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paulabrandon's review against another edition
1.0
Wow, what a boring, stupid, utterly pointless book this was.
Rosie (6) and Laurel (10) became known as the Flower Girls after they were charged with the death of a two year old girl. Rosie was too young to stand trial, but Laurel was found guilty and sent to juvenile detention. Nineteen years later, she is still in prison. Rosie and her parents were given new identities and moved away.
Rosie now lives under the name Hazel Archer. She is in a loving relationship with Jonny. They are staying at a hotel for Hazel's birthday, and New Year. When a five year old girl at the hotel goes missing, it doesn't take long for people to figure out Hazel's real identity, and the past she has tried to avoid comes rushing back.
I didn't enjoy this at all. There were too many characters, half of which didn't need to be there. Could somebody tell me what exactly was the point of all the chapters devoted to Joanne Denton (the aunt of the little girl Rosie and Laurel killed)? WHY WAS SHE THERE? Her storyline achieved absolutely nothing other than to take up word space. It was insulting.
This pointlessness even extends to the detective who investigates the disappearance of the girl at the hotel. At the end of the day it's basically, "Nothing to see here, let's move on," because her superior just tells her to forget about it. The book tries to throw in some twists, but they don't make a great deal of sense, because we don't really know what motivated the characters to do what they did.
Character perspectives change within the same paragraph.
Really, this was such a pile of shit. I'm behind on my 2021 reading challenge because it took me so long to force myself to slog through it and finish it.
Rosie (6) and Laurel (10) became known as the Flower Girls after they were charged with the death of a two year old girl. Rosie was too young to stand trial, but Laurel was found guilty and sent to juvenile detention. Nineteen years later, she is still in prison. Rosie and her parents were given new identities and moved away.
Rosie now lives under the name Hazel Archer. She is in a loving relationship with Jonny. They are staying at a hotel for Hazel's birthday, and New Year. When a five year old girl at the hotel goes missing, it doesn't take long for people to figure out Hazel's real identity, and the past she has tried to avoid comes rushing back.
I didn't enjoy this at all. There were too many characters, half of which didn't need to be there. Could somebody tell me what exactly was the point of all the chapters devoted to Joanne Denton (the aunt of the little girl Rosie and Laurel killed)? WHY WAS SHE THERE? Her storyline achieved absolutely nothing other than to take up word space. It was insulting.
This pointlessness even extends to the detective who investigates the disappearance of the girl at the hotel. At the end of the day it's basically, "Nothing to see here, let's move on," because her superior just tells her to forget about it. The book tries to throw in some twists, but they don't make a great deal of sense, because we don't really know what motivated the characters to do what they did.
Character perspectives change within the same paragraph.
Really, this was such a pile of shit. I'm behind on my 2021 reading challenge because it took me so long to force myself to slog through it and finish it.
pinksy's review against another edition
4.0
Good read
Well written
Full of twists
Believable characters
Totally threw me!
Well written
Full of twists
Believable characters
Totally threw me!
esmeej's review against another edition
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
chloe_loux's review
challenging
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Honestly, great writing and good sturdy plot that just eventually petered out to nothingness. Like it really felt like a wasted plot on a shocking ending that needed fleshing out a bit more but just ended so bluntly. It’s left me feeling a bit furious and short changed. The detective was pushing and could’ve kept going which I seemed like could’ve gave us a different ending yet it the ending was wrapped up within a page or two. There was a weird bit of casual racism in the middle and also a mistake with a paragraph that was repeated twice.
*on my third edit of this review because I keep remembering things that annoyed me or didn’t make sense. There’s a scene all about fingerprints yet nothing comes of it, it seems there was apparently NO forensic examination happening?? Also I wonder why L didn’t change after their mum?? And the tape recordings don’t make sense? Like oh you recorded yourself playing rock paper scissors?? There was a whole perspective to the book that was unnecessary in Joanna and I’m of the opinion that unreliable narration is just lazy writing for someone to do a 180 at the end of the book.
*on my third edit of this review because I keep remembering things that annoyed me or didn’t make sense. There’s a scene all about fingerprints yet nothing comes of it, it seems there was apparently NO forensic examination happening?? Also I wonder why L didn’t change after their mum?? And the tape recordings don’t make sense? Like oh you recorded yourself playing rock paper scissors?? There was a whole perspective to the book that was unnecessary in Joanna and I’m of the opinion that unreliable narration is just lazy writing for someone to do a 180 at the end of the book.
debtat2's review against another edition
5.0
Well I certainly agree, You will Never Forget the Flower Girls!
Why would a child would murder a toddler? What does rehabilitation mean for a young child who commits a crime?
20 years ago two young girls, Laurel and Primrose hit the headlines. Laurel is convicted of murder and Rosie, who denies involvement, is not charged. At 6 years old she is deemed to be too young to be held responsible for such a crime.
Now going by her new name, Hazel’s life has moved on. She is in a stable relationship managing to keep her past in the past. When a young girl goes missing from the hotel Hazel is staying, events spiral out of her control and it soon leads to her identity being uncovered, and press interest begins once again.
Laurel has been in prison for 18 years, after being denied parole on two separate occasions she is appealing the latest decision.
With flashbacks to the childhood of Laurel and Primrose before,during and after the murder and brief coverage of Laurel`s trial you begin to see event through their eyes.
It is a fairly taboo subject to write and read about but this is sensitively written and is a great unforgettable read with an ending I honestly didn’t see coming!
What a way to end a book, I really really hope there will be a continuation of The Flower Girls story, I would love to know what happens next! It’s almost impossible to read this book without giving some thought to things such as morality, forgiveness, justice and punishment in today’s society but it is in no way pushed down the readers necks.
It really is a brilliantly crafted novel you will never forget. This book should be at the top of everyone’s To Be Read pile! 📚
The Flower Girls will be published in the UK on 21 Jan 2019 in e-book format and 24th Jan 2019 in hardback.
Thank’s go to Alice Clark-Platts, Bloomsbury Publishing and NetGalley for the arc copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and comments are my own.
Why would a child would murder a toddler? What does rehabilitation mean for a young child who commits a crime?
20 years ago two young girls, Laurel and Primrose hit the headlines. Laurel is convicted of murder and Rosie, who denies involvement, is not charged. At 6 years old she is deemed to be too young to be held responsible for such a crime.
Now going by her new name, Hazel’s life has moved on. She is in a stable relationship managing to keep her past in the past. When a young girl goes missing from the hotel Hazel is staying, events spiral out of her control and it soon leads to her identity being uncovered, and press interest begins once again.
Laurel has been in prison for 18 years, after being denied parole on two separate occasions she is appealing the latest decision.
With flashbacks to the childhood of Laurel and Primrose before,during and after the murder and brief coverage of Laurel`s trial you begin to see event through their eyes.
It is a fairly taboo subject to write and read about but this is sensitively written and is a great unforgettable read with an ending I honestly didn’t see coming!
What a way to end a book, I really really hope there will be a continuation of The Flower Girls story, I would love to know what happens next! It’s almost impossible to read this book without giving some thought to things such as morality, forgiveness, justice and punishment in today’s society but it is in no way pushed down the readers necks.
It really is a brilliantly crafted novel you will never forget. This book should be at the top of everyone’s To Be Read pile! 📚
The Flower Girls will be published in the UK on 21 Jan 2019 in e-book format and 24th Jan 2019 in hardback.
Thank’s go to Alice Clark-Platts, Bloomsbury Publishing and NetGalley for the arc copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and comments are my own.
francat92's review against another edition
dark
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.75
juliette_21's review against another edition
3.0
The front cover is pretty, it's simple and indicates some level of mystery.
I liked this story as it was faced paced, easy to read and the writing was good. The storyline was interesting and I had not heard of something like this before.
There were plenty of twists and good ideas throughout the book which made it nice and mysterious.
The book is written in two different parts that are totally different but that match perfectly and I liked how the second part untangled after the drama of the first part.
I have to say though that you can easily guess the truth well before it's revealed which is a shame in this genre of books.
I think it could maybe have been developed a little more to make this book more gripping with maybe a less abrupt and quick ending.
I liked this story as it was faced paced, easy to read and the writing was good. The storyline was interesting and I had not heard of something like this before.
There were plenty of twists and good ideas throughout the book which made it nice and mysterious.
The book is written in two different parts that are totally different but that match perfectly and I liked how the second part untangled after the drama of the first part.
I have to say though that you can easily guess the truth well before it's revealed which is a shame in this genre of books.
I think it could maybe have been developed a little more to make this book more gripping with maybe a less abrupt and quick ending.
annecarts's review against another edition
4.0
A clever twisty thriller that I really enjoyed. This raises a lot of questions about the nature of evil, press intrusion and rehabilitation. I was interested to read that the author is a lawyer and perhaps why it's so well done.
My only slight downside was the ending. No spoilers but I'm not sure how I feel about it.
Thank you to Netgalley for a free copy in exchange for an honest.
My only slight downside was the ending. No spoilers but I'm not sure how I feel about it.
Thank you to Netgalley for a free copy in exchange for an honest.