Saturday, January 9, 2010

Forget-Her-Nots by Amy Brecount White

Originality- 17/20
Characters- 16/20
Remembrance- 6/10
Quote-ability- 6/10
Entertainment- 17/20
Ending- 8/10
Recommend to read- 6/10
TOTAL- 76/100
Grade- C

When someone leaves three mystery flowers outside her dorm door, Laurel thinks that maybe the Avondale School isn't so awful after all -- until her own body starts to freak out. In the middle of her English presentation on the Victorian Language of Flowers, strange words pop into her head, and her body seems to tingle and hum. Impulsively, Laurel gives the love bouquet she made to demonstrate the language to her spinster English teacher. When that teacher unexpectedly and immediately finds romance, Laurel suspects that something -- something magical -- is up.

With her new friend, Kate, she sets out to discover the origins and breadth of her powers by experimenting on herself and others. But she can't seem to find any living experts in the field of flower powers to guide her. And her bouquets don't always do her bidding, especially when it comes to her own crush, Justin. Rumors about Laurel and her flowers fly across campus, and she's soon besieged by requests from girls -- both friends and enemies -- who want their lives magically transformed -- just in time for prom.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------

This book was very different. With all of the paranormal stuff going on in other novels it was nice to read something that was rooted more in history and ancestry. I really like the Victorian age so I was familiar with the flower language. I really liked how White explained the strong scents and feelings that Laurel felt.

Laurel seemed like the perfect balance of wanting to learn more and experimenting with her powers and being wary and confused about them. At times it did seem like she should of just said no to people asking for flowers, especially when things started to get a little crazy. As a character Laurel was pretty average. She didn't stick out in my mind or grow enormously. She was just there.

I didn't even get a read on the other characters since the story is mainly focused on Laurel. There were some mean girls and her friends. Oh and of course her crush. The romance part of the book didn't stand out very much. It was there, but didn't add a lot to the story.

Like I said before it was the story that kept me interested, not the characters. The whole idea that flowers are more than just a pretty thing to look at was really fun. There was enough drama, action, and information to keep me from getting bored. The ending was really nice as well, it made me all happy inside. I would recommend this book to anyone who likes flowers or Victorian history.

-Amanda

4 comments:

Test said...

I liked this book a lot, though you do make a good point about the characters. Since, the plot was basically the thing that kept me interested, too, not the characters, but I didn't have the biggest of problems with it. Since, I still did find Laurel and her friends mostly interesting. Anyway, great review!

Unknown said...

Well this certainly sounds a little different which is a good thing in my book. I can't quite get my mind around the idea of magical flowers though. I think it would be easier if I read the book.

Stephanie said...

This sounds unique and interesting -- it's too bad you didn't find the characters to be well developed. Thanks for the honest review!

Ashley said...

Sounds very different.