BOOK REVIEW
THE FLOWER THAT (EVENTUALLY) GREW Local author explores the theme of belonging and growing at our own pace. By Alley L. Biniarz Photos by Victoria Anne D’Anna
Victoria Anne D’Anna
We’ve all searched for some form of belonging. Whether it was through grade school and high school or even through adulthood, most of us can relate to Lily, a character in a locally written and illustrated book, who feels like she’s a weed in a garden full of flowers — growing just a little bit differently than everyone else. “Everybody goes through something like this in life. You feel like you should be fitting in and you don’t realize that you’ve always belonged in your own way,” Lily’s creator and author of the book The Flower That Wouldn’t Grow, Victoria Anne D’Anna says. Victoria wanted to celebrate “late bloomers” through this book, which is done through Lily, a flower in a garden who is smaller than the others. While everyone else has a full crown of petals, Lily has but a small sprout atop her head. Worried that she’ll never grow, Lily leaves the garden in search of her perfect place to be planted. Though, after a few attempts of growing elsewhere, Lily realizes that the soil isn't always richer in someone else's garden. 64
