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WORK TITLE: Love & Other Carnivorous Plants
WORK NOTES:
PSEUDONYM(S):
BIRTHDATE: 1997?
WEBSITE: http://www.florencegonsalves.com/
CITY:
STATE:
COUNTRY:
NATIONALITY:
RESEARCHER NOTES:
LC control no.: n 2017044790
LCCN Permalink: https://lccn.loc.gov/n2017044790
HEADING: Gonsalves, Florence
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100 1_ |a Gonsalves, Florence
670 __ |a Love and other carnivorous plants, 2018: |b ECIP title page (Florence Gonsalves)
PERSONAL
Born c. 1997.
EDUCATION:Dartmouth College, bachelor’s degree, 2015.
ADDRESS
CAREER
Writer.
WRITINGS
SIDELIGHTS
Florence Gonsalves writes coming-of-age novels. She graduated from Dartmouth College in 2015 with a major in philosophy then had no direction toward a conventional career and decided to write. Explaining to Caroline Leavittville on the Caroline Leavittville website that she felt like a failure dropping out of pre-med, she commented: “A friend once said that there are different ways to heal people—sometimes a book can do just that and I write with the hopes of having an impact.”
In 2018, Gonsalves published Love & Other Carnivorous Plants, a coming-of-age story about a young woman afflicted with an eating disorder and discovering her sexuality. Overachiever Dandelion (Danny) Berkowitz is having a difficult first semester at Harvard University. She is losing touch with her tennis-obsessed high school friend Sara who has a substance abuse problem. In her second semester, Danny checks into rehab for an eating disorder. There she meets Buggs, an older girl, with whom she believes she is falling in love, but has not yet acknowledged that she might be gay. Although Danny is getting better, tragedy strikes, reverting her to self-destructive ways. “Danny’s self-deprecating, witty remarks depict a familiar situation—anticipating life’s next chapter but discovering it full of unexpected obstacles,” said Lisa Hazlett in Voice of Youth Advocates. Hazlett added that Danny is a likeable character and that older readers will identify with her struggles.
Comparing the book to J.J. Johnson’s Believarexic and Sam J. Miller’s The Art of Starving, Molly Horan in Booklist commented: “This genuinely funny novel about some harrowing topics manages to balance humor and pathos perfectly.” Despite some melodrama to increase the tension, “Gonsalves realistically conveys Danny’s wide range of emotions, especially her anger,” according to a writer in Publishers Weekly. A Kirkus Reviews contributor noted that Gonsalves juggles multiple serious adolescent challenges such as sexual orientation, substance abuse, and eating disorders, and presents “A feel-good debut sure to interest teens looking to feel better about not feeling so great.”
A reviewer online at Arctic Books noted how Gonsalves covers many themes, like bisexuality, grief, alcohol abuse, LGBT issues, and mental health, adding: “I feel like the author was fantastic in being honest and authentic with these various issues in modern society.” In addition to multiple storylines, sad themes, humor, and truthful representations of young adult issues, “I really enjoyed Danny’s character. Her dark and sarcastic humour added comedic relief to the overall tone of the novel,” explained a Crazy Bookworm website contributor.
BIOCRIT
PERIODICALS
Booklist, February 15, 2018, Molly Horan, review of Love and Other Carnivorous Plants, p. 75.
Kirkus Reviews, March 1, 2018, review of Love and Other Carnivorous Plants.
Publishers Weekly, March 26, 2018, review of Love and Other Carnivorous Plants, p. 122.
Voice of Youth Advocates, April 2018, Lisa Hazlett, review of Love and Other Carnivorous Plants, p. 59.
ONLINE
Arctic Books, https://arcticbooks.wordpress.com/ (June 16, 2018), review of Love and Other Carnivorous Plants.
Caroline Leavittville, http://carolineleavittville.blogspot.com/ (May 7, 2018), Caroline Leavittville, author interview.
Crazy Bookworm, http://www.crazy-bookworm.com/ (May 15, 2018), review of Love and Other Carnivorous Plants.
Florence graduated from Dartmouth College in 2015 with a major in philosophy. Upon getting her diploma, she promptly abandoned Kant and after numerous jobs and internships pursued her lifelong dream of becoming a novelist.
MONDAY, MAY 7, 2018
Florence Gonsalves talks about her gorgeous debut LOVE & OTHER CARNIVOROUS PLANTS, love, grief, being young, being self-destructive and getting it as together as you can.
When someone,e specially Martha Rhodes, the head of Four Way Books and a brilliant poet, tells me, "You gotta read this," I always do (unless it's about vampires. Then I never do.) And I'm always happy that I did. I absolutely loved Florence Gonsalves LOVE & Other Carnivorous Plants (great title, right?) and I'm honored to host her here.
I loved, loved, loved this book. (I’m a sucker for anything about identity.) What was the “why now” moment that got you writing this?
I’d had ideas for Love tucked in a brain drawer for awhile, but when I graduated from college with no “real job” prospects, I started writing in the backroom of my parents’ house. I couldn’t envision having a “normal” career, so writing stemmed out of a deep, deep insecurity to do something with my life. Looking back, I was having a huge crisis of identity: who am I now that I’m not a college student and how will I make a living so I can move out of this backroom of my parents’ house?
Tell me about the wonderful title: Love & Other Carnivorous Plants.
I wish I remember how the title came about exactly, but the writing process is so mysterious! It was previously called Where There Are Flowers, plus other things I can’t remember that were not very captivating. I’ve loved Venus Fly Traps since I got one in fourth grade – they’re delightful little anomalies – and at one point I put a literal plant in the story, then saw other ways that themes of consumption wove into Danny’s struggle.
So much of this book is about grief and love and finding our way. And I loved that you dropped out of pre-med to find your way in writing! Can you tell us about that?
Oof, pre-med! I was just terrible at it – labs, problem sets, I simply could not do the work, which was terrible for my ego and also forced me to change the path of my life. If I’m not going to be a doctor, what am I going to do? What happens now that there isn’t a set plan? Obviously that struggle is reflected in Danny’s character. Sometimes writing feels indulgent and I think about doctors saving lives while I’m typing away in Starbucks but a friend once said that there are different ways to heal people— sometimes a book can do just that and I write with the hopes of having an impact.
I’m always interested in how a writer approaches a novel, especially a debut. Do you feel like you learned anything or did anything not turn out the way you had expected it might?
I learned that I have to write a lot and then throw away a lot. I didn’t know much of anything until I put it down on paper (even though I tried to make outlines). The result was like building a huge rock with all my words, then cutting and carving and shaping that rock into something that resembled a book. It took a lot of trust to believe that the story was there even when I couldn’t see it, but I’m getting more courageous about going forth blindly, then going on a deleting spree.
What’s obsessing you now and why?
Ada Limon. Her poetry is wow and I love things that make me feel something even if I can’t put my finger on how or why they’re so evocative.
What question didn’t I ask that I should have?
Hmm, how about a book that influenced Love? In high school I read Catcher in the Rye (like most everyone else) and the tone of the book was hugely inspiring to me. Up until Catcher, I didn’t know a book could be written in the way a teenager thinks. I thought books had to be “literary” and that stopped me from writing one. With the permission to write like my friends and I think and talk, I felt capable of attempting to tell Danny’s story.
POSTED BY CAROLINE AT 11:52 AM
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Print Marked Items
Gonsalves, Florence. Love and Other
Carnivorous Plants
Lisa Hazlett
Voice of Youth Advocates.
41.1 (Apr. 2018): p59+.
COPYRIGHT 2018 E L Kurdyla Publishing LLC
http://www.voya.com
Full Text:
4Q * 4P * J * S
Gonsalves, Florence. Love and Other Carnivorous Plants. Little, Brown, May 2018. 352p. $17.99. 978-0-
316-43672-4.
Confidence has never been Danny's strength, unwisely demonstrated by delaying telling her best friend,
Sara, about her acceptance to Harvard, even while discussing dorm decor, as they had long planned to room
together. Their frosty parting begins Danny's disastrous year, with subsequent guilt, hatred of her major, and
poor grades creating uncontrollable stress and overeating. Danny spends spring semester in treatment, and
once home, she visits Sara, but discovering her transformation into a popular, party-loving sorority girl is
shocking. Her one positive is beginning a relationship with a charismatic girl from rehab, but catastrophe
strikes just as Danny is regaining some self-assurance and stability. The girls' problems forcefully return,
likewise their dangerous behaviors, and if Danny cannot find and assert her true self and voice, her issues
will shatter her.
Danny's self-deprecating, witty remarks depict a familiar situation--anticipating life's next chapter but
discovering it full of unexpected obstacles. Descriptions of anxiety and binging are disturbingly genuine, as
is witnessing Danny's self-loathing and weight obsession slowly drain her confidence and perspective.
Danny is a likeable character for whom readers will root and hope, and at whom readers may shake their
heads as she makes one devastatingly bad choice after another. Gonsalves's debut novel, narrated by Danny,
is as funny as it is painful, and older female readers will both foresee and identify with her struggles.--Lisa
Hazlett.
Source Citation (MLA 8th
Edition)
Hazlett, Lisa. "Gonsalves, Florence. Love and Other Carnivorous Plants." Voice of Youth Advocates, Apr.
2018, p. 59+. General OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A536746152/ITOF?
u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=62f75faa. Accessed 23 June 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A536746152
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Love & Other Carnivorous Plants
Publishers Weekly.
265.13 (Mar. 26, 2018): p122.
COPYRIGHT 2018 PWxyz, LLC
http://www.publishersweekly.com/
Full Text:
Love & Other Carnivorous Plants
Florence Gonsalves. Little, Brown, $17.99 (342p) ISBN 978-0-316-43672-4
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)
Source Citation (MLA 8th
Edition)
"Love & Other Carnivorous Plants." Publishers Weekly, 26 Mar. 2018, p. 122. General OneFile,
http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A532997250/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=6820c473.
Accessed 23 June 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A532997250
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Gonsalves, Florence: LOVE & OTHER
CARNIVOROUS PLANTS
Kirkus Reviews.
(Mar. 1, 2018):
COPYRIGHT 2018 Kirkus Media LLC
http://www.kirkusreviews.com/
Full Text:
Gonsalves, Florence LOVE & OTHER CARNIVOROUS PLANTS Little, Brown (Young Adult Fiction)
$17.99 5, 15 ISBN: 978-0-316-43672-4
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)
Source Citation (MLA 8th
Edition)
"Gonsalves, Florence: LOVE & OTHER CARNIVOROUS PLANTS." Kirkus Reviews, 1 Mar. 2018.
General OneFile, http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A528959819/ITOF?
u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=4844ce38. Accessed 23 June 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A528959819
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Love and Other Carnivorous Plants
Molly Horan
Booklist.
114.12 (Feb. 15, 2018): p75.
COPYRIGHT 2018 American Library Association
http://www.ala.org/aboutala/offices/publishing/booklist/
Full Text:
* Love and Other Carnivorous Plants.
By Florence Gonsalves.
May 2018.341 p. Little, Brown, $17.99 (9780316436724); e-book, $9.99 (9780316436694). Gr. 9-12.
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-thehip
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.--Molly Horan
Source Citation (MLA 8th
Edition)
Horan, Molly. "Love and Other Carnivorous Plants." Booklist, 15 Feb. 2018, p. 75. General OneFile,
http://link.galegroup.com/apps/doc/A531171633/ITOF?u=schlager&sid=ITOF&xid=75ce518e.
Accessed 23 June 2018.
Gale Document Number: GALE|A531171633
Review: Love and Other Carnivorous Plants by Florence Gonsalves
JUNE 16, 2018 ALICE @ ARCTIC BOOKS1 COMMENT
Capture
I’m so surprised with this novel! I picked LOVE & OTHER CARNIVOROUS PLANTS up on a whim, and I just finished reading this in one sitting. I’m definitely adding Florence Gonsalves to my auto-buy authors.
This novel follows Danny, who is a college student at Harvard but is struggling with an eating disorder, body image, her sexuality, and the recent death of a close friend. The plot was very fast-paced and I whipped through the pages faster than I thought was possible. Danny was so authentic and genuine, and I loved reading through her perspective.
While this novel covers several different themes and topics, such as bisexuality, grief, alcohol abuse, LBGTQ+, grief, and mental health, Gonsalves does a wonderful job depicting the ways that one can find help and support. I feel like the author was fantastic in being honest and authentic with these various issues in modern society.
Overall, I really enjoyed this one. I highly, highly recommend this book for all readers. Danny will resonate with readers everywhere in the way she depicts common issues that many people go through. Be sure to pick this one as soon as you can!
Thank you to the Novl for sending me a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.
It's hard to take a book like this and say how much you enjoyed it considering the subject matter, but it's true, I really liked this book!
I really enjoyed Danny's character. Her dark and sarcastic humour added comedic relief to the overall tone of the novel. The book itself dives into the struggles of eating disorders, addiction, and depression with the real-life realities of living life through it all. Florence Gonsalves did a wonderful job at penning these delicate subjects and delivering them with a raw voice. It can be tough approaching Mental health in novels. It's placing a very real struggle into a fictional world and the author did a spectacular job. I feel that if anyone who has been in Danny's shoes would have felt the author was very authentic. There was no sugar-coating. It was no holds barred. It was raw and untethered.
There are multiple storylines going on in the novel. We have Danny and Sara, Danny and Bugg, Danny and her parents and Danny and herself. Each storyline packs a lot of punch. Each one is riddled with highs and lows. It's messy but in an intentional way.
Love and Other Carnivorous Plants went beyond my expectations. I wasn't expecting this book to turn out the way that it did. It's sad yet hilarious at times. Even though it's a fictional story, it's a very truthful representation of disorders and mental health. Definitely a one-of-a-kind read!