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salgalruns's review against another edition
5.0
I loved, loved, loved this story and it was just the type of read that I needed! It sucked me in from the very beginning and I couldn't let it go. I've been wandering the house connected to my iPad to read it, reluctant to get to work or to other appointments as a result!
The book goes back and forth between present day, where Veronica is 18 years old to past, where she is 10. She was raised through the foster care system, in a combination of group homes or placed into foster homes. The bulk of the "past" storyline takes place when she is placed with Elizabeth, who is on the path to adopting her permanently. Elizabeth is responsible for seeing past the hurt, past the anger, and recognizing the true child within. She feeds Veronica's voracious appetite (which continues into adulthood, I might add), and also takes it upon herself to educate her instead of sending her to school. She teaches her the ins and outs of farm life, from harvesting grapes to understanding the language of flowers.
Without giving too much away, the language of flowers (the meaning behind each one) is the link for Veronica. It is the connection to Elizabeth, the connection to Grant in present time, and the path to employment and a successful career (we hope) for her. Through this, we see the determination and drive towards something meaningful and good in her life. We also see that it provides her with a way to express herself more safely than words.
The characters are so rich in this story - I feel like I know them all and like I would recognize them on the street. I want to sit down and make them dinner and talk for hours about anything. I want to spend more time with my mom, with my daughter, and let them know how important they are to me. The connection of family is so strong, even though every character in this story has suffered extreme heartache as a result of family. It makes you appreciate the connections you DO have in your life and recognize the beauty that exists.
Sometimes books just talk to us and at certain times in our lives are more poignant than others. I am an "in betweener" - I have my kids and my parents around, but it's often tough with schedules to get everyone connected. This weekend, as my daughter graduates from college, I will have everyone all together. I think it will come with an appreciation for all the blessings that I've been given in my life. As a result, the simple things that Veronica struggled with, I have often just taken for granted. Thank you to Vanessa Diffenbaugh for her words that made me THINK and bring to light just how special family is.
The book goes back and forth between present day, where Veronica is 18 years old to past, where she is 10. She was raised through the foster care system, in a combination of group homes or placed into foster homes. The bulk of the "past" storyline takes place when she is placed with Elizabeth, who is on the path to adopting her permanently. Elizabeth is responsible for seeing past the hurt, past the anger, and recognizing the true child within. She feeds Veronica's voracious appetite (which continues into adulthood, I might add), and also takes it upon herself to educate her instead of sending her to school. She teaches her the ins and outs of farm life, from harvesting grapes to understanding the language of flowers.
Without giving too much away, the language of flowers (the meaning behind each one) is the link for Veronica. It is the connection to Elizabeth, the connection to Grant in present time, and the path to employment and a successful career (we hope) for her. Through this, we see the determination and drive towards something meaningful and good in her life. We also see that it provides her with a way to express herself more safely than words.
The characters are so rich in this story - I feel like I know them all and like I would recognize them on the street. I want to sit down and make them dinner and talk for hours about anything. I want to spend more time with my mom, with my daughter, and let them know how important they are to me. The connection of family is so strong, even though every character in this story has suffered extreme heartache as a result of family. It makes you appreciate the connections you DO have in your life and recognize the beauty that exists.
Sometimes books just talk to us and at certain times in our lives are more poignant than others. I am an "in betweener" - I have my kids and my parents around, but it's often tough with schedules to get everyone connected. This weekend, as my daughter graduates from college, I will have everyone all together. I think it will come with an appreciation for all the blessings that I've been given in my life. As a result, the simple things that Veronica struggled with, I have often just taken for granted. Thank you to Vanessa Diffenbaugh for her words that made me THINK and bring to light just how special family is.
ceramirezmcfarlin's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
kaysearae's review against another edition
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
amanda1793's review against another edition
3.0
3 stars.
I did have my issues with this book. I can understand that there are foster children who have gone through similar situations as Victoria, and I can understand that it's not the best of systems out there... But the fact that she abandoned her own child on a total of three occasions, and that kind of made me angry...
I'm not sure if we were supposed to feel some sort of pity for Victoria, but I couldn't... I would get a little annoyed with her simply for some of the things she did at times.
I found a lot of the supporting characters very easy to like. I found that they were trying to help Victoria, and in some ways, many of them succeeded. Only to be pushed away...
To find out the the demise of what could've been a good place for her to live was her fault, was even more maddening...
But now, on to the good things I liked about this book!
The language of flowers was amazing to build a story upon! I enjoyed learning the meaning of several flowers and the way Victoria uses them to improve people's lives on one way or another was intriguing. I felt that with the use of the dictionary located at the end of the book, I was able to gain a vast amount of knowledge!
I enjoyed Victoria (despite her many flaws), and watching her grow from a damaged person to a girl who is really trying to get her life together. And the fact that she learned from her mistakes (especially when it came to Elizabeth) to a certain degree was another area that I could enjoy.
I would recommend this book. Happy reading!
I did have my issues with this book. I can understand that there are foster children who have gone through similar situations as Victoria, and I can understand that it's not the best of systems out there... But the fact that she abandoned her own child on a total of three occasions, and that kind of made me angry...
I'm not sure if we were supposed to feel some sort of pity for Victoria, but I couldn't... I would get a little annoyed with her simply for some of the things she did at times.
I found a lot of the supporting characters very easy to like. I found that they were trying to help Victoria, and in some ways, many of them succeeded. Only to be pushed away...
To find out the the demise of what could've been a good place for her to live was her fault, was even more maddening...
But now, on to the good things I liked about this book!
The language of flowers was amazing to build a story upon! I enjoyed learning the meaning of several flowers and the way Victoria uses them to improve people's lives on one way or another was intriguing. I felt that with the use of the dictionary located at the end of the book, I was able to gain a vast amount of knowledge!
I enjoyed Victoria (despite her many flaws), and watching her grow from a damaged person to a girl who is really trying to get her life together. And the fact that she learned from her mistakes (especially when it came to Elizabeth) to a certain degree was another area that I could enjoy.
I would recommend this book. Happy reading!
sararose_cozy's review against another edition
4.0
This would have been a five star read: I was captivated and don’t want to put the book down.
It lost a star because I hate the protagonist, if you can even call her that. I’m torn because I try to empathize with her terrible childhood, but even as a young adult she makes terrible decision. I was constantly angry at the story and would be so infuriated with Victoria. It was the most stressful and traumatic read I have ever read.
Still devoured in mostly one day.
It lost a star because I hate the protagonist, if you can even call her that. I’m torn because I try to empathize with her terrible childhood, but even as a young adult she makes terrible decision. I was constantly angry at the story and would be so infuriated with Victoria. It was the most stressful and traumatic read I have ever read.
Still devoured in mostly one day.
nadinebean's review
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
lizzycatslibrary's review against another edition
5.0
I really liked this book. I wavered between a 4 and 5 star rating but then I decided I need to start giving more 5's. I liked this one a lot so I figured why not start here?
Victoria's story was both heartbreaking and inspiring. I felt for her in every page of this book. There were times I wanted to grab her by the shoulders and shake her, but knew that at the time that was all she could manage to do.
I loved learning about the language of flowers. Now all I want to do is go through the dictionary in the back and start sending messages with flowers to everyone I know. :)
I was really excited about the dictionary in the back.
Anyways, I highly recommend this book. Loved it.
Excited to hear peoples perspectives about it at book club! :)
Victoria's story was both heartbreaking and inspiring. I felt for her in every page of this book. There were times I wanted to grab her by the shoulders and shake her, but knew that at the time that was all she could manage to do.
I loved learning about the language of flowers. Now all I want to do is go through the dictionary in the back and start sending messages with flowers to everyone I know. :)
I was really excited about the dictionary in the back.
Anyways, I highly recommend this book. Loved it.
Excited to hear peoples perspectives about it at book club! :)
betag1013's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Toxic relationship, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Dementia, Grief, Mental illness, Toxic friendship, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual content, and Vomit
chapita4's review against another edition
4.0
“If it was true that moss did not have roots, and maternal love could grow spontaneously, as if from nothing, perhaps I had been wrong to believe myself unfit to raise my daughter. Perhaps the unattached, the unwanted, the unloved, could grow to give love as lushly as anyone else.”
― Vanessa Diffenbaugh
There were many great quotes in this book, but this was my favorite since it sums up the heart of social work. I will never look at flower arrangements in quite the same way. It was a lovely, well written book.
― Vanessa Diffenbaugh
There were many great quotes in this book, but this was my favorite since it sums up the heart of social work. I will never look at flower arrangements in quite the same way. It was a lovely, well written book.
novelette's review against another edition
3.0
This is so not the book you want to be reading when you are pregnant.