Flowers in the Attic by V.C. Andrews

I have heard of this book before, but I didn't really know what it was about, so I was quite surprised.  It's a bit of a horror story.  (It isn't the bloody, gory, super-scary type, though, so don't worry.)

I can't say much about the story without giving things away, so skip this paragraph if you want complete surprise.  This is the story of four siblings.  They are very happy with their family and really look up to their parents.  Then their father dies in a car accident.  Their mother is completely unprepared to take care of them, so she contacts her parents.  She had "a fall from grace" and was disinherited at 18.  Her father doesn't know about her children, so she and her mother shut the children in a bedroom of the mansion that connects to the attic until their mother receives forgiveness.  Spoiler alert!  Three and a half years later, the kids finally get to leave the attic in a fairly dramatic turn of events.

It is an easy book, but due to imprisonment and danger to children, it is probably not good for young readers.  It also has some discussion of puberty and the bodily changes it brings.  There is also mention of sex and a sexual situation, although it isn't graphic.  It certainly isn't an intellectual read, but it's very entertaining, so it is worth the time.