The Language of Flowers. Finished 1-16-16, rating 4.5/5. fiction, 323 pages, pub. 2011
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. from Goodreads
Why don’t we use flowers to convey feelings anymore? It’s such a romantic and mysterious thing to do and I think communication these days could use a little more nuance. I loved learning about the hidden language of flowers as I read this intriguing and beautifully written debut novel.
The novel tells the two stories of Victoria, the nine-year old foster care kid who doesn’t believe she will ever find a home and the 18-year-old who is homeless, friendless and in love with flowers. At nine, Elizabeth became her last hope for a mom and her brash decision severed the chance. At 18, she just wants to make enough to eat and if she can do it by working with flowers, all the better. Renata, that friend that we all should have, gives Victoria a job and an opportunity at a relatively normal life.
Victoria was a tough character. Even though, by the end, I came to the point of wishing her a happily-ever-after, it took me a while to get there. She was a foster care survivor (32 foster families before being set free on her 18th birthday) and was so detached, prickly, defiant and complicated that I didn’t realize how much I cared about her until the end. So many of her 18-year-old decisions were tragic and damaging, and had me wanting to shake her out of her own psyche.
This book will rip your heart out with the deeply flawed Victoria and her journey to make a life that she never really let herself think was possible. I loved the people who were there for her to make the journey possible, equally flawed but maybe a little less complicated. Victoria is not a character I will be forgetting about any time soon.
I am so glad that Lloyd loved it and that I won his giveaway a few years ago. I’m even happier that I finally read it!
Stacy's Books 
I would have preferred a 5/5(!), but I’m definitely glad you liked it.
I loved it, Lloyd! The only thing keeping it from a 5 is my lack of connection with Victoria.
Another one on my tbr list. I’m glad both you and Lloyd liked it!
When I logged it on Goodreads I saw that all of my reading friends loved it!
I loved this book too. Victoria was such a wonderful character, even when she made me so angry I could have choked her. I read this with my book club and we had a great time with the flower aspect.
I loved the flower aspect and think it’s such a cool thing to know about. I’d go to Victoria and have a bouquet made up for me every week 🙂
This has been on my wish list for years. Glad you enjoy it so much… why haven’t I read it yet?
My guess is that there are too many great books and too little time 🙂
I loved this book and believe it made my favorite list.
I have considered this one in the past, your review has made me say give it a try. The flowers makes me want to read it and I like the age difference of the characters.
Stacy, I thought the audio was very enjoyable.
I have been wanting to read this one forever. Someday. 🙂 I am glad you liked this one. It sounds so good.
We read this for my book club in December and I loved it. I loved how unique the story line was. I definitely questioned Victoria’s decisions, but I could understand that after the upbringing she had, she wasn’t always making the best choices.