Everything should be great for Lauren, she's going out with Dave, a guy who's perfect in every way. What's more, he's absolutely devoted to her. So why does she feel so strange around Evan, a boy from her complicated past? Slowly Lauren starts to realise that she's been holding back, that when she's with Evan everything feels different and she likes the person she is around him.

I loved the central premise of this book - the way that many relationships are not what they seem on the surface, both for Lauren and the supporting characters. It's unusual to read about a boy character who's so consistently respectful and nice to everyone around him, the way that Dave is, but it still came across clearly that he wasn't right for Lauren. Lauren's friendship with Katie was also very interestingly developed. I thoroughly enjoyed the way Lauren gradually began to understand relationships and make new friends.

Overall, a very good easy read. ( )

Lauren Smith has always been the average girl, and so she can hardly believe it when Dave, the most popular and genuinely nice guy in her grade, asks her out, and then continues to stay with her after a year. With Dave, Lauren has everything a girl could ever wish for—perfect boyfriend, friends, social standing—and Lauren is happy.

Or is she? When Evan Kirkland, an almost-ghost from her past, shows up in school, Lauren finds herself inexplicably attracted to him. Evan has a history and secrets, and is completely different from sweet Dave. But with Evan, Lauren experiences emotions she never believed she was capable of.

Which boy and life should Lauren choose—safe, sweet Dave, or the unknown with Evan?

BLOOM is a short and sweet read about a problem that most teenagers can relate to. Lauren may say that her life is not like those in the movies, but she certainly has a common story: having to choose between two boys, one of whom can give her everything she’s conditioned to want, and one who can maybe give her what she doesn’t know she really wants.

From this simple premise arises a simple, straightforward high school love story, with a dash of family angst thrown in. Admittedly Lauren and Evan’s budding relationship is not much different from most other teen fiction relationships, and most of the importance of the situation is lost in its blandness. Readers are told by Lauren by her predicament is and may be life-changing, but from the novel we don’t really feel it. Reactions are damped; emotions, cramped.

Very few of the characters and their interactions with one another are actually likable. Lauren was a weak protagonist who had a tough time learning to follow her heart. Dave, he of the religious bent and family-obligated persuasion, is lackluster as well; I never really understood why he was so well liked.

This all would’ve been fine, because I highly suspect that Elizabeth Scott intended to portray them in such a way, had it not been for Evan. Evan is supposed to be Lauren’s savior, the one who pops her bubble, cracks her shell, makes her understand what she wants. However, in BLOOM Evan seems nothing more than a mirror for Lauren’s unconscious desires, instead of being a full human being himself. All of their interactions seem to consist of Lauren feeling butterflies in her stomach, Evan shooting her loaded looks, Lauren wanting to kiss him, Lauren catching herself thinking about him when she shouldn’t be…and on and on and on. It makes me want to shout, and where’s Evan in all of this? Why do we never get a clearer picture of HIM—his quirks, his history, what HE lacks and desires? Why does he only seem like a figment of Lauren’s desperate imagination?

In the end, this book can’t hold a candle to any of Sarah Dessen’s, but it’s good for a quick, predictable, feel-good-because-love-triumphs-all read. Next, please. ( )

Lauren has the perfect boyfriend - but when he's not around, she's a school nobody. When a friend from her childhood arrives, Lauren's questioning of her perfect life get a focus. A sweet school romance. Give to people looking for first love stories, or gentle highs chool romances. ( )

Full review at http://yannabe.com/2009/05/29/review-...

Summary: Not-popular high school junior Lauren is dating uber-popular and gorgeous Dave. That’s enough to make any girl ecstatic. Only Lauren’s not.

Review: What’s wrong with me that I’m not loving Scott’s books? Like Something, Maybe, this one was just okay for me.

I did thoroughly enjoy the romantic scenes. Ahem.

But there was too much internal dialogue for my taste, and I thought the ending was a little melodramatic and bordering on cheesy. ( )

I finally had the chance to pick up Elizabeth Scott's debut bloom which would be my first taste of her writing. Wow! This book may not look long, and the cover may seem a little ordinary - but don't be fooled! bloom certainly delivers a powerful punch in the terms of searching for identity, motivation, and love.

Lauren is probably the girl that we all are - at least, she channels the girl that I think that I was and am somewhat. Her problems, thoughts, hopes, disappointments struck a chord with me, and I felt that I knew her.

To sum it up, go check out bloom if you haven't already! It'll be like finding an old friend! ( )