The Language of Flowers
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4.3 • 46 Ratings
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- £4.99
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- £4.99
Publisher Description
The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh is a moving story of hope and forgiveness, and an international bestseller.
The Victorians used flowers to express emotions: honeysuckle for devotion, azaleas for passion, and red roses for love. For Victoria Jones, flowers and their meanings are her only connection to the world – although for her, they are most useful in expressing feelings such as grief, mistrust and solitude.
After a childhood in the foster care system, Victoria – now eighteen – 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 a meeting with a mysterious vendor at the flower market for her to realize what's been missing in her own life. As she starts to fall for him, though, she must confront a painful secret from her past – and decide whether it's worth risking everything for a second chance at happiness.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Diffenbaugh's affecting debut chronicles the first harrowing steps into adulthood taken by a deeply wounded soul who finds her only solace in an all-but-forgotten language. On her 18th birthday, Victoria Jones ages out of the foster care system, a random series of living arrangements around the San Francisco Bay Area the only home she's ever known. Unable to express herself with words, she relies on the Victorian language of flowers to communicate: dahlias for "dignity"; rhododendron for "beware." Released from care with almost nothing, Victoria becomes homeless, stealing food and sleeping in McKinley Square, in San Francisco, where she maintains a small garden. Her secret knowledge soon lands her a job selling flowers, where she meets Grant, a mystery man who not only speaks her language, but also holds a crucial key to her past. Though Victoria is wary of almost everyone, she opens to Grant, and he reconnects her with the only person who has ever mattered in her life. Diffenbaugh's narrator is a hardened survivor and wears her damage on her sleeve. Struggling against all and ultimately reborn, Victoria Jones is hard to love, but very easy to root for.
Customer Reviews
The language of flowers
I enjoyed the book a captivating tale. Quite good from a flower lovers perspe ctive but as a florist I wish I could find florists capable of the superhuman work she describes in her time scales. Also a pry she chose lilies to describe flower parts. Lilies do not have petals they ave tepals as do all the liliacae
Amazinf
This is such a good book. I come back and read it all the time. Even if you’re the slightest bit interested, buy it. You will fall in love with it
The Language of Flowers
This book was a sheer delight from start to finish. I loved it! As a foster carer myself, Victoria's story had an extra relevance for me. The author's insight into the plight of young people in care system is nothing short of remarkable. Elizabeth's patient acceptance of all Victoria's challenging behaviours was a masterclass on how to care for such damaged and fragile little souls.
I have learnt much from this book and although I usually forget the plot of books once I have read them, this is one I certainly will not forget.