Dear Great Book Guru,  I plan to spend this last August weekend at Sea Cliff Beach under one of those beautiful blue stripped umbrellas. Of course, I am looking for something to read under that umbrella- a page turner, something seasonal, a culmination of sorts. Any suggestions? Loving the Last Days of August

Dear Loving the Last Days of August,  Last year Joan Neuhoff, a most discerning reader, suggested THE LANGUAGE OF FLOWERS by Vanessa Diffenbaugh but somehow I never got around to reading it. Then my dear friend Jackie Hudak, a reader extraordinaire, gave me a copy plus a glowing review of its contents. How right Joan and Jackie were!  The book is a tale of despair, damage, and ultimately redemption.  We meet Victoria Jones at age eighteen, alone and wary after years in the foster care system. Despite many missteps, she finds  her redemption through an old Victorian custom of expressing emotions through flowers- the language of flowers.  Alternating chapters record Victoria's present and past , and while we learn in painful detail of the events which determined her life's trajectory, we also see the restorative powers of nature.  A wonderful summer read!