Ella in Bloom

Starred review from January 1, 2001
Veteran Hearon's (Life Estates; Footprints; Owning Jolene; etc.) 16th novel is a compassionate, gently ironic tale of the choices two Texas women make in rebellion and deference to their mother. The chatty narrative style belies the author's deeply wise perspective, succeeding in lifting a familiar themeD"middle-aged woman gets a second chance at love"Dloftily above its usual treatment. Older sister Terrell was always the favorite of her domineering mother, Agatha, keeping up appearances in deference to Agatha's obsessions with elegance and etiquette, marrying lawyer Rufus "Red" Hall, building an impressive house by a lake and never relaxing propriety. Ella, the narrator and younger sister, is living in squalor in Old Metairie, La., with her precocious teenage daughter, Birdie, hiding from her mother the fact that she waters houseplants for a living. Having run off with a scoundrel as a teenager, Ella is only partially restored to Agatha's good graces by early widowhood and Terrell's accidental death. Ella dreads the family reunion in Austin, Tex., for Agatha's birthday, but when Ella and widower Red rekindle their youthful affection, even Birdie and her cousins, Red's two sons, Borden and Bailey, approve of their middle-aged parents' emotional healing. Of course, secrets must be uncovered first. Though this is clearly a woman's story, the three generations of men prove sympathetic characters. If the secrets rarely seem surprising and the guilt they create appear disproportionate to contemporary mores, that only adds to the humanity of the story. As Ella redefines herself and what it is to be a family, Hearon celebrates thoughtfulness and the wisdome of getting on with life. (Jan. 9) Forecast: Hearon has mastered the trick of weaving a compelling story from common life crises. She's earned readers' affection and respect with previous novels; if this one piques booksellers' interestDand with a 50,000 first printing, it shouldDit could be her breakthrough into major sales.

September 1, 2000
Ella has always been overshadowed by her sister, even after they both marry, but finally she comes into her own.

Copyright 2000 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

January 1, 2001
Ella grew up in Austin, Texas, always feeling that her mother preferred her older sister, Terrell. Goody Two Shoes Terrell married Rufus, a law student, while Ella eloped with a man her perfectionist mother despised. Terrell lived an exemplary life as a wealthy attorney's wife and mother to two boys, while Ella (now widowed) raises her teenaged daughter on a shoestring and scrambles to earn a living as a plant sitter. But appearances can be deceiving. Now Terrell is dead (in a plane crash on her way to a romantic meeting with her lover) and Ella discovers that her feelings for her brotherinlaw (and his for her) are more than platonic. After Hearon's lovely first novel, " Armadillo in the Grass" (Knopf, 1968), she has continued to turn out entertaining fiction, but this sticky sweet and all-too- predictable novel is not the one to catapult her to the level of readership that authors such as Elizabeth Berg and Alice Hoffman enjoy. It may disappoint even Hearon's fans and is unlikely to win her new readers.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2001, American Library Association.)