The Language of Flowers: A Novel [Paperback]

4.5 Star

The Language of Flowers is heartbreaking, yet hopeful, and shines as a debut novel. We meet Victoria Jones on her emancipation day, a day she yearned for after spending her life being shuffled from foster home to foster home, introduced to potential adoptive parents only to be sent back and finally living in group homes until the day she was finally free. Only her freedom comes with a hefty price. She no longer has a roof over her head and meals on the table and with no one to help her, no one that cares, and no source of income, Victoria crawls under some bushes in a local park where she struggles to come to terms with her new situation.

I wanted to grab Victoria and hold on to her. I loathed watching her struggle, both as a child and as a young adult. Her torment and anguish is palpable and I cheered for her even when she isn't always that likeable, yet at other times I wanted to give her a good shake for some of the decisions she makes. This novel wasn't as grim as White Oleander, another gripping novel about the foster care system, which I found refreshing because I wasn't sure my heart could take it.

This novel could feel contrived at times as good things happen to Victoria at just the right moments and she seems to find herself in the orbit of good people who gravitate to her. But I think this depends on how cynical you are. I prefer to have faith that good can come from even the most horrific situations, believe in the compassion of people, and have hope that I would do what Renata and Elizabeth did and not only help, but open my heart to someone who so obviously needs love in her life.

I adored the uniqueness of the language of flowers and the depth it brought to the novel, and how Victoria used flowers to communicate. The gardener in me loved reading about the meanings of different flowers and I found myself flipping through the dictionary at the back of the novel several times just to see the meanings of the flowers I have in my own gardens. The flowers weren't the only unique aspect to this story. The characters, her eventual living situation and even the relationships she begins to have with others are all quirky and seem to fit her character

I really enjoyed the ending. Although it ends on a more positive note, not everything is picture perfect which in my opinion probably wouldn't have sat well with me. Ultimately ending with a feeling of hope, I really enjoyed The Language of Flowers and anyone looking for a great read about adoption or the foster care system will appreciate this complex novel. I look forward to more from Vanessa Diffenbaugh!

Absolutely wonderful. So nice that you don't have to have that " piece of paper" in your follow graduation from school to have happiness. It may be unconventional bit these people have figured out a way to raise a baby with all the requirements foe the child's grounded upbringing.

In her original and brilliant debut, Vanessa Diffenbaugh unites her fascination with the language of flowers and her firsthand knowledge of the travails of the foster-care system. Indeed, her 9-year-old heroine, Victoria Jones, has already passed through at least 32 foster families before her social worker takes her to Elizabeth, the owner and operator of a vineyard who grew up on a flower farm.

The engaging, twofold narrative creates a complex canvas that contains both Victoria’s tumultuous life as a foster child and her adult life as a florist. She shatters her relationship with Elizabeth, ends up back in a group home, ages out of the system and becomes homeless. While sleeping in the park and eating food left on restaurant tables, Victoria finds work at the demanding flower shop, "Bloom." She swiftly learns the trade and flawlessly chooses exactly the flowers with the right language to deepen her clients' affection and promise them future blessings. Ironically, in her personal life, Victoria flies in the face of every accepted emotion and behaviour.

Full of both beauty and anger, "The Language of Flowers" enchants without hiding the cruelties of the world. I look forward to reading more from this talented writer and mesmerizing storyteller.