Title: Get It Together, Delilah
Author: Erin Gough
Publication date: April 4, 2017
Publisher: Chronicle Books
Genres: Young Adult, Contempoary, Romance, GLBT+
Format: e-arc from Netgalley
ABOUT THE BOOK:
A story about falling in love, literally.
Seventeen-year-old Delilah Green wouldn’t have chosen to do her last year of school this way, but she figures it’s working fine. Her dad is on a trip to fix his broken heart after her mom left him for another man, so Del’s managing the family café in his absence. Easy, she thinks. But what about:
– homework and the nasty posse of mean girls making her life hell
– or how one of Del’s best friends won’t stop guilt-tripping her
– and her other best friend is so in love with his tutor he might go to jail for her if Del doesn’t do something
But who cares about any of that really, because above all else, she can’t stop thinking about beautiful Rosa who dances every night across the street until one day Rosa comes in the café door . . .
And if Rosa starts thinking about Del, too, then how in the name of caramel milkshakes will Del get the rest of it together?
LINKS: Goodreads | Amazon | B&N | The Book Depository
***Please note that this review contains some spoilers.***
At the very beginning, I found Get It Together, Delilah to be a constant page-turner. Plus I was instantly in love with the cute and creative cover. I really enjoyed how Erin Gough’s storytelling wraps you up in the aroma of coffee, but in the end, I had hard time connecting with the main character and rationalizing some of her actions.
Get It Together, Delilah spans over about four months, in which the main character, Delilah, takes on an overwhelming amount of responsibilities. For me there were some missing pieces in this book, and some situations that did not add up. For example, while her dad was off on “vacation,” I kept wondering, where is the adult that Delilah’s dad thinks is running the café with Delilah’s help? Is her dad even communicating with him? Did I miss something? Did I read over the explanation? My mind was always screaming, where is the parental responsibility in this book?!
In regards to the main character, I was a fan of Delilah’s confidence and her straight-forward attitude. But as the story progressed, Delilah started irritating me. She began taking on too much and everything started slipping through the cracks for her. In the second half of the novel, I felt that she was overbearing at times, inconsiderate of other people’s opinions and feelings, and she never rationalized situations too well.
Delilah also makes too many assumptions when it comes to her friends and their actions, and often fails to communicate with them to know the actual truth. At times, Delilah frustrated me, and then I wanted to scream the book’s title, and say “OMG, GET IT TOGETHER, DELILAH!” When it comes to the girls she has crushes on, she is often inconsiderate of their feelings, and sadly only focuses on her own needs and wants. I’m not too sure if it’s my age showing (i.e. I’m not a teenager), but I at least think Delilah was smart enough to use common sense.
One of my favorite things about the novel was the relationship that starts between Delilah and Rosa. Their interactions are so awkward and cute. I was cheering on their relationship the entire time. In all honesty, I think it was their realistic and adorable relationship that saved this book for me.
Get It Together, Delilah contains a cast of memorable characters who become Delilah’s support group. I loved the quirky friendships in this novel, and how much love and support they give to each other. Although Delilah was not my favorite person in the last half of the book, I think Get It Together, Delilah realistically portrays the hardships and harassment that young adults face in and outside of school; especially those who have found themselves but society fails to accept them for who they are. This is definitely a book I would share with high school and middle grade students; I feel like they would relate to Delilah’s struggles and frustrations more than I could.
My Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
NOTE: Thank you to Netgalley and Chronicle Books for providing me an e-galley/e-ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. All statements and opinions are my own.
rants and raves of a bibliophile 