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spanishseamstress's review against another edition
4.0
Get It Together Delilah is a quirky, fun, charming LGBTQ+ teen romance from Australia. The protagonist, Delilah (Del for short) is your typical 17 year old girl - not. She's running the family cafe business while her father works out his post-divorce heartbreak on a 'round the world trip, trying to deal with her lovelorn best friends, school bullies, the competitive chain cafe down the street, a vindictive former employee, and a burgeoning crush on the beautiful community activist Rosa Barea.
Whew! That's a lot for any adult, and Del handles it about as well as expected - poorly. In the end, what starts as a fluffy romp turns into a hard-learned lesson about expectations and forgiveness. Del is a believable and honest character, well-written by someone who obviously remembers what it's like to be a misfit teen. The book manages to balance writing about LGBTQ+ issues without making that identity seem exotic or out of the ordinary - Del's crush is treated with the same humor and sensitivity as those of her straight best friends. This book would be an excellent light-reading addition to any YA library collection.
Whew! That's a lot for any adult, and Del handles it about as well as expected - poorly. In the end, what starts as a fluffy romp turns into a hard-learned lesson about expectations and forgiveness. Del is a believable and honest character, well-written by someone who obviously remembers what it's like to be a misfit teen. The book manages to balance writing about LGBTQ+ issues without making that identity seem exotic or out of the ordinary - Del's crush is treated with the same humor and sensitivity as those of her straight best friends. This book would be an excellent light-reading addition to any YA library collection.
n3lla's review
4.0
Fairly realistic portrayal of a young girl dealing with a few too many issues with absentee parents. Light touch - brilliant writing
biscuitcrux's review against another edition
2.0
This was dumb, I really didn't enjoy reading it. When Rosa comes into the diner with flyers that save "Save the Library" I slammed the book shut. Is there any surer shortcut to showing that someone is beyond reproach as a person, besides perhaps an animal shelter or an orphanage? I love libraries, but come on.
I guess the silver lining is that gay teens are starting to get books written for them that are as low quality, formulaic and predictable as the ones cishet teens have enjoyed for decades.
I guess the silver lining is that gay teens are starting to get books written for them that are as low quality, formulaic and predictable as the ones cishet teens have enjoyed for decades.
theimaginelly's review against another edition
4.0
*** I received an ARC of this book from Chronicle Books and NetGalley in exchange for a honest review. However, this does not influence my opinions in any way.***
I was insanely happy when I received this book. Finding a good LGBTQ+ book is more difficult than it sounds. One of my goals this year is to read more diversely and this book was a wonderful step in the right direction.
This book follows Delilah, an Australian teenager and her life surrounding her sexuality as well as trying to juggle school, friends, a crush, and her father's dying café, The Flywheel.
Delilah is very headstrong. Despite feeling drained and overworked, she always tries to do what she sees is best. While being pulled in a million different directions she is forced to make some tough decisions and is thrown into the real world sooner than she expected. On top of all the drama with The Flywheel, Delilah is head over heels with her friend, Rosa, who works across the street as a dancer at her family's restaurant.
One of the more refreshing things about this book was Delilah and Rosa's relationship. In the beginning you feel Del's longing for Rosa. It almost felt like she was longing after someone she could never have. As their friendship grew you couldn't help but feel sorry for Del. She had no idea if Rosa even thought of her in a romantic way, yet she still kept trying and wouldn't give up without a clear answer.
As things started getting muddy, not just between the two girls but also with The Flywheel, every aspect of Del's life seemed to be spiraling out of control. Even though she seemed a bit temperamental at times, Del was always trying to do what she thought was best. However, she also fell into a rhythm of thinking "why me" and not understanding that she is in a far better place than Rosa is when it comes to sexuality and life situations.
More than anything I think this book touched on the reality of people coming to terms with their sexuality. Del, Rosa and even Georgia are all in very different stages in life with very different backgrounds. Del is fortunate enough to have people surrounding her who don't care what her sexual orientation is. But in reality, not everyone has that. Some people, like Rosa, are bogged down by family and people with beliefs that don't reflect their own. There are also some people like Georgia who aren't exactly sure where they lie on the spectrum and feel safer sticking to the normal, no matter what their hearts are saying.
This book shows a wide range of situations that are very much present in the lives of people within the LGBTQ+ community. More than anything, I respect that this book tried to shed light on the fact that no one is the same and everyone comes to terms with who they are at different speeds.
Overall, I would definitely recommend this book. It is cute and a simple story delving into the imploding life of one girl who happens to be in the LGBTQ+ community. It isn't gimmicky or following stereotypes. It represents real life situations and characters who feel like they have been ripped out of real life instead of molded into having specific traits to move the plot along.
I was insanely happy when I received this book. Finding a good LGBTQ+ book is more difficult than it sounds. One of my goals this year is to read more diversely and this book was a wonderful step in the right direction.
This book follows Delilah, an Australian teenager and her life surrounding her sexuality as well as trying to juggle school, friends, a crush, and her father's dying café, The Flywheel.
Delilah is very headstrong. Despite feeling drained and overworked, she always tries to do what she sees is best. While being pulled in a million different directions she is forced to make some tough decisions and is thrown into the real world sooner than she expected. On top of all the drama with The Flywheel, Delilah is head over heels with her friend, Rosa, who works across the street as a dancer at her family's restaurant.
One of the more refreshing things about this book was Delilah and Rosa's relationship. In the beginning you feel Del's longing for Rosa. It almost felt like she was longing after someone she could never have. As their friendship grew you couldn't help but feel sorry for Del. She had no idea if Rosa even thought of her in a romantic way, yet she still kept trying and wouldn't give up without a clear answer.
As things started getting muddy, not just between the two girls but also with The Flywheel, every aspect of Del's life seemed to be spiraling out of control. Even though she seemed a bit temperamental at times, Del was always trying to do what she thought was best. However, she also fell into a rhythm of thinking "why me" and not understanding that she is in a far better place than Rosa is when it comes to sexuality and life situations.
More than anything I think this book touched on the reality of people coming to terms with their sexuality. Del, Rosa and even Georgia are all in very different stages in life with very different backgrounds. Del is fortunate enough to have people surrounding her who don't care what her sexual orientation is. But in reality, not everyone has that. Some people, like Rosa, are bogged down by family and people with beliefs that don't reflect their own. There are also some people like Georgia who aren't exactly sure where they lie on the spectrum and feel safer sticking to the normal, no matter what their hearts are saying.
This book shows a wide range of situations that are very much present in the lives of people within the LGBTQ+ community. More than anything, I respect that this book tried to shed light on the fact that no one is the same and everyone comes to terms with who they are at different speeds.
Overall, I would definitely recommend this book. It is cute and a simple story delving into the imploding life of one girl who happens to be in the LGBTQ+ community. It isn't gimmicky or following stereotypes. It represents real life situations and characters who feel like they have been ripped out of real life instead of molded into having specific traits to move the plot along.
bookandcoffeeaddict's review against another edition
5.0
In Get It Together, Delilah! 17-year-old Delilah is going through it! It’s her final year of school and she’s struggling to keep her grades up while dealing with homophobic bullying from classmates. Her father goes on an extended world trip, leaving it up to Delilah to keep the Flywheel, her family’s café, afloat through a string of calamities. On top of all that she’s also dealing with friend drama and a seemingly hopeless crush on Rosa, a college activist/flamenco dancer.
With all the things she’s juggling, it’s inevitable Del’s going to drop the ball on at least one of them – somehow, she manages to drop the ball on all of them.
While there is definitely a romance plotline that weaves throughout the whole book, I wouldn’t really say this is a story about falling in love – although that’s certainly part of it. In my eyes Get It Together, Delilah! could more accurately be described as the story of a teen girl with a stubborn streak a mile wide and a minor anger problem trying to keep her life together as everything seems to fall apart in her life at the same time.
I loved the way this book was written – the flow was on point, chapters were just the right length, and the storytelling managed to hook me in and keep me turning pages, even when I started to get a little annoyed at the main character. Delilah’s stubborn refusal of help and unwillingness to take suggestions began to get kind of irritating the farther I got in to the story, but eventually Del does, in fact, manage to Get It Together and I really enjoyed how it all came together for her in the end.
I love books set in coffee shops and I love strong female characters (even if their stubborn ways get on my nerves at points) so this book was right up my alley and I really liked it. I would definitely recommend it for people who love teen dramas with diverse characters. The storytelling and writing was fantastic and I would absolutely read more books by this author.
*I received an ARC of this book to review. You can find this review and others like it at BookAndCoffeeAddict.com, along with recommendations for a fantastic cup of coffee.
With all the things she’s juggling, it’s inevitable Del’s going to drop the ball on at least one of them – somehow, she manages to drop the ball on all of them.
While there is definitely a romance plotline that weaves throughout the whole book, I wouldn’t really say this is a story about falling in love – although that’s certainly part of it. In my eyes Get It Together, Delilah! could more accurately be described as the story of a teen girl with a stubborn streak a mile wide and a minor anger problem trying to keep her life together as everything seems to fall apart in her life at the same time.
I loved the way this book was written – the flow was on point, chapters were just the right length, and the storytelling managed to hook me in and keep me turning pages, even when I started to get a little annoyed at the main character. Delilah’s stubborn refusal of help and unwillingness to take suggestions began to get kind of irritating the farther I got in to the story, but eventually Del does, in fact, manage to Get It Together and I really enjoyed how it all came together for her in the end.
I love books set in coffee shops and I love strong female characters (even if their stubborn ways get on my nerves at points) so this book was right up my alley and I really liked it. I would definitely recommend it for people who love teen dramas with diverse characters. The storytelling and writing was fantastic and I would absolutely read more books by this author.
*I received an ARC of this book to review. You can find this review and others like it at BookAndCoffeeAddict.com, along with recommendations for a fantastic cup of coffee.
lysbattle's review against another edition
4.0
3.5 stars. Satisfying read about friendship. Review to come!
jennifrencham's review
Because of my work on the Stonewall Awards committee, I cannot publicly comment on this work. I will post a review of this and other children's/young adult LGBT novels once the 2016 Stonewall Awards have been announced.
aprilius_maximus's review
2.0
Thank you so much to Hardie Grant Egmont for sending this book my way! The Flywheel follows Delilah as she struggles with a lot of things while her father is away on holiday - she is struggling with her sexuality, managing the family cafe, balancing school, bullying and a whole range of other things. I'm so glad more and more books are being released that revolve around LGBTQ characters. It's so important because this is what society is like today and I believe that new literature should definitely reflect that! I also want to mention that this book is a part of a program run by Hardie Grant Egmont called 'The Ampersand Project', where they find YA novels by unpublished writers and publish them. This is their second time doing this and I just want to say that I think it's so great for the publisher to give more opportunities for Australian debut authors!
I found this book to be really relevant for High School students, as it focuses on some really important topics revolving around friendships, sexuality, bullying, family issues and how different families from varying ethnicities are. It teaches a lot of important lessons and is so realistic and relatable. I think this is one of those books that should definitely be on display in school libraries for teens to read because you never know, it might be exactly what they need to find acceptance in who they are and other answers to certain issues they may be relevant in their lives.
Personally, there was something lacking for me, and I have a feeling it's to do with my age. A lot of the issues being dealt with in the book were things that aren't relevant for me anymore. I can still appreciate it for what it is though.
It was a great story with lovely quirky characters and I'd definitely recommend it!
I found this book to be really relevant for High School students, as it focuses on some really important topics revolving around friendships, sexuality, bullying, family issues and how different families from varying ethnicities are. It teaches a lot of important lessons and is so realistic and relatable. I think this is one of those books that should definitely be on display in school libraries for teens to read because you never know, it might be exactly what they need to find acceptance in who they are and other answers to certain issues they may be relevant in their lives.
Personally, there was something lacking for me, and I have a feeling it's to do with my age. A lot of the issues being dealt with in the book were things that aren't relevant for me anymore. I can still appreciate it for what it is though.
It was a great story with lovely quirky characters and I'd definitely recommend it!