Author: Vanessa Diffenbaugh
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Pages: 336 (Hardcover)
Date of Publishment: August 23rd 2011
Days to Read: 4
Rating: 4
Description: Goodreads
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The Victorian language of flowers was used to convey romantic expressions: honeysuckle for devotion, asters for patience, and red roses for love. But for Victoria Jones, it’s been more useful in communicating grief, mistrust, and solitude. After a childhood spent in the foster-care system, she is unable to get close to anybody, and her only connection to the world is through flowers and their meanings.
Now eighteen and emancipated from the system, Victoria has nowhere to go and sleeps in a public park, where she plants a small garden of her own. Soon a local florist discovers her talents, and Victoria realizes she has a gift for helping others through the flowers she chooses for them. But a mysterious vendor at the flower market has her questioning what’s been missing in her life, and when she’s forced to confront a painful secret from her past, she must decide whether it’s worth risking everything for a second chance at happiness.
Now eighteen and emancipated from the system, Victoria has nowhere to go and sleeps in a public park, where she plants a small garden of her own. Soon a local florist discovers her talents, and Victoria realizes she has a gift for helping others through the flowers she chooses for them. But a mysterious vendor at the flower market has her questioning what’s been missing in her life, and when she’s forced to confront a painful secret from her past, she must decide whether it’s worth risking everything for a second chance at happiness.
My Review:
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The Launguage of Flowers is a heart-breaking, tear jerking, yet heart felt debut novel by Vanessa Diffenbaugh. The Language of Flowers to me at many times rang off more as an adult aged book, but still showed it's spot to be a true young adult one; and a very facinating one that that.
In The Language of Flowers we switch back and forth through alternate chapters of the main characters, Victoria, life; switching from when she was a nine year old girl and then back again to the present when she was eighteen. For a very long time I found myself enjoying the older version of Victoria a lot more than her younger self, making it hard for me to make it through the chapters of her past. Don’t get me wrong though, they were very good, and I enjoyed them a lot, but just not enough to make me fall in love. Victoria is a very…complex character. There were things about her that I loved and there were things about her that I didn’t like. Yes, I understand that she had a very hard childhood in the past, having been forced into so many adoptions and group homes, but I felt that sometimes Diffenbaugh took Victoria’s character a little too far. Because I felt that way for nearly the entire book, I just couldn’t click with her character making the book harder to read than it should have been. Trust me, I tried countless times to love Victoria, but every time I started to warm up to her she’d do something that managed to frustrate me again. The end though…that’s when I really liked her the most (not meant as a reference to the story ending!).
While Victoria was a little overdone, I found that Diffenbaugh’s other characters did a marvelous job. Though he didn’t make it onto my list of favorite characters, Grant was my favorite character of the book. He was just this mixture of such a peaceful and soulful person; and it just made him so easy to love! I loved how he treated Victory throughout the entire book, his patience really showing, and how great of a guy he was.
Even though her characters weren’t the biggest hit in my book, I still loved the plot tremendously! The idea and plot that she took was just an amazing journey that I felt even I was taking. At many times I felt pain in my chest, feeling so much sympathy for Victoria. And let me say now…I loved the ending. Loved how the story was laid out and ended. It was not once an abrupt ending, and was a very gentle one in deed. Like the many beautiful flowers that are explained through the book, Diffenbaugh was able to grow and plant her own very beautiful book. Like everything in the world there were flaws, but the book still deserved a four. Nothing more, nothing less. This really was such a grand and well rooted debuted novel. The Language of Flowers were certainly taken Diffenbaugh places.
In The Language of Flowers we switch back and forth through alternate chapters of the main characters, Victoria, life; switching from when she was a nine year old girl and then back again to the present when she was eighteen. For a very long time I found myself enjoying the older version of Victoria a lot more than her younger self, making it hard for me to make it through the chapters of her past. Don’t get me wrong though, they were very good, and I enjoyed them a lot, but just not enough to make me fall in love. Victoria is a very…complex character. There were things about her that I loved and there were things about her that I didn’t like. Yes, I understand that she had a very hard childhood in the past, having been forced into so many adoptions and group homes, but I felt that sometimes Diffenbaugh took Victoria’s character a little too far. Because I felt that way for nearly the entire book, I just couldn’t click with her character making the book harder to read than it should have been. Trust me, I tried countless times to love Victoria, but every time I started to warm up to her she’d do something that managed to frustrate me again. The end though…that’s when I really liked her the most (not meant as a reference to the story ending!).
While Victoria was a little overdone, I found that Diffenbaugh’s other characters did a marvelous job. Though he didn’t make it onto my list of favorite characters, Grant was my favorite character of the book. He was just this mixture of such a peaceful and soulful person; and it just made him so easy to love! I loved how he treated Victory throughout the entire book, his patience really showing, and how great of a guy he was.
Even though her characters weren’t the biggest hit in my book, I still loved the plot tremendously! The idea and plot that she took was just an amazing journey that I felt even I was taking. At many times I felt pain in my chest, feeling so much sympathy for Victoria. And let me say now…I loved the ending. Loved how the story was laid out and ended. It was not once an abrupt ending, and was a very gentle one in deed. Like the many beautiful flowers that are explained through the book, Diffenbaugh was able to grow and plant her own very beautiful book. Like everything in the world there were flaws, but the book still deserved a four. Nothing more, nothing less. This really was such a grand and well rooted debuted novel. The Language of Flowers were certainly taken Diffenbaugh places.
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