Late Bloomer by Fern Michaels

by Fern Michaels

Twenty years have past since the incident involving six lonely children at a secret playground in Indigo Valley, Pennsylavania which left the town bully dead and ten-year-old Cady Jordan seriously injured. Now Cady has returned to the valley to care for her ailing grandmother Lola, the only person Cady has ever truly loved. While Cady has grown into attractive, intelligent, but overly cautious young woman, she has no memory of her childhood tragedy. Lola desperately wants to see Cady embrace life and find the happiness she deserves so she pushes her granddaughter to "remember".As Cady reacquaints herself with her old friends, she begins to recalls bits and pieces of what happened that fateful day. She also discovers a new zest for life and falls in love for the first time. But her friends don't want her to remember. If the truth comes out, their safe and secure lives might be ruined forever. Which of them will do what is best for Cady and acknowledge the truth, and which of them will betray her again and do what is best for themselves?With vibrant, complex characters and her distinctive blend of humor and poignancy, Fern Michaels is at the peak of her storytelling abilities. Late Bloomer takes listeners on the young woman's journey of self-discovery that is exciting, heartbreaking and ultimately triumphant.

Genres: Romance, Fiction, Chick Lit, Audiobook, Mystery, Contemporary, Adult Fiction

Mass Market Paperback

First published January 1, 2001

About the author

Fern Michaels isn’t a person. I’m not sure she’s an entity either since an entity is something with separate existence. Fern Michaels® is what I DO. Me, Mary Ruth Kuczkir. Growing up in Hastings, Pennsylvania, I was called Ruth. I became Mary when I entered the business world where first names were the order of the day. To this day, family and friends call me Dink, a name my father gave me when I was born because according to him I was ‘a dinky little thing’ weighing in at four and a half pounds. However, I answer to Fern since people are more comfortable with a name they can pronounce.

As they say, the past is prologue. I grew up, got a job, got married, had five kids. When my youngest went off to Kindergarten, my husband told me to get off my ass and get a job. Those were his exact words. I didn’t know how to do anything except be a wife and mother. I was also a voracious reader having cut my teeth on The Bobbsey Twins, Nancy Drew, The Hardy Boys, Cherry Ames and the like. The library was a magical place for me. It still is to this day. Rather than face the outside world with no skills, I decided to write a book. For some reason that didn’t intimidate me. As my husband said at the time, stupid is as stupid does. Guess what, I don’t have that husband any more. Guess what else! I wrote 99 books, most of them New York Times Best Sellers.

Moving right along here . . . Several years ago I left Ballantine Books, parted company with my agent, sold my house in New Jersey that I had lived in all my married life and in 1993 moved to South Carolina. I figured if I was going to go through trauma let it be all at one time. It was a breeze. The kids were all on their own at that point. The dump was a 300 year old plantation house that is listed in the National Registry that I remodeled. Today it is beyond belief as are the gardens and the equally old Angel Oaks that drip Spanish moss. Unfortunately, I could not get my ghost to relocate. This ghost has been documented by previous owners. Mary Margaret as we call her, is “a friendly”. She is also mischievous. It took me two weeks to figure out that she didn’t like my coffee cups. They would slide off the table or counter or else they’d break in the dishwasher. I bought red checkered ones. All are intact as of this writing. She moves pillows from one room to the other and she stops all the clocks in the house at 9:10 in the a.m. at least once a week. When the Azaleas are in bloom, and only then, I find blooms on my night stand. I have this glorious front porch and during the warm months I see my swing moving early in the morning when the air is still and again late in the day. She doesn’t spook the dogs. I always know when she’s around because the five of them line up and look like they’re at a tennis match. As of this writing we’re co-habiting nicely.

Most writers love what they do and I’m no exception. I love it when I get a germ of an idea and get it down on paper. I love breathing life into my characters. I love writing about women who persevere and prevail because that’s what I had to do to get to this point in time. It’s another way of saying it doesn’t matter where you’ve been, what matters is where you’re going and how you get there. The day I finally prevailed was the day I was inducted into the New Jersey Literary Hall of Fame. For me it was an awesome day and there are no words to describe it.
I’ve been telling stories and scribbling for 37 years. I hope I can continue for another 37 years. It wasn’t easy during some of those years. As I said, I had to persevere. My old Polish grandmother said something to me when I was little that I never forgot. She said when God is good to you, you have to give back. For a while I didn’t know how to do that. When I finally figured it out I set up The Fern Michaels® Foundation.

READ FERN MICHAELS' FULL BIOGRAPHY HERE: http://www.fernmichaels.com/biography/

Reviews

[si ( ◠‿◠ ) · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

i enjoyed this a lot more than i expected to. the characters were so good, like i really felt for them and was interested in all their lives. katie was a little boring but i loved the plot around her and i liked her more with every page as she found herself and got bold.

it wrapped up really well, and despite it being a little *too* perfect, i couldnt help but like the soft warm fuzzy feelings it gave me. it truly felt like an escape, and i reeeeally need that these days.

i’m definitely planning to read more of fern michaels!! excited to pick my next one 😍

[Susan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Romance/Murder mystery. Long ago childhood secrets come back to haunt a group of childhood friends.

[Jacqueline · Rating 2 out of 5]

OK...I read a Fern Michaels book. I am not respecting myself the next morning. Also will not listen to any more book opinions from the friend who said I would love it if I would just try one. This sounds, in retrospect, suspiciously like the way i used to get in trouble when i was waaaay younger. Should'a thought of that sooner....

[Deb]

Story line was okay, but this is the 1st book by Fern Michaels that I have read and I have to say, I don't really care for her style of writing. The writing seemed too monotonous and lacked depth. It was very strange. Does anyone else feel this way about her style of writing?

[Karen · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought the fact that Cary Jordan' s misfortunate accident which lead to a total loss of her memory was drug out. 3/4 of the book rehashed how her Grandmother and she would obtain the incidents that happened 20 years ago to stifle getting her memory back. The ending did have a nice twist.

[Jjean · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cozy romance-murder mystery from childhood - childhood secrets come back to haunt a group of childhood friends- one is determined to solve the mystery - well written - interesting characters -

[Lisa · Rating 1 out of 5]

Thistle is probably the worst written book I've ever read in my life. If I hadn't have seen the best seller note on the cover, I would have thought this was a Wattpad novel. Grammatical errors, formatting errors, unbelievable scenarios, etc. Everything is cliche: the girl just happens to have an accident where she loses her memory, she just happens to have a rich grandmother who makes everything better, she just happens to have a great body, the boys from her childhood grow up to be attractive, she turns overnight from a scared mouse into a confident lioness... all the hallmarks of a Mary Sue fanfiction. The only reason that I finished it is because I refuse to quit on a book.
ALSO the scenes that involve describing her clothing and underwear choices are horrendous. The author obviously has no idea how hard it is to tear quality fabric. Dresses don't just rip off because a dog jumped on you or because you got a bit hooked on a mailbox.

[Gretchen · Rating 2 out of 5]

Her storylines are always good, but her writing is awful. All conversation, no transitions, very elementary.

[Koki · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cady Jordanová, dvojičky Amy a Andy Hollisterovci a Pete Danson boli ako deti nerozluční. Až kým Cady neutrpela vážny úraz a nezomrel pri tom Jeff King - darebák, ktorý Cady robil neustále zle. Vinu za jeho smrť pripísali Cady, ktorá si žiaľ nedokázala spomenúť, čo sa vlastne stalo a ostatné decká sa vyhovorili, že v ten inkriminovaný deň v Judášovom háji neboli.

Téma na príbeh nie je okukaná, i keď sa dá dopredu vycítiť, aká je pravda, aj ako to celé skončí. Napriek tomu vás ten pocit nenúti zatvoriť knihu a nečítať ju. Naopak, s radosťou čakáte, ako sa postupne odhaľujú jednotlivé tajomstvá a hriechy minulosti a zároveň, ako sa dávne kamarátstvo rokmi zmenilo na ľahostajnosť; v prípade Amy na nenávisť. Zvyšok recenzie je tu: http://kokina1.blogspot.sk/2013/08/ne...

[Monique Pearson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really really enjoyed this mystery/romance. I felt the ending was very well written and exactly as it should have been. I've come to find I really never know what to expect from this author which is sometimes enjoyable when you need a break from your usual genre of reading.

[Martha Inés · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lo leí sin esperar absolutamente nada, pero ha sido el libro con uno de los mejores plot que he leído

[Sanja · Rating 1 out of 5]

No thank you

[Kelly · Rating 1 out of 5]

Read this one years ago, and just realized I never copypasta'd my review from Amazon.

Didn't we all used to have that fantasy? You know the one, where you returned to our hometown as the Glamorous New You, discovered your greatest rival was now a loser, and won the heart of your old crush? Yeah. Thought so. Trouble is, while having that youthful daydream as the backbone of a novel had me cheering for the heroine at first, it became clear pretty quickly that there wasn't much else to cheer for in Late Bloomer.

Late Bloomer tells the story of Cady, who was injured in a childhood accident that killed another kid, and has a hole in her memory where the accident should be. As the story begins, she moves back home with her grandmother, but this isn't any ordinary grandmother. Grandma is an old-time movie goddess who gives Cady the makeover of her life and advises her to live it up. Cady then proceeds to go around town catching up with her old friends, hoping to mend old friendships and to piece together memories of the accident.

There's Boomer, the hunky police chief, around whom Cady's clothes always seem to randomly fall off. And I don't even mean that in a sexual sense. Every time she sees this guy, she has a wardrobe malfunction of some kind. I've had a lot of wardrobe malfunctions in my life, but I don't think I've ever had this many in a couple of weeks! While the romance between Cady and Boomer is rather sweet, it also feels contrived, like a warmed-over romantic comedy plot.

Then there's Amy. Amy was once Cady's best friend. Amy is now a Big Fat Loser. And lest we forget that she is a Big Fat Loser, Michaels wastes no opportunity to bring it up, again and again and again. Especially the fat part. Oh, look, Amy's stuffing her face with nasty food and spilling it all over herself! Boooo! Hiss! The character of Amy is made up entirely of stereotypes about fat people. Looovely. There's also a moment where Amy has been doing housework and answers the door to find Cady there, dressed to the nines, and Amy comments that not everyone has the time to get dressed up and go visiting all day. Let me tell you, my sympathies wavered a little at that moment. Not that Amy was right to be rude, but Cady seems to be the only person in the book who never needs to go to work or do anything around her house, or basically anything except show off her new wardrobe. (Or fall out of her new wardrobe.)

As for the mystery plot, it's interesting following Cady as she tries to learn the truth about the accident, but that plotline is wrapped up in such an unsatisfactory way that I was disappointed in the end. There's someone Cady needs to face at the end, either to confront or to forgive, and we don't get that moment. It's as though Michaels can't bear to throw any unpleasantness into Cady's path, and the reader is cheated.

[Robin Reynolds · Rating 5 out of 5]

A couple of weekends ago I went to a book sale at my local library with my mom and sister. We went on bag day, where you pay $5 for a paper sack and cram in as many books as you can. My mom bought three bags, and stuffed a few books into my bags as they wouldn't all quite fit in her bags. Later, while going through my bags, I discovered this book that must have been one of hers. I'm seeing her in a couple of days and will give it back to her then, but this morning I decided to read it first. I am so incredibly glad I made that decision, because I absolutely loved this emotional roller coaster ride of a book.

Cady is a lost soul. Her grandmother and the two companions who live with her are characters. You know those old screwball comedies, where funny incident after funny incident happens one after another? There are many scenes in this book that remind of those. As Cady settles into her grandmother's home and begins making contact with her old friends, bits and pieces of her memory come back, and secrets are revealed. The accident is played out for us in the prologue, but throughout the book we are taken into the minds of Cady, Boomer, and the other three children who were there, and how it affected each of them as they grew up.

I read this book in one day. I literally did not want to put it down. I don't know how I've not read this author before, but she has a long backlist, so there's about 90 more books to add to my already extensive wish list.

[Marcie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'd not read a lot of this author in the past, so I wasn't sure what to expect. She's popular, however, in the romance sections of new and used bookstores, so I figured it was worth picking up a few of her books. This one was a quick read, and it's very low on the seriousness of the sex part, which was a good change from some of the smut I've been reading lately.

The book begins by introducing us to a young girl who has a tragic accident on her "last day" in a small town. Amnesia regarding the day and circumstances surrounding it keep her away from the small town until she finds out her grandmother (who still lives there) is dying. She goes to revisit her past and try to put the pieces together once and for all. Her own parents are awful people, and parents in general don't get a good rap in the book. The kids from "back then" are now grown-ups in a small community with businesses and careers. It's a reflection, in some ways, of who they were and who they are...and the author takes pains to illustrate the connections between childhood and adulthood behaviors. The book ends with a death, found romance, and rekindled friendships.

There are some advanced themes in this if you look under the surface. The writing isn't terrible and can be related to by almost anyone who lived a small town life.

[Rachel Simington · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved the book and didn't want it to be over so I put off reading the end for a bit. Cady was a strong young woman with a good heart. She truely had the perfect love from childhood. I love how in the end they all came together to bond the friendship that they once had w/ out the bullies. Cady's grandmother showed that love conqures all and nothing can change that. I loved the detail with every character and with the description of the grandmother's home. I will deffinatley be reading more of Fern's books. I would love to find a series of hers.

[Chantel · Rating 2 out of 5]

Late Bloomer
Author: Fern Michaels

This book begins with an episode in a group of childrens' lives and then skips forward to them in their 30s. I almost felt like the "flashback" gave too much away since the main character had lost her memory of the event. It might have been better dramatically if the events of that day had been revealed to us as they were revealed to the main character. There are still some surprises, but the beginning sequence laid out what the story would be. It was a decent story but not a real meaty one.

[Tammy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I picked up this book from my building's 'library', which is just a book shelf in our social room, and thought it looked cute. Every book needs a crazy side-kick or grandma. I started Fern's 'Nosy Neighbour' before and didn't like it at all as I find her writing to be a bit obvious - but I'm going to give her another try.

Well...the good thing about this book is it didn't distract me from writing my paper. I think I'll be giving up on Ms. Michaels.

[Lisa Portala · Rating 2 out of 5]

The story was just okay. I didn't really see what the point was in trying to get the main character to regain her memory. I, also, didn't really care for the character. She just seemed too odd and annoying. I was kind of disappointed when I finished the book. I guess I just kept hoping for an interesting "twist" that never came.

[Tarah · Rating 1 out of 5]

Reading the story summary it sounded really interesting. Actually reading it was a different story. I think it could have been written so much better then it was. It was hard to truly get into but I wanted to stick it out and finish. If your looking for something to pass the time this might be a good choice but it may not hold your interest.

[Mary K. · Rating 2 out of 5]

A tragedy happens 20 years ago, and the characters relive it as if yesterday. The plot is unrealistic and the the whole book was a chore to read, like doing push-ups. I preserved because I wanted to see if the story-line redeemed itself at the end. It did so a bit, but not more than Two Stars worth.

[Stacey · Rating 2 out of 5]

I've been a real reading rut lately. Got this for free, and it seemed a quick easy read - something to hopefully get me reading again. It was okay. Didn't really bond with any of the charcaters, and some of the plot was just too unbelievable for me.

[Linda · Rating 1 out of 5]

The story line for me was not interesting and I figured out the culprit who was responsible for hurting Cady very early. There was no build up or anticipation. The characters were one dimensional and dull; for me everything was boring.

[Gina · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well..... I suppose it was an easy way to pass time in the car without having to think. Very soap opera like and predicatable but I got three different stories on audio cds that are all written in a similar fashion, so I'm beginning to feel less intelligent simply for having listened.

[Helena Lawler · Rating 1 out of 5]

Boring......First chapter got me then it just slumped off. You almost knew what was going to happen. The relationship between the main character and the dog was dumb...and I usually like that kind of stuff. Not worth reading, in my opinion.

[Rachel Kynhoff · Rating 2 out of 5]

The plot was extremely slow until the end. The author seemed to have the same voice for each character so they all were similar from the granddaughter to the grandmother and the chief to the lawyer.

[Candy Liggett · Rating 5 out of 5]

Cady Jordan returns to her hometown 20 years later after a accident that happened involving Cady and her friends. She is back to take care of her Grandmother Lola. Cady has no memory of what happened the day a stunt with her friends resulted in her being injured and a young bully dying. Not all of Cady's friends are happy to see her back as they have secrets of their own and will change their lives. Some people in this small town think Cady is responsible for the death of Jeff. One of her friends Boomer Ward is now the chief of police and is attracted to Cady. As they grow closer and as she gets closer to the truth will it tear them apart?

Lola also has a agenda for Cady she wants her granddaughter to remember what happened so she can get her life back and start to live again. Lola is a famous actress and her friends have quite a few adventures setting everything in motion to help her granddaughter. She also has a secret she has kept from her that will change her life.

This is a real page turner and all the characters are very interesting. Especially the twins Amy and Andy. Andy wants to tell the truth and Amy wants to keep the secrets buried and is willing to do anything to keep it that way. You can feel for all of these characters and what they are going through.

Fern Michaels has a way of always making you feel like you are right there in the story. All the characters are well developed and the story moves right along. It is very hard to put this book down. I couldn't wait to know what happens next.

[Chanel Sharp · Rating 4 out of 5]

Can mom and I just say we loved the Grandmother and her entourage. They were just so funny and confident. Mom and I are little sad, yet really quite happy, to say that they seemed to steal the show and make a wonderful circus act out of the whole thing.
We open with a boy being killed and a girl almost getting killed. Though Cady survives she looses her memory of the events of that day and is always left wondering how that boy dead and what part did she play in his death.
When Cady gets called back to town to spend time with her Grandmother Lola she starts to unravel her past.
First off the Police chief is one of the bullies that use to torment her. (Truly he never tormented her, he was just with the bully, the boy who died, who tormented her.)
Secondly her group of tight nit friend that she grew up with seem to treat her like a passing acquaintance at best.
Lastly her parents seem to be hiding some sort of secret to about that day.
Well it time for Cady start digging because berried beneath all these secrets is the truth.

[Karen Kovac · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enjoyed this book immensely...a fun read bringing back memories of childhood summers in the 1950s when we’d go out to play from 10:00AM until the street lights came on....(stopped home for lunch and dinner ) we were sooooo unsupervised ....with our gang of friends...boys and girls finding new adventures ....we were so safe even with no helmets, no knee pads....no adults....rode bikes everywhere (usually hands free) ..in the street, in shopping center parking lot ....we would travel miles (at 9 years old ) to go get a Dairy Queen ...remember one time my mom asking where we were so long , I told her where we had gone....probably 7 miles into another city to get the “good stuff” ..she got mad...said “we were fine “ ...rode bikes with lit “punks” in our mouths to keep mosquitos away ....found a big hill and played “king of the hill” one person at top...goal was to push everyone else off .....sooo much fun ...rule was “be home in own yard when street lights came on .“.....I sooo “get” the little kids running away....We “knew nothing”...”nothing happened”

[Benita · Rating 4 out of 5]

I had this book on my to-read list for years. I ran across a copy of it at a thrift store. I had read most of the author’s Sisterhood series and really liked them so I was eager to read this one. I enjoyed the book. I gave it four stars because some of the characters were a little cliché at times but not enough to ruin a good story. Cady returned to her hometown after 20 years. She could not remember what happened all those years ago when she’d had a terrible accident. Her childhood friends played a significant role in the accident but they all denied being there. Cady moved in with her grandmother, a retired movie star. Her grandmother is determined to help Cady get her memory back and with the help of a couple friends sets events in motion that puts Cady face to face with her old friends. As she starts to regain her memory she realizes her friends betrayed her all those years ago. The author adds an unexpected twist near the end that helps make sense out of things. A page turner for sure.