Tart

by Jody Gehrman

Claudia Bloom has stolen her ex-boyfriend's VW bus to take her from Texas to California, where a job as a theater instructor at UC Santa Cruz awaits her. But the VW doesn't survive the trip; it explodes just after Claudia jumps out with her cat. She is rescued by handsome Clay Parker, and it isn't long before -commitment-phobe Claudia is falling for him. But an obstacle immediately presents itself in the form of Clay's not-yet-ex-wife, Monica, who is also an instructor at UC Santa Cruz. Claudia tries to ignore her growing feelings for Clay as she focuses on her job and its challenges, including obnoxious students, Monica's wrath, and the demanding department head, who just happens to be Clay's mother.
-Kristine Huntley

Genres: Chick Lit, Fiction, Literature

320 pages, Paperback

First published July 1, 2005

About the author

Jody Gehrman is a native of Northern California, where she can be found writing, teaching, reading, or obsessing over her three cats most days. She is also the author of eleven novels and numerous award-winning plays. Her debut suspense novel, Watch Me, was published by St. Martin's Press. Her other adult novels are Bombshell, Notes from the Backseat, Tart, and Summer in the Land of Skin. Her Young Adult novels include The Truth About Jack, Audrey's Guide to Black Magic, Audrey's Guide to Witchcraft, Babe in Boyland, Confessions of a Triple Shot Betty, and Triple Shot Bettys in Love. Babe in Boyland was optioned by the Disney Channel and won the International Reading Association's Teen Choice Award. Her plays have been produced or had readings in Ashland, New York, San Francisco, Chicago and L.A. She and her partner David Wolf won the New Generation Playwrights Award for their one-act, Jake Savage, Jungle P.I. She is a professor of Communication at Mendocino College.

Reviews

[Clemence D · Rating 4 out of 5]

Claudia Bloom a presque 30 ans lorsque après s'être faite plaquer pour une nymphette, elle décide sur un coup de tête de voler le van de son ex, fourrer son chat dedans et de quitter le Texas en direction de la Californie ! La bas l'attend un contrat d'un an à la fac de Santa Cruz.
Elle décide aussi de reprendre sa vie en main et d'assainir ses relations avec les mecs. Puis d'être une prof respectable et respectée.
Bilan de l'opération : le van a explosé à 10 km du but. Mais elle a rencontré Clay, un adorable motard qui pourrait se révéler être bien plus que ça ...

J'ai passé un bon moment avec ce livre entre rire et larme, fait inhabituel pour une romance.
L'histoire est plutôt pas mal et aborde des sujets graves avec une pointe de folie. Petits bémols sur quelques petites longueurs qui plombe un peu le rythme de l'histoire et une ou deux scènes déja vu et revu.

En résumé, c'est une bonne comédie romantique mais qui aborde des sujets beaucoup plus sérieux avec de l'humour et une vraie leçon de vie.

Bien sûr ce livre n'est pas un chef c'oeuvre de littérature mais il gagne à être plus connu ! Je conseille !

[Culture-Vulture · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 Stars ⭐⭐⭐

I adored the author's YA novel "Babe in Boyland". So I thought I would try some of her other works, too. This one, unfortunately, didn't have the same level of subtle humour I enjoyed in her YA. The plot was very chick-flicky ditzy-but-cute-and-talented-woman...YAWN..., so not really my thing.

[Kate McDougall Sackler · Rating 3 out of 5]

This girl is a hot mess. A commitment phobic theatre professor finds her true love but almost loses him due to overthinking and bad communication. Hilarity ensues. I liked it better than I thought I would.
2024 reading challenge-a book connected in some way to any of the flavors of Ben & Jerry’s ice cream (strawberry topped tart ice cream)

[James Henry · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s a bit like watching Kate Hudson in a rom-com try to be a carefree, promiscuous woman with a sarcastic streak: on the surface, it’s fine, but if you dig any deeper it’s just the same old rom-com heroine straining to be a libertine.

[Stacy · Rating 3 out of 5]

My reading this year has been so serious (often downright bleak). I randomly bought this at a used bookstore for no reason other than it seemed fun. And it was. Note to self: select books that way more often.

[Jules · Rating 3 out of 5]

While this book fits nicely in the Chick Lit category it has more meat to it than the average chick lit formula. While the humor is biting and yes tart, it also deals with some deep and complex emotions.

[Jules · Rating 3 out of 5]

While this book fits nicely in the Chick Lit category it has more meat to it than the average chick lit formula. While the humor is biting and yes tart, it also deals with some deep and complex emotions.

[Kora Kaos · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's a fun read with a lot of coincidences, on and off love story...

[Jess · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good overall

[Andie Brown · Rating 5 out of 5]

Quick, funny and delicious.

[ShyAnn64 · Rating 3 out of 5]

Claudia Bloom has stolen her ex-boyfriend's VW bus to take her from Texas to California, where a job as a theater instructor at UC Santa Cruz awaits her. But the VW doesn't survive the trip; it explodes just after Claudia jumps out with her cat. She is rescued by handsome Clay Parker, and it isn't long before -commitment-phobe Claudia is falling for him. But an obstacle immediately presents itself in the form of Clay's not-yet-ex-wife, Monica, who is also an instructor at UC Santa Cruz. Claudia tries to ignore her growing feelings for Clay as she focuses on her job and its challenges, including obnoxious students, Monica's wrath, and the demanding department head, who just happens to be Clay's mother.

[Elusive · Rating 3 out of 5]

In ‘Tart’, Claudia is unsure about what she wants in life. After stealing her ex-boyfriend’s bus, her escapade ends abruptly when the engine catches fire. Subsequently she meets Clay and sleeps with him, only to realize that she can’t stop thinking about him and this goes against her belief in living the tart lifestyle in which there’s no commitment.

I did enjoy this book for the most part and I liked some of the hilarious moments. However, something was missing – a crucial something which would have made this amazing and I can’t quite put my finger on it but it is probably related to the main character. I never warmed up to Claudia and found her to be exasperating as she was slow on the uptake and yet quick to jump to conclusions. Several misunderstandings were of her own doing but she took pleasure in thinking the worst of other people without giving them a chance.

The romance was highly unbelievable to me. Claudia and Clay slept together once and barely had any meaningful conversations but they supposedly had feelings for each other. That didn’t work because the author didn’t write it convincingly. Furthermore, Clay was simply boring. There was too much emphasis on his physical attributes but there was nothing remotely interesting about him. He seemed to spend his time trying to talk to Claudia and getting into her pants but he failed to tell her some important things, giving the excuse that she never asked. It made sense but it didn’t make him look any better.

There were also too many things going on in one story and the problem was, none were well-executed. I would have liked to read more about Claudia teaching in college and perhaps struggling to be the professional she should be. Unfortunately, there were only bits here and there showing how she almost got into trouble for being late or not reading her e-mails. Initially I liked the introduction of her cousin Rosemarie but that storyline didn’t have adequate details to keep it fresh and interesting. Claudia’s relationship with her estranged mother was a missed opportunity as it wasn’t fully explored.

Overall, ‘Tart’ was a decent but disappointing read as it was directionless and the title was misleading as Claudia didn’t exactly live the tart life.

[Leslie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. I would classify it as a beach read, but with just enough substance to keep it interesting.

Claudia Bloom is at a crossroads. The main plot has her deciding if her new choice of career (professor) is something that she really wants to continue with. She also must decide to change her thought process when dealing with relationships after meeting Mr. Right. Her parents divorced when she was a young teen, and ever since then she decided to live a "tart" lifestyle in which committment is not in her vocabulary.
One line that I won't forget is when Claudia was in her 20's and wrote the Tart Manifesto, the first line was "When living the tart lifestyle, never pass on sex or dessert". Woo-hoo-think that may be my new mantra-LOL.

All in all this was a good book that made me laugh and cry. I couldn't put down. As a matter of fact, I read it all in one day.

[Amanda · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really enjoyed this book. The only flaw is the main character never seems to actually behave like the books describes her personality. It says she is one way, but really she isn't. The book is supposed to be the character having like a whole turn around in her personality, but it never really shows her behaving in her old ways. Other wise the plot was very good, and it had just enough drama, and it also made you want to scream and tell the characters what to do. I would highly recommend it.

[Andrea · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jody Gehrman writes wonderfully and realistically. This is one of the best chick lit books I've ever read. It's funny, descriptive and romantic. The story takes place in Santa Cruz (my home town), and the author captures the vibe perfectly. The characters are clearly drawn, and by the end you feel like you really know them. The opening scene when our heroine's car catches on fire from overheating on Highway 17 will be familiar to anyone who has ever made the commute.

[Danielle · Rating 2 out of 5]

initally started reading, but got a bit melodramatic for my taste. i usually like the raw, rude type females, but this both wasnt doing it for me. didnt really finish, unless you count skipping to the end to see what happens, so i cant fully give it a bad rating. though the fact that i didnt finish it is a bad rating in itself. i see potential in this author, but she needs a less contrive main character and a more effortless main character and story line.

[Violet · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this while in bed with a cold, and I have to say it was good sick-day reading. the beginning started out very typical chick lit (if I wasn't stuck in bed I might not have hung in there) but by the end I was engrossed. Interesting storyline with a few unexpected twists (and a few expected ones too), and by the end of the book I found most of the characters very likable.

[Kim · Rating 3 out of 5]

Though the protagonist in this book is not as likable as some in other chick lit novels, she is still endearing in her own really messed up way. It's fun to read about Santa Cruz and Austin--especially if you've been there.

[Penny · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked this one. With such a low rating I wasn't expecting to enjoy it as much as I did. I found the author insightful and kept the fluff to a minimum. Although this one is a very light read, it still has enough substance to keep the pages turning.

[Erika · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book captures you just five sentences in. If you can't relate to this main character, I'd be amazed. Its one rough moment after another that leads to a lovely ending. I adored this book when I read it years back. It's one of my favorites.

[Minakshi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Hilarious and smart! This book lives up to its name:
"tart(adj)1. sharp or caustic in spirit 2. sweet, sour, tangy, sexy, bad"

[Ana Maria Gayle · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book from page one...it made me laugh out loud while reading. It is hilarious.

[Kim · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this book quite a bit. Very easy to get into and stick with.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book very funny and liked the writing style a lot.

[Jen Angel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think I read this in a day. It was quick and fun, though granted not complex and appealing to my demographic. It is set in Santa Cruz, which I also enjoyed.

[Lauren · Rating 2 out of 5]

A beach read that wasn't very engaging...I can't remember anything about the story which is a bad sign.

[Shannon · Rating 3 out of 5]

An OK book, better than some I've read in the past. A quick read though, nice short chapters.

[Meagan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Meh, your usual Chick Lit. Not great literature, but great vacation reading.

[Marisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Better than average chick lit. Funny, sharp emotional crises.

[Denise · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book...kind of felt like I was on a road trip.