GET IT TOGETHER, DELILAH!

Erin Gough, Chronicle Books Hardcover $16.99 (336pp), 978-1-4521-5187-8 Gough captures the tumultuous time between school and adulthood perfectly.

Erin Gough’s fun and frothy Get it Together, Delilah! is a story of first loves and epic disasters—and about learning to trust those whom you need the most.

At seventeen, Delilah finds it easy to be herself—but less easy to understand others who are less self-possessed. Out and proud, she still has to navigate a teenage environment wherein being different is not exactly a plus.

Even beyond the everyday struggles of teenage life, Del has a lot on her barista’s tray. She’s running her family’s café in her traveling father’s absence, and is crushing hard on beautiful and elusive Rosa, the girl from across the street. In the wake of a major firing, she elects to skip classes and focus on the business exclusively, reasoning that one disaster at a time is plenty. But all does not go as planned—especially after her lovesick friend, Charlie, is forced to hide out at her home.

Gough captures the tumultuous time between school and adulthood perfectly. Delilah grapples with the aftereffects of coming out, including the social stigma of being in-like with a girl who won’t openly like you back and the persistent, irksome questions from friends who haven’t quite gotten being an ally right.

The thrill of first kisses and first hesitant touches is imparted alongside accounts of massive blunders.

As Delilah presses on through her challenges, she learns that growing up isn’t just about accepting who you are—it’s about accepting help from others, too, on whatever terms they’re able to meet. Get It Together, Delilah! is a first-love story full of heart and hope.