Ella in Bloom

by Shelby Hearon

Living in the shadow of her "perfect" older sister and her mother's continuous disapproval, Ella rediscovers her own value, charm, and significant role in life when she is renunited with the man who had once been an object of rivalry between her sister and herself. By the author of Footprints. Reprint.

Genres: Fiction

272 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2001

Reviews

[AngryGreyCat · Rating 2 out of 5]

Ella in Bloom is a book I received for free in exchange for a fair review from BEA. This would best be described as a family drama, I suppose. A story of two sisters, a favourite child and a lesser. The golden child, Terrell, dies and Ella, the not-so-golden, somewhat disgraced, child is left to try to fill in for her parents. The book’s prose is well written, and the epistolary elements are nicely done as well. I just found the plot lines all a little over-wrought perhaps or maybe just dated? It seems like the current events should have been taking place 30 years earlier to make more sense to me.

The sisters, Terrell and Ella, both seemed to live their lives in terror of their mother. Ella fled and lied from a distance and Terrell maintained a perfect picture facade in the hometown. The father seemed okay with the mother’s unreasonableness and the resultant disconnect in the family or he just didn’t care enough to make any effort. The mother’s “secret shame” and reaction and attitudes just seemed over the top considering it is supposed to be taking place in the late 80s or early 90s. I just couldn’t really connect to the plot here.

[Allison Lee · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was an easy read, but was slow at parts. I definitely felt for the main character and her judgemental mother. However at parts the book was awkward, kind of stumbling around but overall a nice story line. I would recommend for someone looking for a cute and interesting story.

[Marisa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just ok. The book didn't really seem to have a clear line of what it was about, and it was kind of a strange mashup all at once of Ella and Red having something, the weirdness with the dead sister, and then the drama with the parents. It was just a lot to press into a relatively short book, and I'm leaving the book just feeling altogether apathetic about it. It was a quick read but just ok. Not great but not terrible.

[Theresa · Rating 3 out of 5]

A decent summer fast read. A little predictable, but good for the beach.

[Blossom · Rating 1 out of 5]

Did not enjoy, would not read again.

[Lee · Rating 3 out of 5]

While I found the book to be interesting, two things bugged me about it. The female lead character lives in Metairie, just outside New Orleans, and at one point states that hurricane season BEGINS in August - certainly not true, although some major storms have occurred then (like Katrina in 2005). The other was the wording - instead of saying "Mom and I...." she often writes "I and Mom..." Don't know anyone who speaks that way and it's incorrect grammar to put yourself first in my mind. So other than those 2 minor bones of contention, it was a quick read and since I've lived in Texas and Louisiana, there were some familiar points.

[Danette · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this story. It's about a woman who at 43 was and is the black sheep of her family. She goes to great lengths to hide things from her mother and pretend that she has the sort of life her mother would approve of. Ella's always perfect older sister confides that she is having an affair, and then dies in a plane crash. Roles are reversed and Ella finds the strength to deal with the issues with her parents that she has always avoided. Great character development. I would group this with other novels set in the south with lots of quirky characters.

[Barbara Filkins · Rating 3 out of 5]

Easy read. Some small surprises. The writing seems awkward when discussing intimate situations between Ella and Red. I don't know why Birdie says, "I and Bailey," instead of Bailey and I. It isn't correct and makes you stumble reading it. But not a big deal.I don't totally understand the mother's change of heart towards Ella-when she keeps looking at her during the visit from the woman from the mother's old school.

[Erin · Rating 2 out of 5]

Kind of slow, but it's a quick read. I sat down and read it in one sitting. I got it because it takes place in "Old Metairie" which is about 5 minutes from where I used to live in the New Orleans area. Part of it also takes place in Texas. So, I could relate to things that were talked about from both areas.

[Michele · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked this book a lot, partially because of the setting which switches from Louisiana to Texas, both areas I'm familiar with. The characters seemed realistic, in some cases sadly so. Ella & her daughter are lovable & engaging.

[Murray · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a sweet little readable book. I loved the main character's quirky personality and felt for her difficult relationship with her judgmental mother. The male characters were lovable too. The plot, less so. Too contrived. Would read something else from this author for sure.

[Lyn · Rating 5 out of 5]

It spoke to me about family, skeletons in the closet, pretend-lives and most of all about second chances. I bought it at a bargain in a supermarket Php99 for two books over Christmas vacation and I only got around reading it. I like it a lot.

[Elysabeth · Rating 1 out of 5]

awful, predictable, boring.

[Judy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A well told tale of family disharmony, lies and deception.

[Harmony · Rating 4 out of 5]

liked it, the characters seemed real and it was a good story

[Sheralyn · Rating 1 out of 5]

Another dud. What started out as interesting was marred by the infrequent but all too present harsh language and way too much sexual intimacy for me to keep my interest.

[Caren Nicholas · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good story but way too much rose growing information.

[Stephanie Childs · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was a bit of a downer. Odd writing style, too.