Book Review: Fixing Delilah by Sarah Ockler

'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?'

Fixing Delilah by Sarah Ockler
My rating- ★★★✩✩
Genre- Contemporary, romance, self-discovery
Non-spoiler review

Summer calls for a good contemporary. I love sitting in the sun and reading a book that I can relate to and a book that has true emotion in it. For me, a good contemporary is one that has me turning the pages without even realising that I'm doing it. That was how I felt reading The Book of Broken Hearts by Sarah Ockler, I absolutely adored the emotion and heart that went into it. Since then, I have read nearly every book by her and the latest one I picked up was Fixing Delilah.
Unfortunately, I did not love Fixing Delilah as much as I had hoped; I didn't feel as connected to the story in comparison to other Ockler books which I've read in the past. However that is not to say that I 'disliked' this book, because I did enjoy Delilah's story, I just felt a little more detached. Perhaps its just that my expectations were raised too high due to my absolute love for The Book of Broken Hearts.
Fixing Delilah centres around family and this aspect of the book is hugely important to Delilah's story. Often in the young adult genre (or just in my personal reading experience) family is not a central theme and can sometimes be missed out completely, so I really appreciated the way that Ockler dealt with this. Every member of Delilah's family had their own issues and they were never glossed over- mental illness is seen through out the novel and it made the book feel realistic because in the real world, things aren't 100% perfect all the time. I love this about Ockler as an author, every book I've read by her has discussed serious topics which, ultimately, need addressing. 
One thing I did love in this book, and every Ockler novel, is the writing. From the very first page of Fixing Delilah, I fell straight back into her beautiful writing which always manages to captivate me. 

"Sometimes I wonder if my whole life will pass by this way: me waiting in the shadows, waiting for something to happen. Waiting for someone else to make it happen."

I'm kind of a sucker for romance in books and I'm totally not ashamed of that fact. But the romance in Fixing Delilah wasn't outstanding for me, it was a little underwhelming because Patrick felt pretty unrealistic. He was exactly what I would call the 'typical teenage boy' character; by this I mean that he didn't have any flaws at all and personally I just can't connect with that because it doesn't feel true, I feel like I've read his character a million times before. I didn't hate the guy but sometimes it felt like Delilah only wanted to be with him because he was there and he was cute. 
Completely opposite to this, however, was how I felt about Delilah. I loved Delilah's story arc because it felt so genuine, her story doesn't wrap up in a neat little bow at the end of the book, which made it all feel more truthful. Delilah is such a great depiction of a teenage girl, her thoughts and feelings were easy to connect to through out the story.

"In your entire life, you can probably count your true friends on one hand. Maybe even on one finger. Those are the friends you need to cherish, and I wouldn't trade one of them for a hundred of the other kind."

Yet, there was something about this novel which left me feeling slightly disconnected. The book didn't have any major flaws and I definitely didn't hate it, I simply wasn't emotionally invested. 
I recommend this book to contemporary lovers and to people looking for a quick and easy read. However, if you are someone who wants to try out a Sarah Ockler book for the first time, I would point you in the direction of The Book of Broken Hearts, which I absolutely adored. If you've read Fixing Delilah, let me know what you thought of it! I'm a tiny bit disappointed that I didn't love it, but I still love Sarah Ockler as an author. Thanks so much for reading this review, 
-Darcy