Heaven (Andrews novel)

Heaven

Author	V. C. Andrews
Language	English
Series	Casteel series
Genre	Gothic horror Family saga
Publisher	Simon & Schuster
Publication date	November 1st, 1985
Publication place	United States
Media type	Print
Pages	440
ISBN	0671605364
Followed by	Dark Angel

Heaven is the first book in the Casteel series by author V. C. Andrews and was followed by Dark Angel, Fallen Hearts, Gates of Paradise, and Web of Dreams. It is also the first name of the main character. It was first published on November 1, 1985, and is one of Andrews' most popular works.

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In 1961 a ten-year-old Heaven Leigh Casteel is woken by her Granny and taken to the grave of Leigh 'Angel' Casteel. Granny tells Heaven this is her birth mother who died giving birth to Heaven. Granny then gives Heaven a beautiful doll that looks exactly like Heaven apart from its pale blonde hair. Heaven is stunned to learn that the doll is an exact replica of her mother Leigh. Granny tells her that this doll will lead Heaven to her mother's family in Boston, changing the course of her entire life forever.

Four years later, Heaven is now fourteen and still living in extreme poverty with her large and discontented family in a shack in the mountains of West Virginia near the town of Winnerow. Her father, Luke, is still haunted by the memory of his beloved first wife and rarely looks at Heaven or speaks to her. He is often absent and his second wife, Sarah, struggles to take care of Heaven and her half-siblings — Tom, Fanny, Keith, and Jane. The Casteel family is looked down upon by the rest of the town and often referred to as "hillbilly scum". Heaven begins to develop a relationship with the new boy, Logan Stonewall. Meanwhile, Luke spends most of his time in a local brothel, where he eventually contracts syphilis, causing Sarah's next child to be born dead. Heaven's grandmother passes away the same day. The stillbirth is the last straw for Sarah and she disappears, leaving a note. Luke is nowhere to be found, so the children are left to fend for themselves. Logan offers to help, but Heaven is too proud (and embarrassed) to admit that they are struggling. Heaven misses a lot of school, since she now has to be mother to the family, take care of the shack and her frail, somewhat senile grandfather.

Luke occasionally shows up with food to save the day, but his attempts to make steady money fail, and eventually he comes up with a plan to sell his children for $500 apiece. Keith and Jane go to a married couple, Fanny is bought by the local preacher, and Tom by a farmer. Heaven is left alone with her grandfather and Luke. One night Luke approaches Heaven and strokes her hair. Heaven feigns sleep, confused as to why Luke is finally showing an interest. Then her grandfather interrupts. Luke seems defensive, claiming Heaven is his and he can do what he wants, but Luke's father tells him that he needs to send Heaven away. Heaven does not realize what Luke's intentions were, and feels everyone is rejecting her now.

A few days later, Heaven is sold to Kitty and Cal Dennison. Kitty is controlling, obsessed with cleanliness, and inconsistent: sometimes being kind to Heaven and sometimes treating her like an unpaid maid. She constantly teases and torments her husband. Cal and Heaven develop a close relationship, partly as a result of Kitty's treatment. It is later revealed that Kitty was in love with Luke years before, and pregnant with his child. After Luke brought Heaven's mother back to town as his wife, Kitty attempted a home abortion, which went badly wrong. One day Kitty sees the portrait doll and becomes furious that the doll is the exact likeness of Leigh. In a fit of rage, Kitty burns the doll and Heaven tells Kitty she wishes she were dead. Kitty beats her unconscious. Cal finds Heaven and tries to comfort her, but he also kisses her passionately. Heaven resists, but Cal eventually pressures her into having sex with him. Although Heaven is overcome with guilt and shame after sleeping with him, the feeling of being needed is so important that she cannot say no to him.

Kitty becomes sick (later revealed to be breast cancer) and the three go back to Winnerrow to get help from Kitty's family. Heaven is briefly reunited with Tom and Fanny. Fanny seems happy with her new family, but she is distant with Heaven and seems to be avoiding her. Heaven tries to keep her distance from Logan but he eventually catches up and begs to see her. Heaven agrees to meet him the next day. When she goes back to the house, she is ambushed by Cal. Heaven pushes him away but Kitty's younger sister sees Cal touching Heaven's breast and quickly tells the family. Heaven meets Logan as promised and Logan confronts her about her relationship with Call. Heaven admits that she and Cal have slept together but it was coerced. Feeling betrayed, Logan runs away. Heaven returns to the hospital to find Kitty awake. Kitty tells Heaven that Luke was looking for her, wanting to apologize. Heaven now has two choices: live with Luke and his new wife, or find her mother's family in Boston and see if they will accept her. Unable to forgive her father for the way he treated her and for selling his children, Heaven decides to go to Boston. Cal drives Heaven to the airport but leaves quickly. Tom arrives to say goodbye, along with Fanny, who reveals the real reason she was avoiding Heaven: she is pregnant with the preacher's baby. She has to stay hidden so the preacher and his wife can pretend the baby is theirs, with the preacher's wife faking her own pregnancy. Fanny tells Heaven she loves her, then she and Tom leave.

While Heaven is waiting for her plane, she reads Kitty's obituary in the newspaper. She thinks of how Cal drove her all the way to the airport without mentioning that Kitty had died. Realising he wants to start a new life without her, Heaven is furious. Even though Cal had repeatedly claimed he loved her, he abandoned Heaven as soon as he could, just like Luke. All she can do now is hope she finds love and acceptance with her mother's family.

Lifetime produced an adaptation of Heaven that aired on July 27, 2019, starring Annalise Basso, Chris McNally, James Rittinger, Jessica Clement, Chris William Martin, and Julie Benz.^[1] A special edition of the film aired on August 3, 2019, that featured behind the scenes interviews with Basso, McNally, and Rittinger.

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• The Complete V. C. Andrews