Cannonball Read 18

Sticking It to Cancer One Book at a Time


No bed of roses

The Language of Flowers: A Novel by Vanessa Diffenbaugh

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I downloaded this novel last summer because the main character is a product of the foster care system in the US and I thought it would have some interesting things to say about that system and the difficulties it presents to children in it. In some ways the novel does do that, but mainly it is a reflection on parenthood and flawed parenting. How do you become a good adult/parent if you haven’t had one? The story is told from the point of view of […]

Going to have to rate this book with Begonia, Crab-apple blossom, and Saffron

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2.5 stars. I’m trying to figure out if this book really did have serious flaws or if it was just wasn’t a fit for me and my tastes. It’s very possible that it’s a mixture of both. Obviously I made it through to the end and it wasn’t a hate read so it wasn’t a terrible book, but I found it to be an incredibly frustrating read. The beginning was almost magical in the way it drew me in. By two-thirds of the way through […]

Foster Care and Flowers

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When my book club chose this as our March selection, I was worried that it would be overly twee—I just knew it had something to do with the Victorian language of flowers and a damaged young woman. Luckily, this first novel by Vanessa Diffenbaugh is a bit grittier (even though there is a small bit of magical realism) and I found it quite engaging. The novel alternates between two stories: what happens when Victoria Jones turns 18, leaves the group home she’s been living in […]



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