chunk: Georgie Burgess, seven and a half years old, lives in Tampa Florida. His mother and her boyfriend abuse him savagely, but he keeps their beatings a secret. He gets in trouble at school and hasn't learned to read, but he loves looking at a book with pictures of flowers.
  Georgie's life changes after he wins a rosebush at a supermarket contest. After his mother's boyfriend beats him severely, police remove Georgie from his dangerous home, and his unplanted rosebush comes with him. Georgie is placed temporarily with Mrs. Sims, a cashier from the supermarket. But as his social worker and the judge find a home for him, Georgie is increasingly worried about finding a home for his rosebush.