The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart

I really loved this book and was gripped from the first few pages. Alice dreams of freedom but the only way to achieve the freedom she desires is to face herself and her story. Heartbreaking, heartwarming, raw and honest. A wonderful debut novel.

I've yearned for a book like this for a while, especially since the last month had few books that made me feel like this did. I am not saying I did not read good books last month, just that they were not really for me. An hour into Alice's story and I was tearing up. I shed a tear for the child that Alice was, with her vivid imagination and poetic thoughts, I shed another for when her home situation becomes unstable enough to cause a major change in her life. Things then are supposed to settle down, pain is supposed to ease but human nature being what it is further hurdles come her way. 

Alice Hart is not safe in her home, its something she does not know at the age of nine or even before that. She does know to be careful. She feels peace with the flowers her mother grew and sees her mother a whole other ethereal being amongst them. One day, a thought and a fire later Alice's known world has collapsed.She now moves into a home, where flowers are revered and hold special secrets, a few of them her mother did not have a chance to tell her about before. That is the first phase of the book. Then there is another as she's older but not any wiser about her past. This is the story of her journey and of the hearts that she connects with on the way(Their story is given equal importance). I am not saying I liked all of the book, but the parts I did overshadowed the others to reduce it to almost non-existence. The writing has a depth which has refreshed my mind for whatever I read next. It has given me new respect for flowers.

A superb debut novel from Holly Ringland.......Alice Hart, the central character lives in Australia in isolation with her Mothers flowers and the messages hidden within them to guide her through life after going to live on a flower farm with a Grandmother she didn’t know existed and a variety of colourful women who each were to play a major part in Alice’s life as she faces a shocking secret, a betrayal and meets a man who may not be all he seems to be.

I loved this story from the first page, Alice herself, her friends and foes, and the weaving in of the Australian wildflowers which I found even more fascinating as I have visited numerous times myself and was in fact why this book first attracted me.

The story pulls you in and doesn’t let go until the very last petal falls......highly recommended for all ages. Thanks to the Net Galley and the publisher Pan MacMillan for giving me the opportunity to review this book. #NetGalley #TheLostFlowersOfAliceHart #hollyringland

A beautiful read. Alice Hart lives with her parents, isolated in their farmhouse, fearing her father's violence on a daily basis. Following tragedy, she moves to live with June, her grandmother, on the Thornfield flower farm with the other Flowers - all girls with difficult histories.- where she learns the art of floriography - the language of flowers. Alice's relationship with her grandmother is often difficult and she moves on to a national park for a new start. Dysfunctional relationships continue to shape Alice's life and she strives to understand her own story using the language of flowers. As the pieces slot together, can Alice restart her story for good? A beautiful, emotional read, framed at every step with striking, evocative descriptions of Australia's flora. Highly recommended.

Alice spends her days hiding from her father, and helping her bruised, fragile mother tend to the garden. She’s kept away from school, family and the local village. But then one day tragedy strikes and Alice’s world starts to open up. Can she put her demons aside, or is she destined to repeat her parents’ mistakes? A perfect summer read, although you may find it a struggle to tear yourself away.

Set in Eastern Australia, this story is about Alice, a 9 year old girl who finds herself moving to live with her grandmother following a family tragedy. Alice has never before met her grandmother, yet there is something familiar about her face. June (Grandma) owns Thornfield, a farm that grows native Australian flowers and plants, and she takes in and employs women called 'Flowers', each with her own sad story.

Each chapter of this book begins with the description of a flower or plant, including its physical appearance, where it can be found and what that specimen 'means' according to the Thornfield Dictionary, a book of stories and knowledge written by the women of the family and passed down through the generations. As Alice grows older she tries to get her Grandmother to open up and tell her about her family. Alice knows there are many deep secrets but June thinks she is protecting Alice by keeping her in the dark, preferring to use the language of the flowers she grows instead of speaking the actual words that Alice desperately needs to hear. But eventually, despite all the lies and half truths, the secrets find a way through the flowers.

I loved this book. At times it reminded me a tiny bit of Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen and Alice Hoffman's Practical Magic, probably due to the story being mainly focused on the women (though there are a few chaps too, and dogs!), and with plants and flowers being more than than just for decoration. Having said that, there is no actual 'magic' in this book, though there is a little talk of curses and folklore and fairy tales.

A beautifully written, heartbreaking story that will stay with me for a long time.