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The Language Of Flowers (novel)
''The Language of Flowers'' is the debut novel of American author Vanessa Diffenbaugh. It was published in 2011 by Ballantine Books. The novel follows the fraught life of a Victoria Jones, who by the age of 18, had lived in 32 foster homes, and becomes a flower arranger. The novel was inspired by a flower dictionary, a type of Victorian-era book which defines what different types of flowers mean. Diffenbaugh also published a new non-fiction "A Victorian Flower Dictionary" to accompany the novel. The novel was recommended for use in book clubs. Themes The plot of the novel focuses on finding love, adoption, emancipation, homelessness, single motherhood and attachment disorder, but the main focus is on the foster system. The SFGate reviewer Malena Watrous described the novel as much less "grittier" than other discussions of the foster system, which Watrous partially attributes to Diffenbaugh's own adoption of children from that system. Though the flowers within the novel largely ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Vanessa Diffenbaugh
Vanessa Diffenbaugh (born 1978) is the American author of the novel '' The Language of Flowers'' and the nonfiction ''A Victorian Flower Dictionary''. Biography Diffenbaugh was born in San Francisco and raised in Chico, California. After studying creative writing and education at Stanford, she went on to teach art and writing to youth in low-income communities. During her time at Stanford, she began mentoring two sisters. The sisters were placed into Diffenbaugh's custody at age 23, but unable to care for them surrendered them to the foster care system. The experience inspired Diffenbaugh and her husband to become foster care parents in 2007. In 2010, she founded of the Camellia Network, a nonprofit organization intended to create a nationwide movement to support youth transitioning from foster care. In 2015, the network was acquired by the non-profit Youth Villages. Her 2011 book, '' The Language of Flowers'', stayed 69 weeks on the ''New York Times’'' best-seller list and ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territories, nine Minor Outlying Islands, and 326 Indian reservations. The United States is also in free association with three Pacific Island sovereign states: the Federated States of Micronesia, the Marshall Islands, and the Republic of Palau. It is the world's third-largest country by both land and total area. It shares land borders with Canada to its north and with Mexico to its south and has maritime borders with the Bahamas, Cuba, Russia, and other nations. With a population of over 333 million, it is the most populous country in the Americas and the third most populous in the world. The national capital of the United States is Washington, D.C. and its most populous city and principal financial center is New York City. Paleo-Americ ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ballantine Books
Ballantine Books is a major book publisher located in the United States, founded in 1952 by Ian Ballantine with his wife, Betty Ballantine. It was acquired by Random House in 1973, which in turn was acquired by Bertelsmann in 1998 and remains part of that company today. Ballantine's original logo was a pair of mirrored letter Bs back to back, while its current logo is two Bs stacked to form an elaborate gate. The firm's early editors were Stanley Kauffmann and Bernard Shir-Cliff. History Following Fawcett Publications' controversial 1950 introduction of Gold Medal paperback originals rather than reprints, Lion Books, Avon and Ace also decided to publish originals. In 1952, Ian Ballantine, a founder of Bantam Books, announced that he would "offer trade publishers a plan for simultaneous publishing of original titles in two editions, a hardcover 'regular' edition for bookstore sale, and a paper-cover, 'newsstand' size, low-priced edition for mass market sale." When the first ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Paperback
A paperback (softcover, softback) book is one with a thick paper or paperboard cover, and often held together with adhesive, glue rather than stitch (textile arts), stitches or Staple (fastener), staples. In contrast, hardcover (hardback) books are bound with cardboard covered with cloth, leather, paper, or plastic. Inexpensive books bound in paper have existed since at least the 19th century in such forms as pamphlets, yellow-backs, yellowbacks, dime novels, and airport novels. Modern paperbacks can be differentiated from one another by size. In the United States, there are "mass-market paperbacks" and larger, more durable "trade paperbacks". In the United Kingdom, there are A-format, B-format, and the largest C-format sizes. Paperback editions of books are issued when a publisher decides to release a book in a low-cost format. Lower-quality paper, glued (rather than stapled or sewn) bindings, and the lack of a hard cover may contribute to the lower cost of paperbacks. Paperb ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Debut Novel
A debut novel is the first novel a novelist publishes. Debut novels are often the author's first opportunity to make an impact on the publishing industry, and thus the success or failure of a debut novel can affect the ability of the author to publish in the future. First-time novelists without a previous published reputation, such as publication in nonfiction, magazines, or literary journals, typically struggle to find a publisher. Sometimes new novelists will self-publish their debut novels, because publishing houses will not risk the capital needed to market books by an unknown author to the public. Most publishers purchase rights to novels, especially debut novels, through literary agents, who screen client work before sending it to publishers. These hurdles to publishing reflect both publishers' limits in resources for reviewing and publishing unknown works, and that readers typically buy more books by established authors with a reputation than first-time writers. For this ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Foster Care
Foster care is a system in which a minor has been placed into a ward, group home (residential child care community, treatment center, etc.), or private home of a state-certified caregiver, referred to as a "foster parent" or with a family member approved by the state. The placement of the child is normally arranged through the government or a social service agency. The institution, group home, or foster parent is compensated for expenses unless with a family member. In some states, relative or "Kinship" caregivers of children who are wards of the state are provided with a financial stipend. The state, via the family court and child protective services agency, stand ''in loco parentis'' to the minor, making all legal decisions while the foster parent is responsible for the day-to-day care of the minor. Scholars and activists are concerned about the efficacy of the foster care services provided by NGOs. Specifically, this pertains to poor retention rates of social workers. Poo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Attachment Disorder
Attachment disorder is a broad term intended to describe disorders of mood, behavior, and social relationships arising from unavailability of normal socializing care and attention from primary care giving figures in early childhood. Such a failure would result from unusual early experiences of neglect, abuse, abrupt separation from caregivers between three months and three years of age, frequent change or excessive numbers of caregivers, or lack of caregiver responsiveness to child communicative efforts resulting in a lack of basic trust. A person's ''attachment style'' is permanently established before the age of three. A problematic history of social relationships occurring after about age three may be distressing to a child, but does not result in attachment disorder. The term attachment disorder is used to describe emotional and behavioral problems of young children, and also applied to school-age children, teenagers and adults. The specific difficulties implied depend on th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid digital subscribers. It also is a producer of popular podcasts such as '' The Daily''. Founded in 1851 by Henry Jarvis Raymond and George Jones, it was initially published by Raymond, Jones & Company. The ''Times'' has won 132 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any newspaper, and has long been regarded as a national " newspaper of record". For print it is ranked 18th in the world by circulation and 3rd in the U.S. The paper is owned by the New York Times Company, which is publicly traded. It has been governed by the Sulzberger family since 1896, through a dual-class share structure after its shares became publicly traded. A. G. Sulzberger, the paper's publisher and the company's chairman, is the fifth generation of the family to head the pa ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Charles Dickens
Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian era.. His works enjoyed unprecedented popularity during his lifetime and, by the 20th century, critics and scholars had recognised him as a literary genius. His novels and short stories are widely read today. Born in Portsmouth, Dickens left school at the age of 12 to work in a boot-blacking factory when his father was incarcerated in a debtors' prison. After three years he returned to school, before he began his literary career as a journalist. Dickens edited a weekly journal for 20 years, wrote 15 novels, five novellas, hundreds of short stories and non-fiction articles, lectured and performed readings extensively, was an indefatigable letter writer, and campaigned vigorously for children's rights, for education, and for other social ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jane Eyre
''Jane Eyre'' ( ; originally published as ''Jane Eyre: An Autobiography'') is a novel by the English writer Charlotte Brontë. It was published under her pen name "Currer Bell" on 19 October 1847 by Smith, Elder & Co. of London. The first American edition was published the following year by Harper & Brothers of New York. ''Jane Eyre'' is a ''Bildungsroman'' which follows the experiences of its eponymous heroine, including her growth to adulthood and her love for Mr Rochester, the brooding master of Thornfield Hall. The novel revolutionised prose fiction by being the first to focus on its protagonist's moral and spiritual development through an intimate first-person narrative, where actions and events are coloured by a psychological intensity. Charlotte Brontë has been called the "first historian of the private consciousness", and the literary ancestor of writers like Marcel Proust and James Joyce. The book contains elements of social criticism with a strong sense of Ch ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nick Robinson (American Actor)
Nicholas John Robinson (born March 22, 1995) is an American actor. As a child, he appeared in a 2008 stage production of ''A Christmas Carol'' and ''Mame'', after which he starred in the television sitcom ''Melissa & Joey'' (2010–2015). He went on to play a supporting role in the adventure film ''Jurassic World'' (2015) and took on lead roles in several teen dramas, including ''The Kings of Summer'' (2013), '' The 5th Wave'' (2016), '' Everything, Everything'' (2017), and '' Love, Simon'' (2018). He has since starred in the miniseries ''A Teacher'' (2020) and ''Maid'' (2021). In 2018, Robinson was named in ''Forbes'' "30 Under 30" list in the Hollywood & Entertainment category. Early life Robinson was born on March 22, 1995, in Seattle, Washington. He has four younger siblings. His mother is Denise Podnar. Robinson initially attended Seattle Preparatory School, but left in the middle of his freshman year and moved to Los Angeles after booking a regular role on ''Melissa & Joey ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kiersey Clemons
Kiersey Nicole Clemons (born December 17, 1993) is an American actress. She is known for her role in the 2015 comedy-drama film '' Dope'', playing Cassandra "Diggy" Andrews. Subsequently, she went on to co-star in '' Neighbors 2: Sorority Rising'' (2016), ''Flatliners'' (2017), ''Hearts Beat Loud'' (2018), '' Sweetheart'' (2019), ''Lady and the Tramp'' (2019), ''Scoob!'' (2020), and ''Zack Snyder's Justice League'' (2021). Clemons had recurring roles in numerous television series, including ''Austin & Ally'' (2013), ''Transparent'' (2014–2015), ''Extant'' (2015), and '' Easy'' (2016–2019), and had a main role in the final season of the comedy series ''Angie Tribeca'' (2018). Early life Clemons was born on December 17, 1993, in Pensacola, Florida. She grew up in Redondo Beach, California. Clemons is biracial, of African-American and white heritage. Career Early in her career, Clemons co-starred in the Disney Channel series ''Austin & Ally'' as Kira Starr. She also appear ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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