PUBLISHER: Little Brown Books
PAGES: 320
SERIES/STAND ALONE: Stand alone
OUTLINE: 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?
STARTED: 1-10-11
FINISHED: 1-18-11
CHALLENGES: Contempt and A-Z Challenges
MY THOUGHTS:
Can Delilah spend her whole summer in Red Ferns with a mom, who doesn't want to acknowledge their families past, with a boy who is much more then just some night in a car (like her "non-boyfriend" back home, and in a house where secrets remain just that?
This book is one of those, in my opinion, that really makes you think. It starts out with Delilah and her mom getting a call about Delilah's Grandmother passing away. After that things just sort of escalate from there.
I had a lot of favorite parts in the book. I think Delilah reading her Aunt Stephanie's Diary entries was cool because then you could see what kind of person Stephanie was without her actually being in the book. (It says why but I'll leave that to the imagination) They felt like those moments when you wish you could have met her. Then the moments between Delilah and Patrick loved them. Everytime something happened I was wanting to say "Delilah, he's perfect for you." I wasn't sure about the relationship between Delilah and her mom at times I wanted to tell both of them to just get over things, but realized that there are somethings in life you can't just get over. (at least not over a course of a summer) I was glad that Delilah was able to make friends over the summer too that seemed to genuinely care for her. I think she managed to grow from who she was in the begining of the story to the end which is alwas a plus.
There was a little annoyance I had with the book though, if you've read my stuff then you know the pace of a story is something that I either like or don't like. Well I wasn't happy with how slow it started. I was eager to know what was going on in Delilah's life that need to be "fixed" and you didn't find that out til closer to the end. I'm not even sure there were hints. Maybe so I just didn't pick up on them. That was really the only problem I had, and then again that's just my personal preference.
To know a little more you can watch my video review. I think I might have added a few other parts I liked in it. :)
QUOTES:
-How easily somethings can be broken for good and for bad, and how somethings, no matter how shattered, can still go back together. (Delilah's toughts on a glass cow that she broke)
-True friendship is never perfect, but it is important.
MY VIDEO REVIEW:
Great review! I enjoyed reading about your favourite parts :)
ReplyDeleteI take notes when I read too, btw.
Thank you, I'm glad I'm not the only one. :)
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed this book. I'm not a super big fan of romance, but there was definitely more to the story. I think it had a lot of symbolism, especially with the house being fixed up. I really love the quote you picked above. It really is a good synopsis of the story.
ReplyDeleteThank you. Yeah, there was more to the story then just the romance which is great when you read all the other books that have love, and triangle as a main focus. (not that I don't love that aspect as well)
ReplyDeleteI didn't even think of the symbloism with the house and Delilah. Huh. Good point.
I loved the quote too. I actually had more than that I just never got around to adding them.
One quote I really enjoyed was " We all long for what could have been" - Megan. I really like quotes. Some books have better ones than others, though.
ReplyDeleteOh and the house symbolism, I got that from this:
"We arrived in Vermont expecting to fix up the old lake house. But in the end, it was the house that fixed us".