Forget-Her-Nots

February 8, 2010
The mysteries of Victorian flower lore pervade White’s debut, in which 14-year-old Laurel strives to shape a new life after her mother’s death from cancer. Hoping a change of locale will help her grief, Laurel enrolls in the boarding school her mother attended. Once at Avondale, she discovers a bewildering ability to stir up emotions by creating floral bouquets, and she’s soon in demand by students with a variety of motives. Following the definitions in a serendipitously found book, The Language of Flowers
, and reciting her mantra (“Bright cut flowers, leaves of green, bring about what I have seen”), Laurel tries to understand and properly use her gift, while coping with typical teenage dilemmas and uncovering her family’s flower-related history. White aptly renders big and small dramas against the backdrop of Laurel’s struggles with her “flower power,” and deftly walks the line between reality and fantasy without crossing it. A delicate sense of magical possibility and reverence for the natural world help elevate White’s story from a typical prep-school drama into something more memorable. Ages 12–up.

March 1, 2010
Gr 7 Up-Laurel, 14, is a new student at her recently deceased mother's alma mater, a Virginia girls' boarding school. She prepares a presentation on the Victorian language of flowers for her English class and finds that she has a special affinity for the subject. Strong flower scents, some of them undetectable to anyone else, suddenly make her feel "spinny, dizzy, and tingly." If she recites a little verse her mother used to say, "Bright cut flowers, leaves of green, bring about what I have seen," the flowers seem to actualize the sentiments they are meant to symbolize. This is a fine thing when the tussie-mussie Laurel makes for her class presentation apparently causes her teacher, known to the students as Spinster Spenser, to fall in love and marry, but not quite so benign when the bouquets she makes for classmates fall into the wrong hands and attract or repel unintended recipients. Sylvia Suarez, a science teacher, keeper of the school conservatory, and Laurel's mother's onetime classmate, gradually informs the teen that they are both part of a society of "Flowerspeakers," a group that also included Laurel's mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother. For centuries, these women have possessed powers similar to Laurel's and will now help her learn to use her own gift. Although the fantasy elements of this novel are not convincing or successful, the book will appeal to fans of boarding-school stories and gentle teen romances."Ginny Gustin, Sonoma County Library System, Santa Rosa, CA"

Copyright 2010 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

January 1, 2010
Grades 7-10 While researching the Victorian language of flowers for a project at boarding school, 14-year-old Laurel discovers that her bouquets (or tussie-mussies) have peculiar effects on whomever she gives them to: a spinster teacher finds love, a classmate aces a test, and another attracts boys like flies. Luckily, Ms. Suarez, the head of the conservatory, is there to explain Laurels giftsshe is a Flowerspeaker, one of an ancient line of people who can use flowers to influence feelings. Unfortunately, Laurel ignores her advice not to meddle, and a string of misused flowers create friction with Laurels father and friends, culminating in a memorably chaotic prom. The premise is charming and unique, and White has certainly done her research into the history and meanings of flowers. Laurel is sympathetic despite being a little slow to figure things out, but the other characters are generic and the story is a bit slight and predictable. Still, this diverting read will be popular with girls expecting magic and romance.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2010, American Library Association.)

July 1, 2010
As Laurel learns about the Victorian language of flowers, she finds the flowers' scents make her head spin and the bouquets she assembles seem to work like magic. Everyone at school wants one of Laurel's bouquets, but she needs to hone her gift before its powers grow out of control. This overlong story lacks momentum, but the supernatural premise is original and interesting.

(Copyright 2010 by The Horn Book, Incorporated, Boston. All rights reserved.)