A Kirkus Reviews Best Book * A 2020 YALSA Best Fiction for Young Adults Selection
For fans of Jenny Han, Morgan Matson, and Sandhya Menon, critically acclaimed author Misa Sugiura delivers a richly crafted contemporary YA novel about family, community, and the importance of writing your own history.
The author of the Asian Pacific American Award-winning It’s Not Like It’s a Secret is back with another smartly drawn coming-of-age novel that weaves riveting family drama, surprising humor, and delightful romance into a story that will draw you in from the very first page.
Katsuyamas never quit—but seventeen-year-old CJ doesn’t even know where to start. She’s never lived up to her mom’s type A ambition, and she’s perfectly happy just helping her aunt, Hannah, at their family’s flower shop.
She doesn’t buy into Hannah’s romantic ideas about flowers and their hidden meanings, but when it comes to arranging the perfect bouquet, CJ discovers a knack she never knew she had. A skill she might even be proud of.
Then her mom decides to sell the shop—to the family who swindled CJ’s grandparents when thousands of Japanese Americans were sent to internment camps during WWII. Soon a rift threatens to splinter CJ’s family, friends, and their entire Northern California community; and for the first time, CJ has found something she wants to fight for.
- A Powerful Mother-Daughter Story: CJ has never lived up to her mother’s type A ambition. But when their family legacy is on the line, she’ll have to find her own way to be the person her mom always wanted her to be—a fighter.
- Identity and Self-Discovery: Happy to stay in the background at her family's flower shop, CJ is thrust into the role of an activist when she’s forced to confront a historical injustice and learns that some things are worth fighting for.
- Heartfelt Family Drama: When her family is torn apart by a secret deal, CJ must choose between loyalty and her own blossoming sense of right and wrong, all while navigating friendships, first crushes, and the true meaning of "Katsuyamas never quit."
- The Language of Flowers: Set in a charming family-owned flower shop, this story weaves the hidden meanings of flowers into a rich, unforgettable narrative about finding your own voice and making history.
