From the Publisher:NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER 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 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 with nowhere to go, Victoria realizes she has a gift for helping others through the flowers she chooses for them. But an unexpected encounter with a mysterious stranger 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. Look for special features inside. Join the Circle for author chats and more.
|
Annotation:
Victoria Jones thought she might have finally found her way out of the cycle of foster and group homes that had been her life up to that point. After spending time in roughly 30 foster families, Victoria gets taken in by a wonderfully caring woman....Eight years have passed now, and Victoria lives on her own, finding solace and expression in the poetry of Victorian botanicals. In her debut novel, Vanessa Diffenbaugh unravels what happened in those intervening years--patiently and seductively. What transpired to tear Victoria out of the most loving situation she had found? What happened after she left, during her time on the streets of San Francisco? And now that she is 18 and working at a flower shop, can things settle down and "normalize" for her? She has a boyfriend named Grant, but Victoria herself doubts that she will ever be able to let her guard down enough to experience love.
Praise
"Enchanting, ennobling, and powerfully engaging, Diffenbaugh's artfully accomplished debut novel lends poignant testimony to the multitude of mysteries held in the human heart." (starred review)
- Carol Haggas
07/03/2011