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4.0 AVERAGE
4.0 AVERAGE
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Wow. I really loved this book. It was a heartbreaking ride, but it was so beautifully written, and I adored the way flowers held the entire story together.
I will say that I wasn't a fan of the unspecified time jumps in the story, though. Just a date at the top of a new section would have been really helpful. For this, it lost 1 star.
I will say that I wasn't a fan of the unspecified time jumps in the story, though. Just a date at the top of a new section would have been really helpful. For this, it lost 1 star.
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
3.5/5
loved the start of this but then it got to the halfway point and really started meandering and I just kept on going- ok so where is this going- what does the conclusion lead to? and the conclusion was - not that impressive or emotionally resonant. however, the concepts, the drawing and the amount of effort clearly put into writing this book is very much seen on every page, the idea of having a book be constructed around the meaning of Indigenous Flowers was just rlly lovely- and a lot of the relationships and Alice’s perspective as a young child was written really well. Super vivid and beautiful writing- even though at points, I found it a little overdone due to the page count. I think June’s character felt a little inconsistently written and with the combination of her and Oggi’s whole plot line- overall, despite how engaging I found the novel, the book overall felt a little cluttered which diluted the seriousness of the discussed topics of domestic abuse and intergenerational trauma that was meant to be the focus of the book. Once again though- for the beautiful writing, for the first half of this book, for the drawings and for highlighting the beauty of Australia - as an Aussie, I especially loved it- and I’m glad that Ringland didn’t write from an Indigenous perspective as a non-Indigenous woman.
It did also just make me realise that I have read an embarrassingly minute amount of books written by First Nations authors- so- I’ve added Prasieworthy and hope to read that soon!
loved the start of this but then it got to the halfway point and really started meandering and I just kept on going- ok so where is this going- what does the conclusion lead to? and the conclusion was - not that impressive or emotionally resonant. however, the concepts, the drawing and the amount of effort clearly put into writing this book is very much seen on every page, the idea of having a book be constructed around the meaning of Indigenous Flowers was just rlly lovely- and a lot of the relationships and Alice’s perspective as a young child was written really well. Super vivid and beautiful writing- even though at points, I found it a little overdone due to the page count. I think June’s character felt a little inconsistently written and with the combination of her and Oggi’s whole plot line- overall, despite how engaging I found the novel, the book overall felt a little cluttered which diluted the seriousness of the discussed topics of domestic abuse and intergenerational trauma that was meant to be the focus of the book. Once again though- for the beautiful writing, for the first half of this book, for the drawings and for highlighting the beauty of Australia - as an Aussie, I especially loved it- and I’m glad that Ringland didn’t write from an Indigenous perspective as a non-Indigenous woman.
It did also just make me realise that I have read an embarrassingly minute amount of books written by First Nations authors- so- I’ve added Prasieworthy and hope to read that soon!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Domestic abuse
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Beautiful book, loved it to pieces.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse
emotional
informative
inspiring
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Truly incredible x
I was in Oslo a few weeks ago and came across this book. I couldn't resist it because of the cover, ha ha. That doesn't happen very often - but a few times a year, I will fall for this. I also loved how every chapter started with the illustration of a flower and its meaning.
This was an unusual and lovely coming of age story involving Alice Hart, the child of an abusive father and a mother who loved flowers. When her father and pregnant mother are killed in a fire, she is sent into the care of her paternal grandmother whom she's never met before. June teaches Alice, who has lost her voice, the language of flowers. However, June is not entirely open with her ward, wanting to protect her even at the cost of the truth. The setting is variations of Australian wilderness.
There was a time when I wouldn't read this type of book. In Norway they call it "løkkeskrift roman" or "cursive writing novel", meaning typical women's literature. However, there is a great deal of comfort and entertainment to be found in this type of book, so I no longer snub my nose. I loved "the lost flowers of Alice Hart" and I will endow my sister with a copy. I know she will adore it. So will my teenage niece.
This was an unusual and lovely coming of age story involving Alice Hart, the child of an abusive father and a mother who loved flowers. When her father and pregnant mother are killed in a fire, she is sent into the care of her paternal grandmother whom she's never met before. June teaches Alice, who has lost her voice, the language of flowers. However, June is not entirely open with her ward, wanting to protect her even at the cost of the truth. The setting is variations of Australian wilderness.
There was a time when I wouldn't read this type of book. In Norway they call it "løkkeskrift roman" or "cursive writing novel", meaning typical women's literature. However, there is a great deal of comfort and entertainment to be found in this type of book, so I no longer snub my nose. I loved "the lost flowers of Alice Hart" and I will endow my sister with a copy. I know she will adore it. So will my teenage niece.