable than ever. Alone under the wide western sky, they had only each other to ask if they should give up their dreams...or if they were really halfway to a haven of safety and happiness....
Reviews
Runaways
V.C. Andrews
Pocket star books
Imagine being a sixteen year old girl who had been an orphan ever since she was born, finally adopted, then put back in a foster home run by a very evil man who doesn't let you do anything and buys the worst food. Wouldn't you run away too? V.C. Andrews' Runaways, the last book of the Orphans mini series, is about four orphans. They like to think of themselves as "sisters". Throughout the years they have known each other they have created a very loving relationship for one another, almost like sisters. Nothing can break they tight bond of love they have for one another. The foster home was run by a very evil couple who won't let anyone adopt any of the kids in the foster home. After attacking crystal, one of "the sisters", they all decide that enough was enough. They were going to run away, no matter where they were going, they always had each other. That was all they needed to survive.
Brooke, probably the strongest of "the sisters", both physically and emotionally, was once adopted by a super model who wanted to take her away from her softball dream. Brooke is a very athletic sixteen year old with thick blonde hair. Brooke was the third to enter "the sisters". She was the one who thought of running away first, and made it possible. Throughout the story, she is the one in the driver's seat, with all of the control. Crystal, the brains of "the sisters", was adopted by a couple who wasn't able to have children. She quickly fell in love with a boy as smart as her, and everything was perfect. But one day her parents died in a car crash, and she had to go back to a foster home, where no one wanted her. This amazing sixteen year old was the first one to be there for Butterfly and created "the sisters". Butterfly is very small and delicate. She was adopted by a women in a wheel chair who used to be a prima ballerina. She forced Butterfly to learn the dance, but Butterfly failed her mother. Butterfly's mother quickly went crazy and her dad sent her back to a foster home. She is very sensitive, quiet, and she's the one who keeps "the sisters" so strong. Raven is the prettiest of "the sisters". Her mother was a drunk and she did a lot of drugs. When her mother got arrested, she had to go live with her evil uncle and her aunt. Her uncle abused her until she told the school, who quickly put her in a foster home.
This realistic fiction book was the last book in a wonderful mini series called Orphans. Throughout this book, even the whole series, there are many turning points and twists. There is a lot of action and the plot pulls you in from the beginning all the way to the end and Andrews wants you to read even more. The characters are so believable. You end up feeling what they feel and you can put yourself in their place as they go through the dangerous events through the run away. When you read this book, this series even, I guarantee you'll love it.
Runaways is a good read for young girls who aren't ready for the more adult themes of the old books. I liked the four main characters, although they all seemed pretty goody-goody and naive for the life they had led so far. Not that that's a bad thing but it's just not realistic. Brooke was my favorite, because I'm the most like her. (Even married a mechanic!) The story is interesting, though anyone that's been out in real world America knows that they would have encountered a lot more problems and a lot less convienently-timed jobs handed their way. But the main theme of the story, I think, is that if you want something bad enough, if you sacrifice you just might get it. That and the power of friendship.