Play Book Tag discussion

I would give it a solid 4.5 sparkling golden stars.

This book is definitely awesome. Weaving the romantic language of flowers in the life of an unwanted, unloved, solitary orphan is a unique central idea of the book. True enough, who would have thought that a plain colorless child would have so much passion in the colorful world of flowers?

Being transferred from orphanage to orphanage, from foster homes to foster homes, Victoria definitely deserves to hate. Misanthropy, her mutual emotion throughout her life. Hatred towards humankind. Well, except for Elizabeth. The angry child and the calm foster mother surprisingly bonded well enough and their relationship was just beautiful. Precious. I loved every moment of them together and I cherish every word written on the pages. Their lives were magical and heartbreaking at the same time - the countless conflicts, the ardent love, the unforgettable bitterness... The emotions just mix together so well and so naturally that they brought tears to my eyes.

From the perspective of a hateful child, the perspective of an enthusiastic florist, the perspective of an uncertain woman in love, the perspective of a frightened mother. This book explores different growth periods of the protagonist, embellished with flowers as her only passion. Her only anchor from going insane with all the stress. Moss don't have roots, yet they could grow into large lush clumps, sprouting life. Victoria might be abandoned, yet she could learn to love, learn to trust, and learn to feel. Through her entire life, we could see her struggles, her fears, her uncertainties and even witness her embark on a self-discovery journey.

My only criticism is that the changes in the point of views between chapters were confusing for me at first. The time skips and alternate change between Victoria's childhood memories and the reality didn't actually have a clear indication but I learnt to read between the lines gradually and even learnt to love it. This was a quick read amidst my bustling life and I would certainly reread it again. Truly spell-binding, the twists and tension build-ups would baffle you totally along with the gentle touches of love.

I thought this was a rich, beautifully written book too. So glad it spoke to you. After reading it, I learned that the author had been a foster mother at a very young age, herself. She started an organization to help young people who are aging out of their foster homes. I was very impressed by this.

Loved this so much the year I read it. Never forgot it. Rose, you are such a beautiful addition to our group!

Thanks :) I loved the book as well and it was so amazing that I had no more words for it. It rendered me speechless.

What a wonderful review! I really loved this book. It's one of the first ones I thought of for this tag. I'm feeling grateful that the group voted for psychological this month.

(view spoiler)[ I love the way the choices of flowers for gifts had an almost magical effect on people. I especially liked the process she used when working with a couple on their wedding flowers. If I recall correctly, she asked them to decide on which value or outcomes they most wanted from their marriage, and she would provide flowers that fit their intention. Instead of focusing on which flowers would impress others (idk would that be Orchids?) they had to focus on longer term values for their whole life, believing that whatever meaning they chose would come true if they had the right flowers. I think that's a discussion that every engaged couple should have (many times). In the book it became a self-fulfilling prophesy . By picking a key value/meaning, they were setting an intention for their life together. They were committing to working on that value, which would increase the likelihood that it would come true. (hide spoiler)]