YMMV / Landry Series

• Unintentionally Sympathetic: Giselle. True she does have some Jerkass moments. One such example is in Pearl In The Mist where she throws a classmate’s homework (that the girl had been studying religiously for) in the toilet! In the same book she also outs Ruby’s friend Abby as biracial to the entire school (keep in mind this was an all white school in the sixties!) and she also got Miss Stevens fired by spreading the false rumour that she was a lesbian! But her world was literally turned upside down with the discovery that not only does she have a twin sister but her mother isn't really her mother and Daphne starts becoming frostier toward Giselle as a result of the reveal when they were previously quite close. Punishment seems adamant to get her for the "sin" of not openly accepting her saintly twin sister by making her paralyzed for a time after a car accident, sent off to a boarding school (which she tries to get both Ruby and herself out of by pretending to be her sister), and nails her coffin shut by having her contract encephalitis. In hindsight, much of Giselle's punishments don't manage the wrongs (mostly putting her sister in an unflattering light) yet the reader is told how much of a "bad girl" she is compared to Ruby who is talked up heavily but has her own share of flaws that are desperately glossed over.
• Unintentionally Unsympathetic:
  • All That Glitters has Ruby at her worst with switching lives with her dying twin sister all so she could resume an affair with the father of her child who had left her behind when she needed him the most. When the Twin Switch is suggested by Beau, Ruby takes it almost immediately with little regard to how Paul feels about it and takes advantage of knowing that Paul will do anything to make her happy. She betrays Paul so deeply and almost loses her daughter for this affair and it's still played to support her and Beau's relationship as true love to the point where not only do they get away with their actions (which cause the indirect death of Paul) scot-free but they get married.
  • Beau as well comes across as more of a wishy-washy tool who will Settle for Sibling and avoid responsibilities rather than the supportive and loving partner Ruby (and the narration) are desperately trying to get the audience to see him as. He was also the one responsible for the Twin Switch idea.
• The Woobie: Paul Tate never catches a single break in the series. He finds out that the girl he loves is his half-sister, his beloved mother isn't really his mother, and he lost his grandmother who was always very kind to him. While he does manage to get married to Ruby, it's not only a (mostly) sexless marriage but it's painfully apparent that he's second best compared to Beau. And then when Giselle gets sick and Ruby and Beau talk him into the Twin Switch because Ruby wants to be with Beau so that their daughter can have both parents (and have guilt free romps with Beau), Paul loses Pearl whom he loved more like a daughter than a niece. This eventually leads to him becoming an alcoholic and dying out in the swamp.