Fixing Delilah
Written by Sarah Ockler
Delilah Hannaford seems to be in a slump. She used to be a good student, but lately she’s feeling out of sync with her life. Her boyfriend isn’t really a great choice. Her mother is a workaholic, and emotionally absent . When her grandmother dies, Del, her mom and her Aunt Rachel immediately travel to Red Ralls VT, her mom’s small hometown, a place they don’t talk about and haven’t been to for many years. Del wonders why her mother and her grandmother fought, after her other aunt ( Aunt Stephanie )died. Why won’t her mother talk about it? Then she finds her Aunt Stephanie’s diary, and decides to keep it to herself. As she reads about her aunt’s relationships and secrets, and especially her depression, Del worries about the same thing happening to her.
When Del’s mother decides they need to stay for the entire summer, to get the house ready to sell, Del doesn’t know if she can handle it. But there are a couple of
things that help Del cope; one of them is Rickie, the boy she used to play with during her childhood summers at her grandmother’s house. Now her feelings for Rickie have changed, and the attraction is mutual. But there seems to be another girl in his life and Del starts to feel that maybe she’s misinterpreted Patrick’s affection for her. Is Emma just his friend or something more? Del has lots of things to work out, and in the end she comes to a better understanding of her aunts and mother, and of herself. Del was a bit self-absorbed and whiny, but I think that’s typical for most teenage girls… especially when it comes to romance. I think this book will appeal to girls in grade 7-10.