Bloom by Elizabeth Scott

Ahem- sorry for not being around, I stepped away from my desk for a minute. 'Nuff said.

Bloom by Elizabeth Scott is a young adult, coming of age novel centering on seventeen year old Lauren Smith. Despite being abandoned by her mom as a young girl and raised by an absentee father, she has managed to maintain good grades, make great friends and has nailed the 'perfect' boyfriend, Dave, thus making her the envy of every girl in her high school.

But then Lauren runs into Evan, a dark, quite kid, who is quite literally from her 'past.' Evan had briefly lived with Lauren when they were younger and when his mom had been romantically involved with Lauren's dad.

Inexplicably, she finds herself drawn to Evan and begins to question everything in her life from her choices of friends to her relationship with Dave and even her own future. Her boyfriend is perfect and she feels she should be happy but there's something lacking. He's kind and courteous and includes Lauren on all his family outings which mainly deal with going to church and sitting in the woods with his parents and talking about his feelings.

Then there's Evan- working under the table and at night and living with his single mother in an apartment.

I loved the characters, and Lauren is so well written with her confusion, awkwardness and that feeling of not fitting in. She has some marvelous, wry insights.

I loved this little book so much that I devoured it. Scott explores the very fine line of doing what's expected of us and choosing to do what makes us happy.

A great read.