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A review by dayoldtea
Delilah Green Doesn't Care by Ashley Herring Blake
5.0
There are so many wonderful things about this book that I doubt I'll even catch them all here:
- Nuanced views about complicated family dynamics and relationships, and
--- BUT this doesn't extend to -- AS IT SHOULDN'T.
- Delilah is,,, hot. And messy! And grows a lot!
- Sweet and,,, hot pairing, with actual chemistry
- I often find kids annoying in fiction, but Claire's daughter was well-written and her developing relationship with Delilah was sweet. I appreciated that Claire had parental boundaries and thought that the co-parenting relationship was given an appropriate amount of page time.
- The level of hijinks was appropriate and didn't feel absurd or super campy.
- Characters are bisexual and not commented upon in anything other than a factual manner (i.e. no biphobia in this world; no implication that Claire can't be in a relationship with a woman after having a child with a man; characters ask questions about each other's lives that indicate they're aware and accepting of bisexuality)
- Astrid Parker might be
- It looks like we might get some childfree representation if
- I sometimes grade LGBTQ+ fiction on a little bit of a curve becauseI'm not straight and that's my prerogative there was a dearth of such fiction when I was growing up, but this book DOESN'T NEED A CURVE. It's a 5/5 under any system.
All in all, we love fiction that allows all of its characters to be flawed without excusing those flaws, and giving them space to grow.
- Nuanced views about complicated family dynamics and relationships, and
Spoiler
the perspective shift that comes from growing up and understanding other people more when you have grown past trauma. Astrid and Delilah's relationship was such a lovely surprise and a distinct subversion of the horrible, irredeemable family trope romance novels sometimes have. Both characters acknowledge their role in a complicated sibling relationship!--- BUT this doesn't extend to
Spoiler
Delilah's stepmotherSpoiler
She was the only adult in the situation and should have gotten everyone into therapy ASAP instead of emotionally abusing her daughter and stepdaughter.- Delilah is,,, hot. And messy! And grows a lot!
- Sweet and,,, hot pairing, with actual chemistry
- I often find kids annoying in fiction, but Claire's daughter was well-written and her developing relationship with Delilah was sweet. I appreciated that Claire had parental boundaries and thought that the co-parenting relationship was given an appropriate amount of page time.
- The level of hijinks was appropriate and didn't feel absurd or super campy.
- Characters are bisexual and not commented upon in anything other than a factual manner (i.e. no biphobia in this world; no implication that Claire can't be in a relationship with a woman after having a child with a man; characters ask questions about each other's lives that indicate they're aware and accepting of bisexuality)
- Astrid Parker might be
Spoiler
bisexual, in which case we have a great representation of someone coming out a little later than is typical -- a SUPER common experience for bisexual women.- It looks like we might get some childfree representation if
Spoiler
Iris is a lead in a future book??? Her conflict with her current partner (he wants kids, she doesn't) is refreshing in that no one tells her that she should pop out a kid for him. I'm guessing they'll break up and Iris will get to be the lead in the third book.- I sometimes grade LGBTQ+ fiction on a little bit of a curve because
All in all, we love fiction that allows all of its characters to be flawed without excusing those flaws, and giving them space to grow.