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Late Bloomer
written by Fern Michaels
Studio : Simon & Schuster Audio
by Simon & Schuster Audio
Publisher : Simon & Schuster Audio
Released : 2003-02-01
Availability : Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Number of Items : 4
EAN : 9780743528054
Avg. Customer Rating: (based on 45 reviews)
List Price : $26.00
Our Price : $2.90
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Product Description |
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Twenty years have past since the incident involving six lonely children at a secret playground in Indigo Valley, Pennsylavania which left the town bully dead and ten-year-old Cady Jordan seriously injured. Now Cady has returned to the valley to care for her ailing grandmother Lola, the only person Cady has ever truly loved. While Cady has grown into attractive, intelligent, but overly cautious young woman, she has no memory of her childhood tragedy. Lola desperately wants to see Cady embrace life and find the happiness she deserves so she pushes her granddaughter to "remember". As Cady reacquaints herself with her old friends, she begins to recalls bits and pieces of what happened that fateful day. She also discovers a new zest for life and falls in love for the first time. But her friends don't want her to remember. If the truth comes out, their safe and secure lives might be ruined forever. Which of them will do what is best for Cady and acknowledge the truth, and which of them will betray her again and do what is best for themselves? With vibrant, complex characters and her distinctive blend of humor and poignancy, Fern Michaels is at the peak of her storytelling abilities. Late Bloomer takes listeners on the young woman's journey of self-discovery that is exciting, heartbreaking and ultimately triumphant. |
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Bleeeccch |
Didn't we all used to have that fantasy? You know the one, where we returned to our hometown as the Glamorous New Us, discovered our greatest rival was now a loser, and won the heart of our old crush? Yeah. Thought so. Trouble is, while having that youthful daydream as the backbone of a novel had me cheering for the heroine at first, it became clear pretty quickly that there wasn't much else to cheer for in _Late Bloomer_.
_Late Bloomer_ tells the story of Cady, who was injured in a childhood accident that killed another kid, and has a hole in her memory where the accident should be. As the story begins, she moves back home with her grandmother, but this isn't any ordinary grandmother. Grandma is an old-time movie goddess who gives Cady the makeover of her life and advises her to live it up.
Cady proceeds to go around town catching up with her old friends, hoping to mend old friendships and to piece together memories of the accident.
There's Boomer, the hunky police chief, around whom Cady's clothes always seem to randomly fall off. And I don't mean that in a naughty sense, either. Every time she sees this guy, she has a wardrobe malfunction of some kind. I've had a lot of wardrobe malfunctions in my life, but I don't think I've ever had this many in a couple of weeks! While the romance between Cady and Boomer is rather sweet, it also feels contrived, like warmed-over romantic comedy dreck.
Then there's Amy. Amy was once Cady's best friend. Amy is now a Big Fat Loser. And lest we forget that she is a Big Fat Loser, Michaels wastes no opportunity to bring it up, again and again and again. Especially the fat part. Oh, look, Amy's stuffing her face with nasty food and spilling it all over herself! Boooo! Hiss! The character of Amy is made up entirely of stereotypes about fat people. Looovely. There's also a moment where Amy has been doing housework and answers the door to find Cady there, dressed to the nines, and Amy comments that not everyone has the time to get dressed up and go visiting all day. Let me tell you, my sympathies wavered a little at that moment. Not that Amy was right to be rude, but Cady seems to be the only person alive who never needs to go to work or do anything around her house, or basically *anything* except show off her new wardrobe. (Or fall out of her new wardrobe.)
As for the mystery plot, it's interesting following Cady as she tries to learn the truth about the accident, but that plotline is wrapped up in such an unsatisfactory way that I was disappointed in the end. There's someone Cady needs to face at the end, either to confront or to forgive, and we don't get that moment. It's as though Michaels can't bear to throw any unpleasantness into Cady's path, and the reader is cheated. |
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This book will go down as one of the worst I have ever read |
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I don't even know where to begin except to say I'd like the 4 hours back I wasted on this book. I can't stand to start a book & not finish it but I wish I had set it down after a few pages. It stinks! I read it to the end & it's horrible. Do NOT waste your time. |
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THE WORST DIALOGUE I've ever read! |
I looked at the reviews before reading this book and I was surprised by the nearly equally divided opinions about it. It seems like people either loved or hated it. I was intrigued enough to check it out.
Whew! I am SO shocked that this ever made it into print! The basis for the plot isn't bad but the execution is terrible. The characterization is nearly non-existant and the characters act in ways that aren't consistent with previous acts & thoughts. In addition, the dialogue has to be THE worst dialogue I've ever read (and I've read a lot of books!).
I recommend passing on this book unless you're a die-hard Michaels fan and you want to be able to say that you've read everything by her. It's a real stinker. |
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Disappointment |
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I'm at a loss as to how a book so poorly written could be so highly rated. Michaels makes the mistakes of a college (or even high school) creative writing student. Her sentence level writing as well as her scene and character development are so simplistic that I had to force myself to finish the book just to see why people recommended it. If you do not mind poor writing and unlikely leaps in the plotline, then perhaps you can enjoy the few positive elements of this book. If you are ever bothered by such things, then don't waste your time. |
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Oh...My...God! |
Can't believe I actually finished this book. Could not find a single likeable character in the entire book, never mind realistic.
Even ended up disliking the female character thoroughly and sympathizing with the "bad guy". All that stuff about Cody being so sweet(yuck!)... Not my idea of a sweet girl, she's just so shallow and dumb! After reading the book, I wouldn't mind tossing a rock at her myself. |
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