OVERVIEW
This is Michelle's debut novel. I really liked this book, but I didn't love it as I thought I would.
It definitely appealed to me as it was historical fiction based on a real event that occurred in a Missouri Ozark town in 1928. I knew nothing about this event at all. Also, my paternal grandfather was from the Ozarks region, but in Arkansas.
OVERALL REVIEW: 3.5 stars.
Writing: 3.5 stars
Michelle's writing is good, and I look forward to the next book that she writes.
The writing could have been improved by stronger editing. It would have been a much better book if it had been reduced by about 100 pages. Also, the last chapter was too fantastical and religious for my personal taste, as were other parts of this novel.
Character development: 3.5 stars
The main characters were Rose (grandmother to Rose, mother to Lettie, and local undertaker) and Daisy (granddaughter to Rose, daughter to Lettie, and newspaper summer intern).
The secondary characters include Lettie (Rose's daughter, Daisy's mother, and wild child), who leaves Daisy with her grandmother, and Joe (Daisy's friend and the town's golden boy).
The townspeople, the small town, and the local newspaper are the tertiary characters.
As usual for me, I wanted more character development, especially with regards to the Rose, Lettie, and Daisy triangle. Daisy is almost the same age as I would have been in the novel, so I really connect with her on a visceral level.
Storyline: 3.5 stars
The storyline was brutal and graphic. The prologue immediately drops you into the horror of the fictional Lamb's Dance Hall Explosion in 1928. It is horrific and makes you feel the pain and fear of those involved.
Then we flash forward fifty years to 1978. Daisy is researching historical events to do an "on this day" piece for the local newspaper. She uncovers the story of the Lamb's Dance Hall Explosion and sets out to research it, interview survivors, and understand what had happened.
Daisy actually uncovers lies, secrets, and mysteries that have been hidden for fifty years. This seems unbelievable to me and not something that a fifteen-year-old would have uncovered.
NOTE: I am not sharing the specific details because it would ruin the book for anyone who reads this review. I figured out the big secret within fifty pages of the book. This big secret, however, isn't revealed until about 75% into the story (editing would have helped here).
The location was the fictional Possum Flats, Missouri.
Memorable/Informative: 4.5 stars
There are many stories similar to the actual Bond Dance Hall Explosion in West Plains, Missouri, in 1928, on which this novel is based. I knew nothing about this disaster at all!
In History classes, we never learned about the story of the Tulsa Massacre in 1921 and the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory Fire in 1911, for instance. We must learn about honest and true history, and not the whitewashed type.
Book cover: 5.0 stars
Prettyl!
Book title: 5.0 stars
Perfect!
Recommend
Los Angeles Public Library (LAPL) borrow: ebook
The Flower Sisters by Michelle Collins Anderson
392 pages
A John Scognamiglio Book
Release date: 4/23/2024
INFORMATIONAL LINKS
Los Angeles Public Library (LAPL)
TRIGGER WARNINGS:
Fire, fire trauma, explosion, sexual situations, cursing, medical content, death of a child, blood, gore
Happy reading,
Dorothea 💜
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