Review: Fixing Delilah by Sarah Ockler

Fixing Delilah by Sarah Ockler

Pages: 320
Publisher: Little, Brown
Published: December 1st, 2010
IBSN: 9780316052092

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?

[Synopsis by Goodreads]

Delilah Hannaford's family life's a mess. Her father and aunty died before she was born, her mother is work-obsessed and detached, and she hasn't seen her grandmother since the argument she knows nothing about from eight years ago. So when her grandmother dies and she and her mother go back to her house - their old summer home - to handle her estate, Delilah decides she needs answers.

Fixing Delilah is essentially a beach read with some heavier bones. All the swoony romance of the beach read and the more serious background to give it some depth.

I remembered from Twenty Boy Summer the lyrical writing style of Sarah Ockler, but it struck me speechless all over again in Fixing Delilah. It was so beautifully written that I could get carried away just with the words, let alone the story.

The characters were all well fleshed out. The Hannaford women all had tragic pasts, these having a realistic and noticeable impact on their personalities. Though I sometimes didn't understand why Delilah was doing what she was doing, I felt for her.

The romantic aspect of the book was amazing. Patrick was such a likeable love interest (which may or may not be because of how often he appears shirtless). His and Delilah's relationship felt so natural, with them being old friends.

I give Fixing Delilah a 4 out of 5.

Recommend it for fans of: Twenty Boy Summer, The Sky Is Everywhere. Sarah Dessen's books.