Sorrel Fallowfield has a plan. She is going to win the contest at school for the Most Obedient Child, and she’s going to win that grand prize—a trip for her mother and herself to Portugal. Her mom deserves a vacation. She works really hard at the frozen pizza factory in town, and while she loves her job, she could use a break.

It’s their house. Their little cottage is a nice place to live, but sometimes it feels as if it’s sad, like the water pipes and the floors and the appliances are making noises to show their unhappiness. Sorrel doesn’t know why they make the noises, or why she sometimes feels like the house’s sadness is infecting her mother. But Sorrel thinks that a lovely vacation would help, so that’s her plan. To win the competition at school and take her mother away for a break.

It should be easy for Sorrel to win. She’s already the Head Girl, for the second year in a row. She shines her shoes and irons her school uniform and makes sure to finish all her homework. She likes following the rules and keeping the adults happy. That is so important to Sorrel that she won’t even sign her best friend Neena’s petition. Their headmaster is planning on having their school yard covered in concrete so he can build an exam building there. It would be their last outdoor space to run around and play, and Neena thinks it’s important to keep it the way it is. But it’s important to Sorrel to win Most Obedient Child, so she can’t sign.

But one day when Sorrel is home alone, there is a giant shaking, and the concrete covering their backyard breaks in two. When she goes outside to investigate what happened, she sees a small packet appear in the dirt between the two slabs of cement. She pulls it out and discovers that it is an envelope with seeds in it. Since Neena is a scientist-in-training, Sorrel takes them to Neena and together they find am unusual gardening supply store and find what they needed to sow the seeds.

The seeds wouldn’t grow.

And then Sorrel had the idea to plant the seeds on their heads. Within days, Sorrel has a head full of flowers and Neena has grown a vegetable garden. And Sorrel’s plans for winning Most Obedient Child are completely out the window.

As the seeds spread themselves from head to head, Sorrel goes from Head Girl to the most hated girl in school. Sorrel finds out that the seeds weren’t a gift but a curse, and it will take everything she has in her, all of Neena’s scientific research, and the gardening knowledge of their teachers for Sorrel to figure out how to right a wrong that had been done to the town’s green spaces before she had even been born.

Bloom is a story of revenge and redemption, told through the eyes of a young girl in a small town in England. Author Nicola Skinner has crafted an endearing tale of encouragement and inspiration that will charm readers of all ages. This imaginative story blossoms with friendship, hope, and love.

As much as I love Sorrel and her fantastic story, my favorite part of this book is the subversive plot line about standing up to those who teach us to blindly follow the rules. I thought that was particularly brilliant, and I would love to see that seed germinate and grow in the minds of children and adults alike. I was utterly charmed by this book, and I recommend reading it and sharing it with all the kids you love and want to see find their passion in life.

Egalleys for Bloom were provided by Harper 360 through NetGalley, with many thanks.