Book Review: Rose Flower Creek by Jackie Lee Miles

Roseflower Creek is the beautiful, stunning and tragic story of a 10 year old girl who suffers greatly the consequences of events that happened long before she was born. The story is told through the eyes of Lori Jean, who we find out, has died from the very beginning of the story. The first line of the book is "The morning I died, it rained" and with that once sentence you know this is going to be an emotional story.
It has a very similar set up as "The Lovely Bones" with the exception that  Lori Jean isn't trying to steer her parents or the authorities to figure out who killed her. She simply wants to understand why the person killed her. Through Lori Jean's eyes we take the journey back through all the events that led up to the moment the "rain washed the blood off my face." As the spirit in the story, Lori Jean is also able to observe conversations and guarded moments while unseen, and during these times, she discovers things that help her to not only understand the people around her; but that also allow her to forgive them.
Lori Jean is a beautiful character. She is innocence in it's purest form. She is dirt poor, abused, on the verge of being unwanted by her own mother; and yet she has a huge heart. She finds the good in everyone. She truly believes that in spite of everything that has happened to her and around her that there is goodness in the world. She is a child, who despite dying at such a tragically young age, was truly wise beyond her years. She never gave up hoping that the next day would bring something better for her and her family.
It is a story that will stay with you long after you finish it. Lori Jean is a character you won't want to let go of and it will make you sad that you can't fix the wrongs in her world. For as sad as it is, however, I still highly recommend this book. The opportunity to learn the lessons of forgiveness and understanding that Lori Jean teaches through out the story are just too important to miss.