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.
- Writing Your Own History: CJ must confront her family’s painful past—and her mother’s ambition—to save the flower shop that represents their legacy.
- High School Activism: When history threatens to repeat itself, CJ discovers that fighting for what’s right means taking a stand in her community and finding allies in unexpected places.
- A Sweet Flower Shop Romance: Amidst family turmoil and late-night bouquet arranging, a charming new apprentice might be exactly what CJ needs... if she can get over her crush on the most popular guy in school.
- The Language of Flowers: Discover a world where every bouquet tells a story, and the right combination of flowers has the power to change hearts and minds.
