The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh

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.


Did you know? The Language of Flowers  is a debut novel which sparked a major international bidding war.  It sold at auction for over 1 million in the US (!)  ~ and for a six-figure sum in the UK and Commonwealth.


So, you know, I was dying excited to dig into my copy :D


Let me tell you a bit about it ... The blurb gives an awesome synopsis (see above). The story itself alternates between the present and the past,  a chapter at a time. 


In the present, Victoria is eighteen, jobless, homeless and sleeping in a park. She manages to get a job working for a florist (she knows flowers, in an obsessed kind of way :) She is reserved, quietly spunky and rather unlike any protagonist I have read for a while. She is not bitter and hardened by the system, but she is ever-so-guarded.


In the past, we see snatches of Victoria's childhood. In particular, her time spent as a ten year old with a carer, Elizabeth, who loved her. But something went horribly/catastrophically/spectacularly wrong (ie Victoria did something unforgivable... ).  The secret and mysteries of the past unfold in layers, subtle yet compelling.


In the present, there is also a guy ...  ;)


This guy, Grant, gets under Victoria's skin. And he is more than just a romantic interest. He is completely tied up in her past. Dun, dun, dun... 


As for how I enjoyed the book? It's gorgeously written. I love literary fiction, and Diffenbaugh knows how to turn a phrase and how to capture your senses and breathe life into her characters.  It's a lovely combination of a slow-burning character arc kind of book, while at the same time building the plot in such a way that at the end of each chapter you want to keep following the story to see what happens next (there's a bundle of secrets, and some foreshadowing that lets you know all is not going to go well.)


I am also a sucker for stories of redemption. They get me every time. Take a character who is broken, rejected, hurting and slowly, ever-so-gently offer them forgiveness and hope and a future and I always feel it on their behalf. Victoria's journey was at times painful to watch. She makes some bad decisions (O.o) and the present time spans around 18 months (and she goes through a lot. No spoilers but I loved the turn of events. Very addictive reading). However, this is ultimately a story of hope and love and it is never melodramatic (even in it's moments of drama) but rather feels triumphant and genuine.


The thing, I guess, that sets this apart (to cause that insane bidding scene) ~ is the whole flower thing. I am not a flower type of person but reading this opened up a whole other world for me. Flowers play a huge, shining role in the story (there is even a Dictionary of Flowers in the back) and they are richly described (you can nearly smell them through the pages), and the history and meanings are completely fascinating. Such an awesome premise, hey. 


I really enjoyed reading this story, and had many moments of quiet awe. 


Recommended: For lovers of flowers (seriously, this is like, flower-heaven in a book), for fans of YA crossovers (Victoria is 18), for fans of literary contemporary fiction and ~ for your mum ;) I completely enjoyed the time I spent with 'The Language of Flowers' and I am am quietly excited to see how it fares once it it released.


Is it worth the hype/buzz? It didn't blow me away/shatter me to pieces or become an absolute favourite, but I had a really good time reading it and absolutely recommend it :)

The Language of Flowers will be available from September 1 in Australia

The Language of Flowers @ Pan Macmillan
The Language of Flowers @ goodreads


What do you think of the cover? At first I didn't even notice the girl's profile (now it is so obvious I don't know what I was thinking, haha). I really like it. It's kind of literary but also fresh and a tiny bit funky with the title font.


About the author: Vanessa Diffenbaugh was born and raised in California. She has degrees in Creative Writing and Art Education from Stanford University. She is an activist and has worked in non-profits with "at risk" youth, including homeless and foster youth. She and her husband have three children, Graciela, Miles, and Tre'von and live in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Thanks to Pan Macmillan for sending this lovely book my way <3

Some international covers