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|---|---|---|
Searching... Park Grove Library (Cottage Grove) | TEEN FICTION GON | Searching... Unknown |
Searching... R.H. Stafford Library (Woodbury) | TEEN FICTION GON | Searching... Unknown |
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Summary
Summary
This acclaimed, darkly funny debut for fans of Jesse Andrews and Robyn Schneider about a teen who's consumed by love, grief, and self-destructive behavior is now in paperback.
Freshman year at college was the most anticlimactic year of Danny's life. She's failing pre-med and drifting apart from her best friend. One by one, Danny is losing all the underpinnings of her identity. When she finds herself attracted to an older, edgy girl who she met in rehab for an eating disorder, she finally feels like she might be finding a new sense of self. But when tragedy strikes, her self-destructive tendencies come back to haunt her as she struggles to discover who that self really is. With a starkly memorable voice that's at turns hilarious and heartbreaking, Love and Other Carnivorous Plants brilliantly captures the painful turning point between an adolescence that's slipping away and the overwhelming uncertainty of the future.
Author Notes
Florence Gonsalves graduated from Dartmouth College in 2015, and after numerous jobs and internships, she finally decided to pursue her lifelong dream of becoming an author. Love & Other Carnivorous Plants was her debut novel, and she is also the author of Dear Universe . She invites you to visit her online at florencegonsalves.com.
Reviews (5)
Publisher's Weekly Review
In her YA debut, Gonsalves's wonderfully named protagonist, Dandelion (Danny), is at a moment of personal crisis. Following a disastrous first year at Harvard and time spent in treatment for an eating disorder, Danny is home for the summer. Her best friend is thrilled, but she is struggling with her own issues (substance abuse), and their relationship turns rocky quickly; the narrative veers toward the melodramatic as a way of amping up tension. Danny is also uncertain whether she's gay or straight, though she's definitely attracted to Bugg, a young woman she met at the treatment center. Just as Danny begins a romance with Bugg, tragedy upends her progress. Gonsalves realistically conveys Danny's wide range of emotions, especially her anger. As Danny finds her footing, her most profound realization comes through accepting that she can live her life on her own terms and that she need not have it all figured out quite yet. Ages 14-up. Agent: Danielle Burby, Nelson Literary Agency. (May) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Horn Book Review
A tumultuous first semester at Harvard forces nineteen-year-old Dandelion "Danny" Berkowitz to enter treatment for an eating disorder. A burgeoning romance with an older girl from rehab eases her transition home for the summer, but a sudden tragedy sends Danny into another self-destructive spiral. Danny's wry observations inject much-needed humor into sobering situations, and an encouraging it's-okay-to-not-have-everything-figured-out message will resonate with readers. (c) Copyright 2018. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Booklist Review
*Starred Review* Danny and Sara had a plan best friends forever, stretching from kindergarten to old age, with a stint at college in between. But when Danny gets into Harvard, the plan derails, and so does the girls' joined-at-the-hip status. However, this is only part of the reason Danny can't tell Sara the truth about her freshman year: struggling with classes, developing an eating disorder, and going through a treatment program that introduced her to the girl she just can't get out of her head and who seems to pop up when she's least expected. Gonsalves' debut is a pitch-perfect take on what happens when the future you imagined doesn't live up to expectations, and every misstep seems to unravel the person you thought you'd become. A heartbreaking twist raises the stakes of Danny's transformative personal journey, but the struggle of holding on to an old friendship while discovering a new version of yourself should resonate with any reader. This genuinely funny novel about some harrowing topics manages to balance humor and pathos perfectly. Readers who connected with J. J. Johnson's Believarexic (2015) or Sam J. Miller's The Art of Starving (2017) will want this book, as will the many John Green fans who crave intelligent stories that occupy both shadow and light.--Horan, Molly Copyright 2018 Booklist
School Library Journal Review
Gr 9 Up-Lots of friends have plans, but Danny and her BFF, Sara, had The Plan. It was cultivated for years, until Danny decides to enroll in Harvard and proceeds to have a less-than-perfect first semester. A drunken confession results in Danny spending her second semester in St. John's receiving unwanted treatment for an eating disorder. She is determined to keep her time in recovery a secret from Sara, but when her crush shows up at one of Sara's parties, Danny's cover may be blown. She struggles to balance her changing relationship with Sara with her budding romance. A sudden tragedy triggers Danny, sending her back into a tumultuous struggle for control. Heavy topics, such as binge drinking, drug use, and body dysmorphia, are given a very real voice through Danny. She uses humor not as a means of devaluing her struggles, but as a way to cope with the very things that threaten to tear her apart. Readers are spared a neat and unrealistic ending as Danny grapples with trying to manage her demons rather than exorcise them forever. Wondering how she is going to handle all of the obstacles in her way will keep teens engaged. A list of resources is provided for those who have experience or know someone with similar illnesses. Fans of Sarah Dessen will appreciate Danny's relatable and realistic journey. VERDICT A must-have sharp, powerful, and witty immersion into the complexities of sexual identity and mental health.-Carrie Finberg, South Park High School, PA © Copyright 2018. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
When the life plan she'd laid out implodes, a college freshman finds herself having to regroup.On the surface, snarky protagonist/narrator Dandelion "Danny" Berkowitz seems destined to succeed: The attractive, upper-middle-class high school valedictorian has returned home from Harvard for the summer, ready to reconnect with her popular, equally overachieving, tennis-obsessed best friend, Sara. Unbeknownst to Sara or anyone else in their circle of friends, however, Danny spent second semester at a clinic undergoing in-patient treatment for an eating disorder and anxiety. Along with the internalized fear of failure both teens wrestle with privately, Sara has been saving face by keeping secrets of her own, spelling tragic consequences for their friendship. A turning point comes when Danny enters a romantic relationship with a mutual female friend without telling Sara, who then makes insensitive remarks about another girl who is a lesbian. Gonsalves juggles multiple serious adolescent challenges with operatic verve--eating disorders, substance abuse, sexual awakening and orientation, mental health, grief--and the resulting bildungsroman proves engaging and enlightening, particularly in her realistic depiction of compulsive behaviors related to food. All characters are assumed white.A feel-good debut sure to interest teens looking to feel better about not feeling so great. (author's note, resource list) (Fiction. 14-18)
