Thursday, August 7, 2008
Summer Blowout by Claire Cook
Published by Hyperion (Voice)
ISBN: 978-1-4013-2241-0
A Light and Satisfying Read
Bella Shaughnessy is a young, attractive divorcee who works with her family in her father’s salon. She comes from an interesting family background – her parents are divorced (her father, three times), her half-sister slept with her now ex-husband while they were separated, her brother is happily married to a man, and her father insists on making their family Italian, when they are really Irish. Bella is frustrated with men, her sister, and her family for how she is treated, and she decides it’s time to keep something for herself. She meets Sean Ryan at a college campus vendor fair and he convinces her she should create make-up kits and hand them out at these fairs. This becomes Bella’s project for herself and no one else. Will she be successful? Will she find peace in her life? Will she find fulfillment in her new endeavor? Will she finally find love, or will she decide her career is her new, true love?
These questions are all answered for the reader in Claire Cook’s latest novel, Summer Blowout. I found this book to be somewhat simple and superficial, and that is why I liked it. Ms. Cook didn’t spend a lot of time and pages analyzing each character until the reader was bored stiff – she kept the content light and humorous, and gave the reader just enough to be able to enjoy the story. While many readers may find fault with the lack of depth, I found this to be just what the doctor ordered as I sat in bed after a long day and just wanted to read “brain candy”. And I find the most surprising pleasure is the little beauty secrets she gives the reader along the way. Some of them I already knew, but some of them I am going to try! Great job Claire Cook!
These questions are all answered for the reader in Claire Cook’s latest novel, Summer Blowout. I found this book to be somewhat simple and superficial, and that is why I liked it. Ms. Cook didn’t spend a lot of time and pages analyzing each character until the reader was bored stiff – she kept the content light and humorous, and gave the reader just enough to be able to enjoy the story. While many readers may find fault with the lack of depth, I found this to be just what the doctor ordered as I sat in bed after a long day and just wanted to read “brain candy”. And I find the most surprising pleasure is the little beauty secrets she gives the reader along the way. Some of them I already knew, but some of them I am going to try! Great job Claire Cook!
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