Forget-Her-Nots by Amy Brecount White Review

Book: Forget-Her-Nots
Author: Amy Brecount White
Age: 12 & up

Release Date: March 2nd, 2010
Pages: 384
Source: borrowed from Zoe
Summary: 

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. 

Review: Forget-Her-Nots is a fresh and fun debut novel. 

At the beginning of the novel, I didn't quite know what to expect. As soon as Laurel began her Language of Flowers presentation for one of her classes, however, my curiosity took hold of me and the pages kept turning. The characters in this story were lively, and fun. Rose, Laurel's cousin, was my favorite because she was just so honest and kind. Laurel came across as sweet, while she did have her moments of being not-so-nice (which I thought really added to her being realistic). Her pain over her mother's death is very real, and heartbreaking. Same with her distant feelings towards her father. 

Once Laurel's gift spreads around the campus, more and more girls want their own flowers to work some magic in their lives. Laurel being Laurel, she wants to help out everyone and learn more about her gift at the same time. It was amusing to see all of the great moments Laurel had with her gift, as well as the ones gone awry. The story is completely cute, and it's very easy to relate to Laurel. This is one of those novels that is easy to enjoy, and it just makes you grin like a fool.

Highlights: I loved the author's use of the flower language, and just her overall creativity. I learned so much about the Victorian Language of Flowers, and I enjoyed learning all of the different meanings flowers hold (and the glossary in the back helped when I forgot). I also really loved the description of the flowers and their scents.

Lowlights: There were some blah moments where I wanted the pace to pick up a bit, and times where I just wanted to shake some sense into Laurel. But overall, it was an entirely adorable debut. 

Rating:   

Lea