Wallflower in Bloom: A Novel [Hardcover]

Story Description:

Touchstone|June 5, 2012|Hardcover|ISBN: 978-1-4516-7276-3

From the acclaimed bestselling author of Must Love Dogs comes a winning and witty new novel about a woman who emerges from the shadow of her overbearing family and finds herself "dancing with the stars."

Deirdre Griffin has a great life; it's just not her own. She's the around-the-clock personal assistant to her charismatic, high-maintenance, New Age guru brother, Tag. As the family wallflower, her only worth seems to be as gatekeeper to Tag at his New England seaside compound.

Then Deirdre's sometime boyfriend informs her that he is marrying another woman, who just happens to be having the baby he told Deidre he never wanted. While drowning her sorrows in Tag's expensive vodka, Deirdre decides to use his massive online following to get herself voted on as a last-minute Dancing With The Stars replacement. It'll get her back in shape, mentally and physically. It might even get her a life of her own. Deirdre's fifteen minutes of fame have begun.

Irresistible and offbeat, Wallflower in Bloom is an original and deeply satisfying story of having the courage to take a leap into the spotlight, not matter where you land.

My Review:

Chick-lit at its best! Claire Cook's Wallflower in Bloom makes for an easy, fun, quick, beach or vacation read.

This story is the best example of one I've read where a woman totally loses herself in the service of others, mainly her family. How many of us women are guilty of this very thing? Completely losing ourselves, putting our desires, needs, wants, and wishes aside for the sake of everyone else. I myself am guilty of this obligatory commitment I feel to ensure everyone else is okay and has what they need at the risk of in the end being too worn out and tired to fight for myself because I feel I don't deserve it. My service is to others.

In Wallflower in Bloom, Deirdre literally runs her famous, New Age Guru brother, Tag's life. She is on call twenty-four-hours-per-day. She lives in a converted sheep shed on his large New England seaside compound.

Deirdre one day decides she is sick and tired of living in Tag's shadow, being his personal assistant and decides to change things by signing up for `Dancing with the Stars'! She's just had enough, and more than her fill of being his personal assistant, his social media guru, and managing both his personal and business lives.

After a night of drinking very abnormal cocktails made with Tag's very, very expensive liquor, she hops on his social media site and encourages Tag's thousands of followers to vote for her as the wildcard replacement on `Dancing With the Stars'.

Soon Deirdre finds she's really not cut-out to be a dancer, carries a bit too much weight but can't stop indulging herself in some of her favourite fattening foods when she gets frustrated or put down by Tag. However, Ilya is a marvelous, professional dancer who is able to help her learn. He has the patience of a saint. Deirdre realizes with five to six hours of practising the same dance steps over and over and over every single day that she must somehow forget the "wallflower" part of her personality and really "bloom!" or make a total laughing stock of herself.

The term "chiasmus" is used a lot in the story and if you don't know what it is now, you will completely understand it by the end of the novel.

Claire Cook has always had a great sense of humour and it shines through bright and glittery in Wallflower in Bloom! I can't wait to share this one with my friends.

Wallflower in Bloom is another delightful novel by Claire Cook. A fun, easy read, this novel is about family and discovering who you are amidst an incredibly tight knit (read: overbearing) family, and is perfect for your summer beach plans!

Deidre is a smart heroine, albeit a she's a bit of a pushover when it comes to her family. As the youngest of three children to hippy parents, she constantly feels like she takes the backseat and becomes the family wallflower and remains such even as a forty something adult. I enjoyed Deidre's character. She is overworked, underpaid and stuck in a rut that she had no idea how to get out of. I loved the dive off the deep end into a pool of vodka and how her debacle unfolds. I didn't grow up in a family that even remotely resembled the Griffin's but somehow I could relate to aspects of their family. I really wanted to smack her brother, Tag, upside the head and really rooted for Deidre to get out of his tangled web and for her to gain independence from him...and her entire family actually. Cook has a gift for delivering memorable characters with minimal scenes and I really appreciate that - even the few scenes with the costume designer and the make up artist stand out. There were times that all the characters seemed somewhat caricature-ish though and they were all a bit immature at times, especially Tag, but Cook makes it work somehow.

The plot of this novel was unique and kept me intrigued. I've never really enjoyed Dancing with the Stars, but this didn't prevent me from enjoying the novel although I think fans might enjoy it that much more. The behind the scenes look was intriguing, as were the chiasmus's, which I loved and started trying to come up with them on my own. I really enjoyed that unusual aspect of the story.

Anyone who has ever felt under appreciated and invisible or comes from such a flamboyant family and feels undervalued will appreciate this novel. Pick this one up and take it to the beach today! You'll appreciate the quick, easy and non-taxing read.