The Language of Flowers

by

Vanessa DIFFENBAUGH

308 pages

Published in August 2011 by Ballantine Books

MY THOUGHTS ABOUT THIS BOOK

I was totally hooked from the start by this book, by the beauty of its style, its simplicity, and its originality.

I thought the idea was rather original: a teen having been through tons of foster homes and centers, wounded, and thus reacting with violence, despair, and refusing to open up, for fear of more blows, that’s unfortunately a common lot.
BUT to have her communicate through the Victorian code of flowers, I thought that was a brilliant idea, and it worked really well with the plot.

It is simple in the sense of describing how Victoria is coming of age in that tough context, and how she may OR may not make it (I will NOT tell you). But this simplicity has a lot of impact, evoking her day to day surviving.
The author knowing first hand the world of fostering homes, everything sounds so real and true to life.

I really appreciated the way the author connected the past and the present between chapters, by means of a key word, or key sentence, that was neat, and I don’t see this too often.  Cool writing technique.

I enjoyed the beauty of the style, devoid of useless extras, focused on feelings, flowers, communication, and beautiful hearts.
I hope I don’t make it too much soap-opera-style, as it is absolutely not the case.
This is a beautiful book, that I chose as my September favorite, and it may even be my 2011 favorite so far!

Incidentally, I learned a lot about this Victorian language of flowers. I knew nothing of it; through her heroine, the author shows  all the different possible  levels of understanding, a flower may have different meanings, as Diffenbaugh discovered when she studied this for herself.

This book is also a great illustration of how to successfully incorporate familiar material (her life as a foster mother, her love for the Victorian language of flowers) in an interesting plot and make it a captivating book.

WHAT IS IT ABOUT

The Victorian language of flowers was used to express emotions: honeysuckle for devotion, azaleas for passion, and red roses for love. But for Victoria Jones, it has been more useful in communicating feelings like 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, Victoria has nowhere to go, and sleeps in a public park, where she plants a small garden of her own. When her talent is discovered by a local florist, she discovers her gift for helping others through the flowers she chooses for them. But it takes meeting a mysterious vendor at the flower market for her to realise what’s been missing in her own life, and as she starts to fall for him, she’s forced to confront a painful secret from her past, and decide whether it’s worth risking everything for a second chance at happiness. “The Language of Flowers” is a heartbreaking and redemptive novel about the meaning of flowers, the meaning of family, and the meaning of love. [Goodreads]

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Vanessa Diffenbaugh was born in San Francisco and raised in Chico, California. After studying creative writing and education at Stanford, she went on to teach art and writing to youth in low-income communities. She and her husband, PK, have three children: Tre’von, eighteen; Chela, four; and Miles, three. Tre’von, a former foster child, is attending New York University on a Gates Millennium Scholarship. Diffenbaugh and her family currently live in Cambridge, Massachusetts, where her husband is studying urban school reform at Harvard.

Vanessa Diffenbaugh is also the founder of the Camellia Network. The mission of the Camellia Network is to create a nationwide movement to support youth transitioning from foster care. In The Language of Flowers, Camellia [kuh-meel-yuh] means “My Destiny is in Your Hands.” The network’s name emphasizes the belief in the interconnectedness of humanity: each gift a young person receives will be accompanied by a camellia, a reminder that the destiny of our nation lies in the hands of our youngest citizens. For more information visit www.camellianetwork.org  [Goodreads]

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