Wallflower in Bloom

I’ve read and enjoyed chick lit. This isn’t one of those chick lit books.

Deirdre Gibson is the personal assistant and social media genius behind her older brother, Tag’s, rise to fame and fortune as a new-age guru. She is unsure, lacks confidence, and is certain that any guy who shows interest in her must be just trying to get to her brother. When her brother interferes once too often in her personal life, she abruptly quits and in a vodka-fueled stroke of inspiration starts an internet campaign to get her voted onto Dancing With the Stars (where, of course, the producers agree, just to get her brother to come on the show).

There is nothing likeable about these characters. Deirdre is obsessed with how fat and unattractive she is, show more and what mess she’s made of her “non-life.” Frankly, she’s right. She’s about 33 and riding her brother’s coattails. I wanted to shake some sense into her and tell her to grow up. Her brother isn’t much better, speaking in ridiculous platitudes and trying always to be the center of attention. Their sibling rivalry and dialogue is what I’d expect from 9-year-olds. A usual scene consists of his backhanded insult and her responding with “I know you are, but what am I?” Seriously … I’m not making that up; that is really what the dialogue is like in this book. Oh, and did I mention Cook’s penchant for dividing a sentence into individual words for emphasis. Drove. Me. Absolutely. Crazy! The “crisis” that leads to her epiphany is ridiculous and the ending is saccharine. Blech! show less

My personal harbinger of summer landed on my desk recently--Claire Cook's latest book "Wallflower in Bloom". Cook's strength is writing about women who, for one reason or another, are reinventing themselves. Humor is another of her great strengths, so her stories will first make you laugh, and then make you think "I could do something like that". It's no wonder she has legions of friends/fans who think of her like a sister.

This time around, she introduces us to Deirdre, who works as a personal assistant for her motivational speaker/musician guru-esque and very charismatic older brother, constantly on the go and with no life of her own--she just makes his life seamless and smooth. The resentment about this has been growing for years, show more but overflows after an argument with her brother over a friend of his (who just happened to kiss her) and the news from her on again/off again boyfriend of ten years that he's getting married because his current girlfriend is pregnant. So one night she mixes herself up a blender full of Ben&Jerry's and vodka and signs on to her brother's social media sites (which she takes care of for him) and asks all of his fans to support her as a last minute replacement on Dancing With The Stars. And they do.

This book is completely hilarious and pretty much impossible to put down once Deirdre starts her training. In between the slapstick, there are gentle touches on body image, weight, confidence, family and more. Once again, Cook tells it like so many women know it (only with more laughs), and this book will delight her fans, and no doubt earn her some more. show less

Don't look at me like that. Sure, 3 stars means I did like this book, and I'm not even in the target demographic (a bit too male). I'm allowed to read something different once in a while. And enjoy it. So there. Besides, I like Dancing with the Stars.

What worked for me: The deadpan voice of the first-person narrator. Given her messed up personal situation and her hapless reactions, she could have some across as whining. By keeping her reasonably level-headed, the author makes it possible for us to stick with her. And by not making her too empowered or snarky, we don't get put off, either. Beyond that, the prose, dialog, settings, and descriptions are all first-rate. There is nothing to complain about in terms of basic writing show more skills.

What didn't really work for me, once it occurred to me, is believing that this powerful, effective personal assistant for a popular pop figure is so easily reduced to a hapless, clueless shlub. I was also put off by the completely inane relationship she has with her brother and the rest of her family. Sure, this is the source of conflict for the story. But this is one of those conflicts that could be resolved in about two minutes if just one of the participants would act like a grown up, instead of a thirteen-year-old.

As for all of the rigmarole dealing with Dancing with the Stars and Hollywood: this is reasonably believable and mostly fun. In some ways, I wish it could have been richer. Just as it all seemed to get rolling, everything is resolved. This is perhaps due to the short length of the book. I read it in only a few hours, spread over several days. This will be a fun beach read for those in its target audience. As for the rest of us, you may like it, too (especially if you are a DWTS fan, like me).

Disclosure: I received a free copy of this book for review. show less

While it took me a little bit to get into this book, I found it to be a compelling page turner. I had a love/hate relationship with the main character Deirdre, well hate is not quite right more like "sorry".
Deirdre is the do it all girl/personal assistant for her motivational speaker/musician guru. She is extremely bright girl with very little self esteem.
The book will give you some really good chuckles, and you will be cheering her on in some of her antics! At other times you will be in tears for her. I loved how she went about getting herself on DWTS!! Once we start our journey there we find Deirdre starting to bloom.
Don't miss this great summer read, and have a box of tissues handy for your tears from joy and sadness!

I received this show more book from the Publisher Simon & Schuster, and was not required to give a positive review. show less

Deidre has played second fiddle to her whole family her whole life. Working for her charismatic brother, Tag, doesn't help matters very much. After she runs off to LA to follow her dream of dancing, Deidre's life takes some more confident turns. Although I thoroughly enjoyed Cook's family dynamics (as always), I had trouble buying into the whole DWTS premise.

As usual, Claire Cook know how to make you laugh in “Wallflower in Bloom”! I listened to the audio version read by Cassandra Campbell which I love as well – so perfect for the part.

Love the way Claire always has her strong women characters inventing themselves and the wonderful journey along the way, full of obstacles and stepping stones. The sense of humor in all her books make them fun to read or to listen to and inspires you to be your best!

Bringing in DWTS was so cool, as Deirdre has lived in the shadows of her famous brother Tag, and uses social media to get her the spot on the famous show. You will be delighted with this one, as all of Cook’s funny tales and full of adventure!

This was a pretty light and easy read. The characters had potential but didn't quite make the grade. They were a tad one-dimensional. The DWTS portion of the book was enjoyable and has now made me want to watch the show. I suppose the characters were meant to be stuck in adolescence, however it got on my nerves after a while. This is a nice beach read.