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A review by serenityofbooks
The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart by Holly Ringland
5.0
As it’s only 8 days until the release of Holly Ringland’s new book, my pick for #throwbackthursday this week is her bestselling debut book The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart.
Firstly, I’ll issue a disclaimer – this is one of my favourite books of all time and I recommend it to almost everyone (whether they ask for my opinion or not!).
This coming-of-age story follows Alice Hart, a young Australian girl born into an abusive family situation who becomes tragically orphaned. She is taken to live with Grandmother on her flower farm and here she becomes captivated by the Australian native flowers grown on the farm and their meanings. Growing up, she begins to use these meanings to understand the complexities of her own life and the trauma and secrets from her early childhood. Spanning over 20 years, we follow Alice as she navigates her first steps into adulthood and find her own way in the world, overcoming her past and discovering new strength in herself.
I’ll be the first to admit when I picked this book up, not long after it was released in 2018, I did so based solely on the stunning cover artwork. I knew nothing about the storyline or author, just thought it was gorgeous looking book! But as soon as I started reading, I was immediately enchanted by the beautiful descriptive writing of the rich characters and places. I fell in love with Alice and was compelled to follow her story from the very first line of the book. I found it was both heartbreaking and life affirming at the same time. The beautiful drawings of the flowers and their meanings at the beginning of each chapter made it extra special for me.
In 2019, this book won the Australian Book Industry Awards General Fiction Book of the Year and went on to be a bestseller internationally translated into 31 languages. It has been adapted by Amazon Prime into a TV series due to air next year and staring Sigourney Weaver. Hollys’ second book, The Seven Skins of Esther Wilding, is due for release on 30th September and looks to be another breathtaking story to be consumed by.
Firstly, I’ll issue a disclaimer – this is one of my favourite books of all time and I recommend it to almost everyone (whether they ask for my opinion or not!).
This coming-of-age story follows Alice Hart, a young Australian girl born into an abusive family situation who becomes tragically orphaned. She is taken to live with Grandmother on her flower farm and here she becomes captivated by the Australian native flowers grown on the farm and their meanings. Growing up, she begins to use these meanings to understand the complexities of her own life and the trauma and secrets from her early childhood. Spanning over 20 years, we follow Alice as she navigates her first steps into adulthood and find her own way in the world, overcoming her past and discovering new strength in herself.
I’ll be the first to admit when I picked this book up, not long after it was released in 2018, I did so based solely on the stunning cover artwork. I knew nothing about the storyline or author, just thought it was gorgeous looking book! But as soon as I started reading, I was immediately enchanted by the beautiful descriptive writing of the rich characters and places. I fell in love with Alice and was compelled to follow her story from the very first line of the book. I found it was both heartbreaking and life affirming at the same time. The beautiful drawings of the flowers and their meanings at the beginning of each chapter made it extra special for me.
In 2019, this book won the Australian Book Industry Awards General Fiction Book of the Year and went on to be a bestseller internationally translated into 31 languages. It has been adapted by Amazon Prime into a TV series due to air next year and staring Sigourney Weaver. Hollys’ second book, The Seven Skins of Esther Wilding, is due for release on 30th September and looks to be another breathtaking story to be consumed by.