Monday, January 3, 2011

Review: Fixing Delilah by Sarah Ockler

(summary from goodreads)



Things in Delilah Hannaford's life have a tendency to fall apart.
She used to be a good student, but she can't seem to keep it together anymore. Her "boyfriend" isn't much of a boyfriend. And her mother refuses to discuss the fight that divided their family eight years ago. Falling apart, it seems, is a Hannaford tradition.
Over a summer of new friendships, unexpected romance, and moments that test the complex bonds between mothers and daughters, Delilah must face her family's painful past. Can even her most shattered relationships be pieced together again?
Rich with emotion, Sarah Ockler delivers a powerful story of family, love, and self-discovery.

Review: It's a bit embarrassing to say, but I haven't read Ockler's first book, Twenty Boy Summer. But after reading Fixing Delilah I will most likely read anything she ever writes again.

Fixing Delilah is one of those books that should be a model for contemporary fiction. You get to know the characters through their grief and confusion. Pretty much it's the flaws that show you the person, and Sarah did an amazing job of doing that.

The plot was one of those where not a lot happens, but it moves quickly because the family mystery is just that, mysterious. And the "family mystery" itself wan't that predictable. I had a vague sense of what was going to happen, but I didn't know exactly how it would play out. 

Overall, this was a wonderful contemporary novel. It reminds me a bit of Sarah Dessen, only it seems a lot more emotional. The writing was beautiful and the characters were wonderful thanks to the both the writing and the plot. 

Source: My personal library (e-book)

Published: December 1, 2010 by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers 

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