The Language of Flowers

I especially love it when a debut novel charms me into skipping a meal or two, and this book did just that. Front and center and totally able to carry this character-driven novel is Victoria, a product of the foster care system. The story is told from her viewpoint and realistically reflects how emotional and physical abuse damages the psyche and hinders a person's ability to form normal relationships. Both beauty and anguish mark Victoria's journey. As she struggles to find herself as an adult recently released from the foster care system, she discovers her passion for flowers and their meaning. This is an enchanting thread steeped in knowledge gleaned from the Victorian Age, which the author uses to bond the characters together. In summary a great book for those who like character-driven novels with strong emotional pull. Excellent book club choice.

Ballantine Books - August 23, 2011 - 336 pages - ISBN-10: 034552554X

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.

1. What potential do Elizabeth, Renata, and Grant see in Victoria that she has a hard time seeing in herself?

2. While Victoria has been hungry and malnourished often in her life, food ends up meaning more than just nourishment to her. Why?

3. Victoria and Elizabeth both struggle with the idea of being part of a family. What does it mean to you to be part of a family? What defines family?

4. Why do you think Elizabeth waits so long before trying to patch things up with her long-lost sister Catherine? What is the impetus for her to do so?

5. The first week after her daughter's birth goes surprisingly well for Victoria. What is it that makes Victoria feel unable to care for her child after the week ends? And what is it that allows her to ultimately rejoin her family?

6. One of the major themes in The Language of Flowers is forgiveness and second chances - do you think Victoria deserves one after the things she did (both as a child and as an adult)? What about Catherine? And Elizabeth?

7. What did you think of the structure of the book - the alternating chapters of past and present? In what ways did the two storylines parallel each other, and how did they diverge?

8. The novel touches on many different themes (love, family, forgiveness, second chances). Which do you think is the most important? And what did you think was ultimately the lesson?

9. At the end of the novel, Victoria learns that moss grows without roots. What does this mean, and why is it such a revelation for her?

10. Based on your reading of the novel, what are your impressions of the foster care system in America? What could be improved?

11. Knowing what you now know about the language of the flowers, to whom would you send a bouquet and what would you want it to say?

This book offers many discussion topics: motherhood, the foster care system, living on the streets and being homeless, the impact lack of self-esteem has on an individual, family drama, love-both its absence and its presence-and hope, the lifeline of anyone in turmoil. The author touches on these themes and more in an honest, open, and totally captivating manner.