I'm going to do another review by another one of my favorite authors today. I reread this book last night before I went to bed, and I am so glad I did.
Title: Bloom
Author: Elizabeth Scott
Author website: www.elizabethwrites.com
Rating (1-5): 5
Cover rating: 4
Description: There's a difference between falling and letting go. Lauren has a good life: decent grades, great friends, and a boyfriend every girl lusts after. So why is she so unhappy?
It takes the arrival of Evan Kirkland for Lauren to figure out the answer: She's been holding back. She's been denying herself a bunch of things (like sex) because staying with her loyal and gorgeous boyfriend, Dave, is the "right" thing to do. After all, who would give up the perfect boyfriend?
But as Dave starts talking more and more about their life together, planning a future Lauren simply can't see herself in-as Lauren's craving for Evan, and moreover, who she is with Evan becomes all the more fierce- Lauren realizes she needs to make a choice...before one is made for her.
Like I already said, I reread this book last night, and I am so glad I did. It has simply just been too long since I've read an Elizabeth Scott novel. And every time I do read one, she never ceases to amaze me. There will be little snippets, just a sentence or paragraph, and I just have to stop reading and think "wow, she really gets it, she really does." She has stayed in contact with her inner teenager throughout her writing career, which is something I admire. As an aspiring young adult writer, I hope I never lose the teenager me. I feel as teenagers we are more passionate about life. I want this to stay in me, I want to it show in my characters. Elizabeth Scott does this, she shows the real teenager.
I'm pretty sure Bloom is my favorite Elizabeth Scott novel. I love Lauren, she is witty and sarcastic. I laugh out loud at most of the things she says. And, although she wishes she were more graceful and had better hair. I love that isn't graceful and she's fully aware of it. I connect with Lauren on so many different levels. I see a lot of myself in her. That might be why this is my favorite novel by Elizabeth Scott. The only part I don't connect with her on is her feeling of shame when it comes to her love of books. I do understand why she does feel that way though. I can't tell you how many times I tell people I love to read and they look at me like I am a freak that has no friends. I'm sure some of you, as readers, have experienced this, too in some way or another. So, I understand her wanting to hide the fact she wants to be a librarian and that she loves to crack open a book and get lost. But, I could never imagine hiding that part of myself. And, like Lauren I have picked up books in hopes of finding an answer in their pages.
Evan is an outstanding character. I think he sounds funny and sexy. I love the way Elizabeth Scott describes his different smiles, from bitter and mocking to happy. I like that the past he and his mother share has stayed with him, and the way he feels he needs to protect her. I like the way he watches out for her. I love Lauren and Evan together, their chemistry just flies off the pages.
Lauren and Dave's chemistry on the other hand, is completely lacking. I like that Elizabeth Scott didn't put chemistry in their relationship. It just adds more to Dave's uberly Christain character. And, I can't help, but laugh when I read Lauren asking "Are you gay?".
And, of course Elizabeth Scott never fails to add in friendship with the love. The situations she puts her characters in in terms of friendships are so real. Things I've been through, things we've probably all felt. She doesn't feel the need to patch things up nice and pretty, instead she goes for the reality of the situation and stays with it.
And, of course the entire thing is written beautifully with many quotes that stay with me. I hope Elizabeth Scott keeps writing for years to come. I know many readers, myself included, would feel the silence in the young adult world without her there.
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