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.
| ISBN | 0330532014 | | DEWEY edition | DC23 | | ISBN13 | 9780330532013
(What's this?) | | Pages | 400 | | Publisher | Pan Macmillan | | Published in | London | | Imprint | Pan Books | | Height (mm) | 197 | | Format | Paperback | | Width (mm) | 130 | | Publication date | 01 Mar 2012 | | Academic level | General | | DEWEY | 813.6 | | Reading age | 16 |
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"Instantly entrancing."--"Elle" "[An] original and brilliant first novel . . . a mesmerizing storyteller . . . I would like to hand Vanessa Diffenbaugh a bouquet of bouvardia (enthusiasm), gladiolus (you pierce my heart) and lisianthus (appreciation). . . . And there is one more sprig I should add to her bouquet: a single pink carnation (I will never forget you)."--Brigitte Weeks, "The Washington Post"" " "A captivating novel in which a single sprig of rosemary speaks louder than words . . . "The Language of Flowers" deftly weaves the sweetness of newfound love with the heartache of past mistakes. . . . [It] will certainly change how you choose your next bouquet."--Minneapolis" Star Tribune" "Fascinating . . . Diffenbaugh clearly knows both the human heart and her plants, and she keeps us rooting for the damaged Victoria."--"O: The Oprah Magazine "(book of the week) "Diffenbaugh effortlessly spins this enchanting tale, making even her prickly protagonist impossible not to love."--"Entertainment Weekly"" " "Compelling . . . immensely engaging . . . unabashedly romantic . . . an emotional arc of almost unbearable poignance.""--The Boston Globe"
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