Reviews with content warning for Cursing - Reggie and Delilah's Year of Falling

Reviews tagging 'Cursing'

Reggie and Delilah's Year of Falling by Elise Bryant

2 reviews

bookishmillennial's review

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

disclaimer if you’ve read other reviews by me and are noticing a pattern: You’re correct that I don’t really give starred reviews, I feel like a peasant and don’t like leaving them and most often, I will only leave them if I vehemently despised a book. I enjoy most books for what they are, & I extract lessons from them all. Everyone’s reading experiences are subjective, so I hope my reviews provide enough information to let you know if a book is for you or not, regardless if I add stars or not. Find me on Instagram: @bookish.millennial or tiktok: @bookishmillennial

Premise:

contemporary teenage fictional romance and coming-of-age set in/around LA
third book in the Happily Ever Afters series (interconnected series of standalone books!)
dual first-person POV of main characters
Reggie, Black D&D player, and anonymous contributor to an online blog, sees Delilah perform at a show on New Year's Eve, and is immediately enamored
Delilah, half-Black lead singer of Fun Gi, struggles to find her confidence and voice as she steps into this new role, with a band full of mostly young white men
As the title suggests, the book takes us through a year, mostly on holidays when Reggie & Delilah run into each other & develop a friendship
Ties to Happily Ever Afters universe: Reggie is Lenore's cousin!
cw: cursing, racism/microaggressions, bullying, toxic friendships

Thoughts:
I am incredibly biased when it comes to Elise Bryant because her books were one of few that really got me back into reading about young adults! I spent years subscribing to the idea that these books were not for me anymore, because I wasn't a teenager anymore. I allowed people to shit on the things I liked/wanted to like because I was scared of looking silly.

Elise's characters are so special to me because of the journeys they go on to pursue their passions, despite what anyone else says. It's so inspiring, and full of reminders I need as an almost-32-year-old. My only regret is not growing more authentically into myself sooner, so I could've been reading books like this during my 20s.

Anyway, I loved Reggie & Delilah! The D&D aspects in Reggie's POV were so much fun!!! His excitement and enthusiasm was so clear, and I appreciated that he discussed the lack of representation in the online spaces. Delilah's journey as a singer, and to publicly claim Taylor Swift despite the misogynistic scoffs, was so sweet too! Elise wrote both of their arcs so realistically and lovingly.

I appreciated that they both felt a bit embarrassed or shameful about what they truly wanted out of life, and Elise illustrated the importance of spending time with the right people to foster a space where you can be brave enough to just be yourself. This also translated into their romantic relationship, because they both held each other so high on a pedestal, that they didn't allow the other space to show up as their true selves.

I will continue to read whatever Elise Bryant writes & I love these cute nerds!!!

Quotes that stood out to me (there may be spoilers in this so just scroll on):

I wish I could say this was out of character. But I’ve shrugged and yeah, whatever-ed my way into a lot of things I never thought I would’ve done since I transferred to Willmore Prep and met the guys in September. Like if I keep playing the cool girl—the girl they think I am—maybe I’ll actually become her.

But I’ve always believed in the magic of the new year. Even though it’s just a day on the calendar, I love the idea that we get a chance to start over. Maybe when I step onto the stage tonight, I’ll feel like I belong there. Maybe the spotlight will make me into someone I’ve always wanted to be. I keep that corny shit to myself, though.

When you’re one of the only Black kids in a building, you feel it in your bones. The stares that linger too long, the too-wide smiles that hide all their expectations and discomfort—man, it made me want to shrink and hide.

I mean, it’s not like I’m the only Black person here, but the crowd is “diverse” in the way that woke white kids think of diverse. Just a few of people of color sprinkled around the room, the only-the-lonelys in their friend groups. Like the cilantro in the white rice at Chipotle, you know what I’m saying? That rice is freaking delicious, but I’m not trying to live in it.

But, like, nothing you love is above critique. And if you love something, you want to make it better.

I know that insta-love is bullshit. It’s a necessary evil in some of my D&D sessions because I’m trying to move the game along, but, like, it doesn’t actually happen in real life. I know that. Except, I’m pretty sure I’m in love with the girl in the middle of the stage.

This is just my life. I don’t get to enjoy anything all the way. I always have to worry about things being too much.

She laughs, but it’s not a mocking, what the fuck is wrong with this guy? laugh. I know that one well. No, it’s warm and kind. She smiles at me, that same small smile from the stage—just a slight upturn of her lips. And I swear to god, my heart legit skips a beat. Like, I might need to go to the hospital.

Dungeons & Dragons. The official spiel: It’s a tabletop role-playing game where you create your own fantasy adventures. But, like, it’s so much more than that. It’s storytelling. It’s an act of friendship. It’s creativity in its purest, most uninhibited form.

Reggie is so sure of himself, so solid. He seems to be exactly who he is, without any anxiety about how others may perceive him or judge him. And, wow . . . I want to be like that. I want to, at the very least, be around that.

“Well, Delilah. I don’t know you very well yet, but I’m pretty sure you deserve all the somethings.”

Dad may not outright diss me like Eric, and yes, I know there were some compliments there. But he can never quite let me forget that what I like, how I choose to spend my time, is wrong.

Sometimes I wish I could scream and kick in real life like the girl I’ve started to channel on stage. How different would things be if I was loud and wild and let out everything I’m holding in?

It feels like sisters can only exist as polar opposites. I guess it’s evolution or something, so that we each can justify our place since we’re not like . . . furthering the family name? But this is the one thing that Georgia and I do have in common: our love for Taylor Swift. And our firm belief that losing yourself in one of her songs can make anything better.

Man, I’m so sick of feeling this way: that I’m not Black the way I’m supposed to be. That I don’t like the things I’m supposed to like. That there’s something wrong with me the way I am—so wrong that even my own family can’t defend me.

...walk through life holding everything in. Every thought that’s too hard or too much. Every comment that may make someone uncomfortable or look at me differently. I push everything deep, secure the lid, and then sand down all my edges, too, until they’re smooth. Presentable.

But it feels good to be big, to take up all this space. To be the girl that the band, and this audience, wants me to be. That girl can do anything.

Trying to anticipate what lens I’m being seen through, going down the checklist until—Bingo! Got your prejudice!

“The holiday magic keeps throwing us together! It’s like a movie. We’re probably supposed to save the world together or something.”

“Who cares if it’s cool? Who gets to determine what music is cool anyway? You gotta like what you like and live authentically.”

Like, there’s nothing more punk than owning who you are and what you like, unapologetically.

“He sent the last text!” Yobani explains. “With a thirsty red heart—”
“It was not thirsty!” I interrupt. “It was just a nice, normal heart! She was nervous. I was trying to show her I supported her.”
“That is not what a red heart means. You shouldn’t be allowed to send emojis if you don’t understand them. Like, with great power comes great responsibility.”

He responded to my days-long migraine cluster exactly how I wish people would. Acknowledging how much it sucks and offering to help, instead of brushing them off as headaches like everyone except my mom and sister does. He seems so smart, so kind, and just unapologetically himself. And also . . . he’s just really, really cute.

Of course it’s going to be awkward. I don’t know how it won’t be awkward with these three supercool people and then me—just barely starting to feel like I can exist as my actual self in the same universe as them.

“Why do you have your read receipts on?” Yobani yells, throwing his hands out. “Are you some kind of monster?!”
“I agree,” Greg says. “Read receipts are definitely monster-adjacent behavior. Let’s fix that for you now.” He takes my phone from my hands, navigating to the settings page.

“Of course, it didn’t, like, get rid of my dyslexia. That’s never going to happen. But it was the first time stories felt accessible to me, instead of just something that I would never figure out. Does that make sense?”

I want to argue that it’s different. I want to argue that I’m entitled to feel however I want to. I want to remind them that I pulled it together and put on the best fucking show I ever have. But all I do is shake my head and turn toward the door.

I was brave. I was the girl I want to be. So if they don’t like that girl, then that’s their problem, not mine.

Her head falls back against the seat as she laughs, a cascade of shiny brown curls against the dull gray, and I want to freeze the scene in my brain so I never forget it. I get that feeling a lot, as we drive up the coast, sharing snacks and stories. I want to remember everything.

Even as I’m living these moments, it’s like my mind recognizes that they’re special, fleeting, and I need to scoop them all up and tuck them somewhere safe, like a little kid whenever confetti falls from above.

“There’s no shame in putting yourself first. Even if other people are, like, inconvenienced or uncomfortable . . . that doesn’t mean you’re wrong.”

“I want you to see my color. It’s part of who I am,” I say, my words quieter now, calm. Because I’ve shown myself that I can be loud if I need to be. But also, I don’t have to give anyone that much of me if I don’t want to. I don’t have to fight people who don’t even deserve that. “And I know you do. That’s okay. What’s not okay is . . . using my color, using me, to benefit your music, and then turning around and keeping me out of everything else—making it clear that’s all you thought I was good for.”

“But I do think maybe you two need to readjust your expectations of each other . . . and just, like, let the other person be human instead of perfect.”

So maybe you can’t protect yourself from the wrong. All you can do is be yourself—fully, authentically—until the right person sees and loves that.

“I don’t expect you to be fearless. I don’t expect you to be perfect. I guess I realized that . . . I did that as much as you did, creating this idealized version of you in my head. And it didn’t give you the space to be authentic.” I can feel my tears welling up, and I let them spill out. I let him see all of me. “I want you, Reggie, just as you are.”

“I thought I loved you right when I met you, but I hadn’t earned it yet, that feeling. Because I didn’t know you yet. But now I do. I know your talent and how bright you shine. I know your worries and your fears, which you’ve shared with me, so bravely, even when I didn’t deserve it. And I know you’re not perfect—I don’t expect you to be perfect either. But, sweetheart, you’re a treasure to me all the same.”

And I may not know what comes next—I don’t know if this is a detour or the finish line. But I know it’s worth the risk.

Content Warnings

imstephtacular's review

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emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.25

Content Warnings

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