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There are currently 40 member reviews
for The Flower Sisters
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Susan R. (Greensboro, NC)
Family Saga
This well written, character driven novel has dual time lines that take place in 1928 and 1978 in a small Missouri town. The story line is based on the Flowers sisters - identical twins Violet and Rose. In the 1978 time line, we also meet Lettie -Rose's daughter and Daisy - Rose's granddaughter.
1928 - Rose and Violet were twins in looks but had totally different personalities. Violet was always looking for a good time and loved to spend time dancing at the local dance hall. Rose was quiet and enjoyed being home. Despite their differences, the twins were very close and shared all of their secrets with each other. One night in August, 1928, their lives changed dramatically. Violet had gone to the local dance hall with her boyfriend. During that evening, a huge explosion at the dance hall claimed the lives of dozens of young people including Violet. Rose struggled with the loss of her sister and ended up marrying the son of the owners of the local funeral home.
1978 - Possum Hills was still a small town where everyone knew what was going on with all of the people in town. Rose still owned the funeral home and was estranged from her only child Letty, who had left town as soon as she could and never looked back. One day, Lettie arrived with a boyfriend and her 15 year old daughter. Lettie's stop in town was short -- she dumped her daughter with a grandmother that she never knew and then Lettie left town to start a new life in California with her boyfriend. Daisy wasn't happy with being in small town Missouri. She and her grandmother lived upstairs and the funeral home was below them. She didn't really know or understand her grandmother and didn't know anyone in town. She managed to get an internship at the local newspaper and learned about the dance hall fire fifty years earlier. She wanted to do a story about the fire to commemorate the 50th anniversary but when she tries to talk to the survivors, most of them don't want to talk about it. This small town holds some big secrets, and the more Daisy looks into the history of the town, the more secrets that come to light. Will the secrets that she uncovers bring the people in town closer to each other or will they continue to ignore the truth of the fire?
This book had some fantastic characters - Daisy was an inquisitive young girl who had a hard life moving around with her mother. At the beginning, she hated the small town and wasn't too impressed with her grandmother Rose. Even though Rose could be difficult and outspoken, she still wished for a relationship with her granddaughter. Rose was appalled when Daisy wanted to learn more about the fire fifty years earlier and wanted the town secrets to remain secrets. But are the prices that we pay for secrets worth avoiding the truth? The story is about grief and loss but also about love and forgiveness. This is a family of strong women that I won't forget. This is a debut novel for this author and I look forward to her future books.
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Maureen E. (Williamsport, PA)
Great Story and Great Characters
This was a very enjoyable read about a small town mystery that gradually unfolds through the voices of its various residents. It was the perfect balance between an interesting story, strong characters, and a light touch of humor throughout.
Some of these characters were immediately likable, some not so much. But they were all "real", people that can be found in small towns everywhere, people doing the best they can to deal with the weight of past events, decisions, and regrets.
I really liked the author's writing style. I just read some great short stories on her website and hope to see another novel from her in the future.
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Betsy R. (Gig Harbor, WA)
Flower Sisters
I enjoyed Flower Sisters in that it explored a relatively unknown historical event ie the fire in the dancehall of this small town. Like others, I enjoyed the characters but some of the plot seemed unrealistic, particularly the "discovery" and story by Daisy about an event that affected so many people originally. I did like the character of Rose. I would read another book by this author to see if maybe these kinds of issues are avoided.
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Pamela W. (Piney Flats, TN)
A good beach read
I enjoyed The Flower Sisters. Anderson does a good job of making the small town of Possum Flats come alive. Her characters are good people but flawed, as most of us are. She also provides hints in the first chapter to have the "surprise" not be an out-of-left-field surprise. I appreciate that. I plan to pass this on to a friend who enjoys reading but doesn't want to be overwhelmed by depth. I would not recommend it for a book club, unless your book club is more social than analytical.
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Carol N. (San Jose, CA)
Home is . . .
Based on an actual dance hall explosion in Possum Flats, a small Missouri town, era 1928, "The Flower Sisters" explores the impact of such an event on its three main characters. The book is told through the eyes of one of the twin sisters, Violet and Rose, her playboy turned fundamentalist minister date, Dash, and her 15-year-old granddaughter, Daisy. Anxious to with travel her man to California, the granddaughter is plonked in this small town by her hippie mother. One problem however, Daisy has never met her grandmother. Bored and miserable, this high school student obtains an internship at the local newspaper. While assigned to the paper's morgue detail, Daisy begins her investigation and writes detailed articles about what really happened that night of the explosion. While Daisy's findings shocked the town, this reader found it hard to believe that she could author such a profound expose of this event.
This easy-to-read book is filled with well-developed characters, each revealing their story in alternating chapters. Often people in this small sleepy town have different views and are not always what they appeared to be. Since the author dropped several hints earlier in the pages of her book, the story's twists were not a surprise to this reader. This not only is this book a story of secrets and regrets, but it's about finding the truth, your family and most of all that place called home. I think second paragraph from page 333 says it all. It begins with, "Maybe home is something you can't run from, a place you find yourself searching for even after you think you've gotten away. . . (Spend a moment or two to reread it and see if you agree)
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Kathleen L. (Fairfield, PA)
Complex and moving story
I had a mixed reaction to The Flower Sisters. I loved the two main characters, Daisy and Rose Flowers, and I found the story to be movingly told. In places, the plot seemed slow and the author provided more grisly details than I personally prefer - but the ending of the book was beautiful and made me glad that I had taken the time to finish it. The writing was crisp, and each of the characters was drawn very vividly. I believe that book clubs would find a great deal to discuss, as the characters and plot are complicated. In places I found a few of the plot points implausible, but yet I keep thinking about the book days after I finished it. The overall question that the book explores is how catastrophic events affect us long into the future, and the book approaches this question with grace and sensitivity.
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Karen M. (Powell, OH)
The Flower Sisters
The Flower Sisters by Michelle Collins Anderson was an Advance Reader's Edition that I received in March 2024. The story was inspired by the Bond Hall explosion of April 13, 1928, in the author's hometown of West Plains, Missouri. The cause was never determined, but Collins used poetic license to conclude what triggered the dance hall explosion, which killed thirty-nine townspeople in fictional Possum Flats, Missouri. Collins' short fiction has appeared in several journals, reviews and anthologies. This is her debut novel.
The book cover shows a young woman dressed in the style of the time with a hat tilted so that it keeps her identity a mystery. This helps introduce 'Identity' and 'Secrets' as two themes of the book.
Daisy is the main character and driver of the novel. She is a precocious, determined fifteen-year-old. Her mother, Lettie, who lives the life of a free spirit, left Daisy with her grandmother Rose as Lettie drives off with her latest boyfriend. Lettie was described as "a violent storm that swallowed you and spit you out." Grandmother Rose was the funeral director of Flowers Funeral Home and had a twin sister named Violet. Daisy looked forward to a boring summer at Grandma Rose's home. When Daisy learned that her family was affected by the explosion fifty years earlier, she wanted to learn the whole story. Mr. Fence, the editor, allowed her to pursue her project after initially refusing to have the town subjected to her questions. The townspeople were not ready to talk about it.
The book is a character-driven story with various people revealing their stories with alternating perspectives. Possum Flats was a small, sleepy town with family secrets that crossed generations. People were not always the people they wanted to be or who others thought they were. There were a few twists in the story - a couple were major surprises.
The descriptions of most characters were of their actions and personalities. The physical details were limited. Mayor Watson had been hiding secrets from his wife, Ruby Rae. He was an example of "The truth always comes out."
Dash Emmonds was popular in high school and dated Violet, among others. He just wanted to have fun in high school. He later suffered from survivor's guilt and had a huge career change. His grandson Joe was a joker and the high school quarterback and a love interest for Daisy.
Hazel was the postmistress who saw all the letters that Daisy sent to her mother in hopes of a reply. Hazel knew everybody and their business. She was a stunner who also dated Dash.
Daisy's discoveries shocked the town and had a profound effect on the people. It seems almost impossible that a young teenager could author a major story that is good enough for a newspaper and also possess the skills to interview all the people.
The Flower Sisters told a story of the present, the fifty-year-old past, and the unpredictable effect of sudden decisions, small-town tragedy, and the ways family connections change.
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