The Language of Flowers

by Vanessa Diffenbaugh
4 Stars
Setting: USA
336 pages
Published 2011


Ellie's Review
While so much attention has been given recently to international adoptions, foster care here int he USA is ignored.  Vanessa Diffenbaugh is a real foster mom and wrote this novel about a girl in foster care, Victoria, who turns 18 and is on her own.  Yes, that's what happens in real life.  While Victoria figures out how to live on her own, she flashes back to her experiences growing up and you learn about her life.  Victoria learns to express herself through flowers, which was fascinating to me (what did your wedding bouquet represent?).  This book looks at several types of mother-daughter relationships and makes the reader think about what families are.  This was a great book club discussion!

Book Summary

A mesmerizing, moving and elegantly written debut novel, The Language of Flowers beautifully weaves past and present, creating a vivid portrait of an unforgettable woman whose gift for flowers helps her change the lives of others even as she struggles to overcome her own troubled past. 

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.