Review: Forget-Her-Nots

Title: Forget-Her-Nots
Author: Amy Brecount-White
Page Count: 374 pages
Publisher: Greenwillow
Genre: young adult, fantasy
Copy for review provided by Around the World Tours in anticipation of an honest review

50 words or less: Just when Laurel starts to think she has a handle on awkward adolescence, high school, and the death of her mother/distance from her father, she learns about a whole other world she never knew existed.

Before I get started with the review, let's take a moment and contemplate these cupcakes:Aren't they beautiful? Indeed they are.

Why the cupcakes? I find, after finishing Forget-Her-Nots, that cupcakes are a perfect metaphor for the experience of reading this book. Forget-Her-Nots is sweet, fluffy, aesthetically pleasing, but, I suspect, will not gain its reputation based on its nutritional value.

That's not a slam- stories like this one are oftentimes just what the doctor ordered to counteract a stressful day, a huge assignment, a project that's spiraling out of control, etc. It's a definite low-stress book and one you can be comfortable giving to young readers.

Laurel is fourteen and, after giving a presentation in English class on the Victorian language of flowers, finds that she has a better grasp of the language than she'd thought- almost a magical one. Her bouquets have the tendency to make things happen, and when word gets out that she has this ability, everyone at her all-girls school wants a little help finding true love just in time for the prom.

Of course, Laurel's got love issues of her own, and is trying to not only deal with those, but also some family drama as well. She's still dealing from the unfortunate death of her mother and the emotional unavailability of her father; if only fixing those things was as easy as saying it with flowers.

To be fair, Forget-Her-Nots did have a few pacing issues, and there were times that I found myself wondering if I'd missed something in the exposition of the story, as there were things it felt like we as the audience were just supposed to know that weren't explicitly stated. These issues don't interfere with the overall experience of the book, though, which is always a good thing.

Easily my favorite part of the book was actually learning about the language of flowers- I love books that have an unusual element like this and then show it off to good effect. I recommend Forget-Her-Nots to anyone looking for a cupcake of a book.

Overall Grade: B+