Wildflower

by Patti Diener

A moving story about a young woman's tenacious journey on finding love, acceptance, and a sense of home, in a world that constantly tries to tear her down.She’s smart, talented, and remarkably beautiful…but utterly alone.Charlie Kane desperately wants to leave her turbulent home. An intellectual outcast, her only outlet is creating illegal street art, when she’s not busy cleaning up her drunken mother’s messes. With dreams of freedom, and painting, she’s tough, but wants to feel safe, to belong, and maybe even loved. But hope is a dangerous thing.

Jack Connors left a dead-end job working for a tabloid magazine in Los Angeles. While housesitting in Northern California, he’s deciding on his next career move, dreaming of writing. Before taking a short-term job, Jack is acquainting himself with the small town, and meets a beautiful girl on the coastal streets.

When Charlie and Jack meet, they have instant chemistry, but Charlie is spooked by how much she likes him, and bolts before they exchange names. When they later discover a disheartening truth— that she’s a high school senior, and he’s her substitute teacher— they are crushed. They can’t be together. Forging through heartbreaks, loneliness, and her mother’s bad choices, Charlie struggles to find her worth. And through years of bad timing, career aspirations, and geographical distance, Charlie and Jack share a powerful, but often strenuous relationship.

In this coming-of-age story, about mothers and daughters, about addiction and redemption, and forbidden love and romance, is the evolution of a girl blossoming into a woman, who will stop at nothing to build a better life.

328 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 8, 2025

About the author

Hello Friends!

Lake County, California has been my home since I was three. Outside of a few short times away, I've always lived here. I am a small town girl that loves family, community, the ocean, and books! I'm the wife of a retired battalion chief, and mother to two beautiful grown daughters. I love travel, great food, good wine, and dogs.

Talking about books and writing is my passion! So, if you see me, or want to get in touch about either my books, or my writing process, I'm open to it. I also love to give book recommendations on other wonderful authors I've read. That's why you might find me working part-time in an indie bookstore. Stories are what bring us together. Keep reading.

Reviews

[Laura Botten · Rating 5 out of 5]

Teenage Charlotte "Charlie" Kane lives a life she doesn't want for herself. Her mother is a neglectful addict who brings the worst kind of people into her daughter's life. Her grandparents are distant. And her father is nonexistent. Trust isn't exactly easy for Charlie when everyone who she's supposed to be able to count on continually lets her down. The only thing she can trust is her art.

When she meets the handsome Jack Conners, the two hit it off. She feels a flicker of hope for the first time: maybe there's someone out there who could love her after all. But when she learns who Jack really is, she knows that being with him would only complicate her life further.

Wildflower follows Charlie's desperate, hard-fought journey out of her dark little hole of an existence. Through a series of risks, tragedies, and triumphs, Charlie learns that, just like a wildflower, she too can bloom and flourish under the harshest of circumstances.

[Jeannie Minnaert · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wildfire is an absolutely astounding book! Charlie Kane is a talented young girl defying the odds to just survive let alone succeed in life. Many obstacles are in her way. But her resilience and desire to be more than a street artist, drive her to become a brilliant artist. A Wildflower grows not matter where they are planted. A wildflower keeps growing no matter what they have to push themselves through… This book Wildflower will grow and stay in your readers heart forever! A favorite read of this year!

[Courtney · Rating 5 out of 5]

Charlie Kane is a heroine you’ll remember — a beautiful and intelligent young artist who’s been dealt a lot of tough blows in life including an alcoholic mother. She is wise and mature beyond her 17 years, which is why her love interest Jack, a 24 year old writer from out of town - doesn’t realize how young she is when he starts falling for her - hard. This leads to some…complications…including another woman, and a romantic rainy scene right out of a certain The Police song, but eventually you find yourself cheering for Charlie and Jack.

A touching coming-of-age story about love, change, and standing up for yourself and going after your dreams - even if it means putting love on hold for your dreams…for awhile.

Charlie’s journey is what makes this book shine — she’s vibrant, relatable, and impossible not to root for. She’s got wild auburn hair, a wildflower tattoo representing resilience, and a quick wit. Her path through love, self-discovery, and the messy parts of growing up with past trauma is written with warmth and honesty, making this a touching read for fans of coming-of-age romance and strong female

Patti Diener has a knack for romance, strong female characters overcoming tough odds, painting beautiful settings (like the coastal town of Sebastopol, Calif.) and yes…some hot sex scenes! Check out Wildflower.

[Jess · Rating 2 out of 5]

Umm. It was written like an old person who was trying to sound cool. The format was weird, the characters flat, the timeline rushed, the details muddled, and honestly nothing really happened. I wanted to love the book so much and I did enjoy the references to local places I’m familiar with. I listened to this book on audible and perhaps the horrible narrator made the book seem worse, it wasn’t a talented narrator and it made distinguishing between characters and dialogue difficult. Like I said I wanted to love this book but there just wasn’t anything at all to love.

[dorothea fandel · Rating 5 out of 5]

loved this book

The best part of reading a book is to become part of it. I love when the characters come alive.

[Emmalena Boyd · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great read with lots of plot twists. It's fun to read a book that is set in a local area. This is the outcome you hope for for all girls growing up in a family like Charlie's.