"It comes down to your word against his."

Dear Becca,

For some reason I keep putting off the writing of this blog post. I don’t know what it is. Maybe I just don’t have a lot to say about the book or maybe I’m just tired of working on the computer all day long. Whatever it is, I won’t delay any longer….

The first thing that struck me about YOU AGAINST ME is how British it is. In reading your last post, I overlooked the bit about Jenny Downham being British. And even though I did a bit of reading about her myself and knew – somewhere in my subconscious – that she was British, it didn’t occur to me that it would be so apparent in her novel. My first clue: Mikey’s mom walks into the room with a fag in her hand. My jaw dropped until I remembered what fag is slang for in England (cigarette). And then there was the spanner that Mikey carried around for a whole chapter… I would be curious to know if there are two versions of the book and if you happened to purchase the original, British version. When I studied abroad in the UK, I picked up a Sarah Dessen book and the publisher had changed common American slang in order to make it more British. Pants became trousers, etc. But it doesn’t seem like that‘s the case this time. It just seems like a very British book. (And there wasn’t anything wrong with that once I got used to the slang!)

As you mentioned, there was a good balance of “all the lovey-dovey stuff” which was good because I trend toward far more fairy-tale romances than you do. I have to hand it to Downham – she wrote the most beautiful sex scene that I have read so far in YA. From Ellie’s perspective it was very moving and captured the sentiment without being too blatantly physical. I loved it.

SPOILER ALERT: One thing I want to say which is immensely cynical …Despite the fact that Mikey and Ellie overcome their “Romeo and Juliet”-like conflicts and wind up together, I can’t help but question the longevity and practicality of their relationship. On the one hand, I truly do believe that if you love each other enough you can overcome any obstacles. But on the other hand, as a very family-oriented person, I can’t imagine being in a relationship where there is such deep-rooted conflict between your families. In Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet, there is no good reason for their grudge against one another so they can overcome it if they put their minds to it. But in this novel, the conflict makes perfect sense. I can’t imagine Mikey’s sister, Karyn, ever forgiving Tom for what he’s done to her. She’ll probably never be able to stand in the same room with him again. If Mikey and Karyn’s relationship is going to last for the rest of their lives, they will continue to face obstacles like that and what a challenging environment to start your own family in!

If I haven’t made it clear up to this point, though, I definitely enjoyed this book. It’s one I might not have picked up on my own – when it comes to YA, I don’t usually pick up books about sexual abuse –but the main characters are really compelling and it has a feel-good ending which I always appreciate!

Til we read again,

Megan

"I'm more of a thistle-peony-basil kind of girl."

Hi Megan!

After reading your review, I was really excited to get my hands on The Language of Flowers.  As I briefly mentioned in a comment on your post, I'm completely fascinated by secret languages. For instance: prison tattoos. In high school, I caught an episode of "Taboo" on the subject, and later I would fall in love with David Cronenberg's Eastern Promises, which revolves around the Russian Mob in England. Every tattoo means something, and for those in the know, a simple glance at another's body can reveal their life story. Can you imagine? I even briefly entertained pursuing Sociology, with the intent of further researching this subculture.

Naturally, since I have yet to be placed behind bars, the idea of a language embedded within the gifting of flowers, which I love and are much safer than prison needles and ink made from urine and boot rubber, caught my attention prior to even opening the book.

I love this cover! Follow this to find out about  the movie rights.

Happily, I was not disappointed. I really did get caught up in her courtship with Grant, one fueled by the exchange of message-laden flowers rather than meaningless trinkets and sentimental gushings. It seemed real.  Theirs was the courtship of two damaged people, who have been beaten down by a cruel world and for whom the odds are hardly in their favor. So "love" was not instantaneous. "Trust" was not assumed. It took time, and healing, for them to finally overcome their insecurities and fears and tentatively pursue a loving, committed relationship with another human being.  So while you're being refreshed by your return to Young Adult fiction, I'm quite happy with my heavy dose of adult reality.

However, it is a Young Adult novel that this book reminds me most of. Way, way back in the day, sitting in my sixth grade class, I snagged a book of the teacher's bookshelf, and while it's hardly a masterpiece of literature, it has still managed to stick with me over the years.  The Woman in the Wall by Patrice Kindl tells the story of Anna, a little girl who is not only shy, but overlooked.  Her family is so unaware that she is able to create secret spaces within the walls of her home and vanish for a period of several years, with no one being truly the wiser.  She is neglected, yet finds a way to rise above, and this is what reminds me of Victoria in Diffenbaugh's novel.  Both girls are intelligent and capable of doing great and wonderful things, but it is not until they can run through the obstacle course Fate has set in front of them that they are able to rise above and take full advantage of all the talent they have been blessed with and love they are capable of.

All praises aside, Diffenbaugh did not write a perfect novel.  It took me a little bit of time to get into, as the beginning is rather slow (no flowers!).  But, once she got out of the halfway house and I began to pick up what exactly was going on with that time travelling narrative (that's another one you've picked that bounces around time, by the way), I was able to really get into it, and the first half of the book flew by.  However, come the moment of crisis, when Victoria is faced with the ultimate commitment-motherhood-and once again runs away, I was pissed. I mean really, really upset. Here is the girl who knows better than anyone what it means to be abandoned, and she goes and continues the cycle of neglect. And what's worse is that those women who were meant to be her support system and keep an eye out for things like postpartum depression are completely oblivious to her rapid mental decay!  Really, that section almost ruined the book for me. Had it ended differently, well, this would be an entirely different blog post.

Since I've now overrun my word limit by quite a bit, I'll go ahead and stop now. But first, I thought I'd share my favorite flower and it's meaning:

Alstroemeria: Devotion

Keep Calm and Read On,

Becca