Fixing Delilah by Sarah Ockler

Fixing Delilah

by Sarah Ockler

'We all long for what could have been.' 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 friends are drifting away. Her 'boyfriend' isn't a boyfriend. Her mother refuses to discuss the fight that divided the Hannaford family eight years ago. Falling apart, it seems, runs in the family. When Delilah must spend the summer helping to settle her estranged grandmother's estate, she's suddenly confronted by her family's painful past. Faced with questions that cannot be ignored and secrets that threaten to burst free, Delilah begins to doubt all that she's ever known to be true. Rich with humor and emotion, Sarah Ockler delivers a powerful story of family, love and self-discovery - as Delilah comes to realize that even the most shattered relationships can be pieced back together again.

Reviewed by Sam@WLABB on

4 of 5 stars

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Delilah was turning into a cautionary tale, one reckless decision at a time, and a family loss was what saved her.
I've been really, really messed up for a while now. Since before I got here. Family stuff, as you've seen. School stuff. Friend stuff. Me stuff, mostly.

I found Fixing Delilah to be a beautiful coming of age story filled with healing, self discovery, romance, and friendship. I am a fan of Ockler's writing, and enjoyed trying to figure out the family secret. (I was half right) Each of the characters were well crafted and essential to the story, and contributed to "fixing" Delilah. Ockler gave me a heartfelt story, with a sweet romance, and a great friendship. How can you not love a story of healing and forgiveness? There is a lot of hope in stories where things fall apart, but can be mended to become something even better. Delilah's journey was not smooth, but she eventually reached a good place, and I was really happy with the ending.
how easily some things can be broken for good and for bad, and how some things, no mater how shattered, can still go back tougher.

Overall: beautiful story filled with hope and healing, which was smile inducing.
We arrived in Vermont expecting to fix up the old lake house. But in the end, it was the house that fixed us.

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Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 21 December, 2016: Finished reading
  • 21 December, 2016: Reviewed