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Title details for The Flower Sisters by Michelle Collins Anderson - Available

The Flower Sisters

by Michelle Collins Anderson
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Drawing on the little-known true story of one tragic night at an Ozarks dance hall in the author's Missouri hometown, this beautifully written, endearingly nostalgic novel picks up 50 years later for afolksy, character-driven portrayal of small-town life, split second decisions, and the ways family secrets reverberate through generations.
From the new Fannie Flagg of the Ozarks, a richly-woven story of family, forgiveness, and reinvention for readers of Kristy Woodson Harvey, Donna Everhart, Sue Monk Kidd, Jeannette Walls, and Rita Mae Brown...
"Anderson weaves a rich and poignant tale of a small Ozarks town's factual tragedy, its generational secrets and the juxtapose of searching and belonging. Vivid and evocative, this is a debut to savor." —Kim Michele Richardson, New York Times bestselling author of The Book Woman of Troublesome Creek series on The Flowers Sisters
Daisy Flowers is fifteen in 1978 when her free-spirited mother dumps her in Possum Flats, Missouri. It's a town that sounds like roadkill and, in Daisy's eyes, is every bit as dead. Sentenced to spend the summer living with her grandmother, the wry and irreverent town mortician, Daisy draws the line at working for the family business, Flowers Funeral Home. Instead, she maneuvers her way into an internship at the local newspaper where, sorting through the basement archives, she learns of a mysterious tragedy from fifty years earlier...
On a sweltering, terrible night in 1928, an explosion at the local dance hall left dozens of young people dead, shocking and scarring a town that still doesn't know how or why it happened. Listed among the victims is a name that's surprisingly familiar to Daisy, revealing an irresistible family connection to this long-ago accident.
Obsessed with investigating the horrors and heroes of that night, Daisy soon discovers Possum Flats holds a multitude of secrets for a small town. And hardly anyone who remembers the tragedy is happy to have some teenaged hippie asking questions about it – not the fire-and-brimstone preacher who found his calling that tragic night; not the fed-up police chief; not the mayor's widow or his mistress; not even Daisy's own grandmother, a woman who's never been afraid to raise eyebrows in the past, whether it's for something she's worn, sworn, or done for a living.
Some secrets are guarded by the living, while others are kept by the dead, but as buried truths gradually come into the light, they'll force a reckoning at last.
"A vivid blend of sensorial writing, historical detail, and memorable characters await in this compelling, surprising, insightful story of the weight of long-held secrets and the resulting hunger for truth." – Susan Meissner, USA Today bestselling author of Only the Beautiful
Inspired by the true story of the Bond Dance Hall explosion, a tragedy that took place in the author's hometown of West Plains, Missouri on April 13, 1928.
The cause of the blast has never been determined.

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    April 23, 2024

  • Formats

    • Kindle Book

    • OverDrive Read

      • ISBN: 9781496748294

    • EPUB ebook

      • ISBN: 9781496748294
      • File size: 1282 KB

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • School Library Journal

      May 1, 2024

      Gr 9 Up-Daisy Flowers, 15, is left in Possum Flats, MO, by her mom, who is moving to California. Living with her grandma Rose, the local funeral director, Daisy is bored and disgusted. During a trip to The Picayune to drop off an obituary, she is fascinated by the newspaper. Daisy uses moxie and salacious gossip to talk her way into a summer internship. Tasked with a weekly local history column, she learns about the Lamb's Dance Hall explosion 50 years earlier that killed 39 people, and that her grandmother had an identical twin who died in it. Fascinated by this piece of town history, Daisy sets out to interview the remaining survivors, but her requests lead to unintended consequences. The story is told from multiple characters' viewpoints and moves smoothly between eras, drawing readers into small-town life. For survivors, their lives prior to and after the blast are covered in detail. Daisy comes into her own as she learns more about Possum Flats, her family, and herself, and slowly finds acceptance in the town. The text includes her letters to her mother, revealing Daisy's fear of being forgotten, and her Picayune articles on the survivors show her journalism and writing skills. The prologue from the night of the dance foreshadows some plot twists, and the ending is a bit on the improbable side. VERDICT Anderson creates an engrossing story of tragedy, change, and laying the past to rest, with a fascinating cast of characters. Good first buy for larger libraries.-Tamara Saarinen

      Copyright 2024 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Formats

  • Kindle Book
  • OverDrive Read
  • EPUB ebook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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