I didn't like Cathy too much either, and yet I kept hoping things would get better for her. I didn't like Chris too much. I didn't mind him in Flowers in The Attic but in the next books it irritated me how he couldn't get over his sister. He made her feel guilty for loving other men.
I liked Carrie a lot and kept hoping she would find someone and marry them. I wish she hadn't committed suicide and had married Alex.