hating book reports back in the day, but now I love telling people about great books I've read. Not being graded helps take the pressure off. Choosing what books I get to read also helps. (Nothing like being forced to read a book and then forced to write about why someone else should read it. Writing, "You should read this book if you are forced to," never wins points.) OK so here's my book report, which will be short because I don't want to spoil it for you.
The Language of Flowers by Vanessa Diffenbaugh is a moving novel about a girl who ages out of state care and makes her way in life. As you get to know Victoria as an "adult," the author transports us back to her past to fill in the history of why she is planting a garden in a public park and choosing homelessness instead of heeding the advice of her state assigned social worker to get a job to pay her rent in the transitional housing provided by the state.
It's obvious from the beginning that Victoria has endured enough pain and abuse to permanently sear her ability to trust anyone, and yet there is a faint glimmer of evidence that someone along the line loved her and taught her the beautiful language of flowers, the one thing that speaks meaning to her and gives vent to her buried emotional pain. As the author uncovers her past, the depth of understanding and compassion grows for this strange girl who is a creative genius with no ability to conform to normal social conventions. It takes someone who can see through the exterior and recognize the genius inside, allowing Victoria to exercise her gift without prodding into her strange behavior, to bring healing and reconciliation.
That's all I'm going to say about the plot because I truly can't give it away. Here's how this book impacted me personally. First, it is truly disturbing to realize how destructive it is to a human soul to be raised without love. Not to excuse personal responsibility, but this author showed in a personal way how impossible it is for someone to know how to love without ever having experienced it. It's also sad that there comes a point where someone can't experience it without sabotaging it because they have been so broken time and time again. I'm grateful that she also showed that there is always hope and that love wins out in the end.
We've considered becoming foster parents at some point and this book simultaneously inspired and terrified me. As idealistic as I am that love can conquer all, this novel reveals that albeit true that love and reconciliation is possible, the process could be extremely long, painful and ugly. That's where I rest in the truth that when God calls someone to something difficult that He will also give them the grace to walk through the hard things.
One surprising thing that moved me in this book was the language of flowers itself. I am not a flower person. Years ago I told Bo not to waste his money on them because I really don't care about them. However, I absolutely love the idea of flowers conveying secret messages and that each flower is tied to some meaning. See, I am a word person, not necessarily a visual beauty person. So, I may just become a flower person after all, but first I'll have to invest in a Victorian era flower dictionary.
Give it a read and let me know what you think.
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