Unlit Star

by Lindy Zart

We are not guaranteed anything, not even this life.

Rivers Young is the popular guy untouchable by reality. He is like a star—bright, consuming, otherworldly. The thing about stars, though, is that they eventually fall, and he is no different.

He falls far and he falls hard.

Delilah Bana is the outcast enshrouded in all of life's ironies. Alone, in the dark, like dusk as it falls on the world. When Rivers hits the ground, she is the night that catches him. In the darkness, they meld into something beautiful that shines like the sun.

Only, the greater the star is, the shorter its lifespan.

Genres: Romance, New Adult, Contemporary, Contemporary Romance, Young Adult, Emotional, Death

Audible Audio

First published August 20, 2014

About the author

Lindy Zart is an American USA Today bestselling author who writes across a number of fictional genres such as new adult, contemporary romance, and fantasy. Her rom-com Roomies (2014) was an international bestseller that rose to #1 in Satire Fiction, Romantic Comedy, General Humor, and Humorous, becoming a USA Today bestseller. Lindy currently lives in Wisconsin with her family.

Reviews

[Krisha (break) · Rating 2 out of 5]

✯ 𝟐.𝟕𝟓 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐬

“𝗢𝗻𝗲 𝗱𝗮𝘆 𝘄𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝗯𝗲 𝗴𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗹𝗱, 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗿𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗹𝗹 𝗯𝗲 𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲, 𝗻𝗼 𝗺𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁. 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝗺𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗵𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲, 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻 𝘄𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗲 𝘄𝗲 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗻𝗼𝘁.”

This book includes the theme of tragic romance—as the description conveys. I loved their romance. Their love story was really cute yet so heart-rending and excruciating. The ending made me sad but it wasn't what I thought it would be. It wasn't soul shattering. I do feel bad for the characters and I empathized with them throughout but their story just didn't hit the mark for me.

"𝘠𝘰𝘶 𝘬𝘯𝘰𝘸 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘐 𝘴𝘦𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘢𝘴?" 𝘞𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘤𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘱𝘴 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯. "𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵?" 𝘐 𝘴𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘦.
"𝘈 𝘮𝘰𝘰𝘯𝘧𝘭𝘰𝘸𝘦𝘳. 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘤𝘭𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘥𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘢𝘺𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘯 𝘥𝘶𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵. 𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵'𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶—𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘥𝘢𝘳𝘬."

Rivers young and Delilah bana teach us that there's timeless beauty in everything. Everywhere. There's beauty in being imperfect. In being flawed. In being real.

What bothered me was the fact that the pacing in this book was extremely slow. How the author managed to keep the length of the book so short yet somehow made it feel so long is still beyond me. Many scenes were repetitive and everything was unnecessarily detailed. But again I'm not a slow burn reader and if you are one then there's a higher possibility of you liking this more than i did. Another downside is—the entire book is from fmc's pov.

Overall i enjoyed the romantic aspect and the heart wrenching ending but considering this book as a whole— it didn't hit the mark for me. The slow pacing as well as the unnecessary and repetitive details stood as a barrier. Not that this book was bad. No. But it wasn't a memorable read for me either.

જ⁀➴ My favourite quotes

➳ Time is an interesting thing—it takes time to love, it takes time to heal, it even takes time to die.

➳ It's never about how much you have—it's about how much what you have means to you.

➳ Life would be so much easier if I didn't want to fix every broken thing I come across.

➳ Funny how we all finally decide to start living only when we irrevocably know we are dying.

➳ We always think we have more time and that is the wrong way to think, because time is something we never have enough of.

➳ He is my tether to this life and I am his.

[KAS · Rating 4 out of 5]

I Chose You!!

This is one of those reads I won’t soon forget. I would categorize it as a slow burn romance. Like really s.l.o.w. b.u.r.n. that packs an emotional punch!

I found myself sighing one moment, laughing the next, and then reaching for a tissue or two or three. This is a definite “feels” kind of read.

Rivers Young, is forever scarred do to a recent boating accident and has shut down. His football scholarship to the University of Texas ... gone. His dreams ... gone. His confidence ... gone. Rivers used to excel at everything. Most popular guy in high school. Gifted athlete. Extremely good looking with the prettiest girl on his arm ... but not anymore. That life is ...gone!

Delilah Bana, is the girl who has no friends to speak of, the girl who is always bullied or else ignored. But also the girl with the biggest heart in the world.

Rivers and Delilah end up spending days and nights together, but I won’t give away the reason why. In the process of discovering each other they find themselves as well.

  I smile as he shudders against me, feeling empowered in the desire of Rivers. I feel beautiful, like I was never anything but. I feel like I am perfect as I am, and always have been. I feel like I never thought I would feel, especially with him.

I had no idea this was YA when I started it, as I went in completely blind. Both Rivers and Delilah act very mature for their 18 years of age. It was totally refreshing.

I don’t think I have ever said this in a review before, but I really suggest tissues be nearby.

This is a beautiful love story without steam, without foul language. Goodness, that epilogue!!

[seton]

Genre: emo NA

Depression city. It's wordy and meditative and I stopped reading as soon as I realized where this was going. DNF @ 35%.

Going off to eat a vat of ice cream now . . . .

Cliffy? Well, technically no, but it aint a happy ending if you know what I mean.

[❤️Melanie G.📖💛 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ok, 5 stars are not enough for this book. I started reading and could not stop until the book ended. This book had me hooked from the very beginning all the way to the end. I laughed, ugly cried, ugly cried some more and just balled my head off the rest of the time. This book is so beautifully written and utterly heartbreaking. Amazing writing and characters, you can't help but fall in love with this book. Must Read!!

[Dora Koutsoukou · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 ❤️💔🤔🌟s

This was a well written book, emotional and heartbreaking, despite its predictability.

There were a few parts that excited me or brought out great feelings, but there were others too wordy without adding anything to the story. Plenty of inner thoughts and useless dialogues became uninteresting.
Also, some actions and behaviours didn’t make sense. I couldn’t believe that the heroine kept such a serious secret from her mother and especially from Rivers!
And Rivers’ fast recovery was not convincing.

I might have shed a couple of tears, but overall there are books with this theme that I have liked more...

[Red Cheeks Reads · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lindy does this to me…every stinking time. Reading her amazing work is exquisitely painful. Her words so powerful, they gut you. They cut away all of the insanity and focus on one singular idea. Each story is different and holds such powerful truth, it brings you to your knees. This first happened, for me, with Take Care, Sara. The astonishing beauty between those characters, I never thought would be topped.

And then I met Rivers and Delilah. The enormity of their coupling was so profound for me. Delilah touched a part of my soul that I didn’t even know was there. You know, you read to open your mind, explore new worlds. Be reminded what it’s like to just feel. Feel on a deep level, something…anything. That’s what Delilah and Rivers did for me. It took an impossible situation, where hope and love should be replaced with anguish and despair, and it turned it on it’s head. Delilah wouldn’t stand for anything less and her truth and the power and conviction of that truth was the bright shining light that shone thru that one fateful summer.



Delilah and Rivers had just graduation from High School. Rivers was in a terrible boating accident and was feeling completely lost. He thinks his life is ruined. That there is nothing left to live for. All that he knew and all that he had was stripped from him and he has chosen to shut down. He has cloaked himself in despair and pity and shielded himself from anyone and everyone that cares for him.

In walks Delilah. Delilah with her care free attitude and her crazy hair. Delilah with her wonky smiles and impromptu dancing. Delilah with all her flair, but most importantly, her beautiful heart. She goes to work as a summer housekeeper at Rivers’ house. She does her job, but slowly starts to break away that wall surrounding Rivers. And the most beautiful part…they choose each other and their love story begins. Within their love, they find themselves. Delilah doesn’t have to be the social outcast and Rivers doesn’t have to be the popular jock. They can just be who they were meant to be.



Delilah saved Rivers and helped him to live, and breathe, and feel. But Rivers did the same for Delilah. Their love is epic. It’s profound. It expands space and time. Their truth is so beautiful, it’s blinding. If you wish to be touched by characters that will imprint themselves on your soul, then pick up Unlit Star and enjoy the beautiful bright light that is Delilah and Rivers.



~Nicole

[Rue · Rating 1 out of 5]

“Don't tell me some philosophical crap that's supposed to make this all okay. It isn't okay. It will never be okay.”
This line from the book sums up everything I felt.

[Megan · Rating 5 out of 5]

If I could give this a million stars I would!!! This is a beautiful, healing, heart breaking, masterpiece of fiction!! I am still processing the magnitude of my emotions and will post a full review closer to release day but make sure you keep your eye on this treasure!

[Rachael Jade Annear · Rating 5 out of 5]

At 25% I knew this book was going to break my heart. I'm not sure if I should give it 1 star for making me cry so much or 5 stars for doing it so beautifully. A deep, contemplative, inspiring story.

[bookss_addict · Rating 5 out of 5]

there’s no words to describe what i'm feeling right now

[*P*u*r*p*l*e* Masochist · Rating 3 out of 5]

She was like the sun, the brightest beacon of light in the whole sky, one of the biggest stars...

This book could have been perfect. This book could have been 5 shining stars. It could have been big like The Fault In Our Stars by John Green, because it had almost everything great, unforgettable books have:

~ beautiful, evocative, almost poetic writing

~ bittersweet, inspiring & touching story

You already know there’s a big BUT following, right? But before the bad stuff, let me tell you first about the things that made me highlight almost every fifth page. First what you have to know is that this is actually a YA story (yes, even though it sounds unbelievable, I do occasionally read Ya, too :P), even though some readers labeled it as NA and I really don’t know why. Yes, some of the subjects the book’s dealing with are quite dark and there is a bit non-explicit sexual content, but that’s it.

I’ve definitely read darker and more sexually charged YAs than this one. The MCs of this story are 18 year old Delilah Bane & Rivers Young whose life paths get intertwined by one tragic event. Most of the story is written from Delilah’s pov, with the exception of the epilogue which is written from Rivers’s pov.

“You always thought you were so important,” I say, carefully setting my fork down. His eyes lift to mine.
“I don’t think you ever realized how unimportant high school and your role in it really was. High school is what happens before your life begins. You can be the top dog in that big brown building and a nobody outside it. You and your friends thought everyone wanted to be like you, because you were so self-absorbed you thought everyone else loved you as much as you loved yourself. You were wrong.”

They both went to the same high school, but they never talked to each other. The biggest reason for that is that one of them was a social outcast who had her own principles and didn't care what others thought about her and the other was a popular jock and a football star who only hung out with the so called high school “elite”. That’s all I’m gonna reveal you about the book, because this is one of those stories where the less you know, the better.

His body may be filled with imperfect fissures, but all I see is something more beautiful by tragedy. Like an ocean formed from a meteor. Something remarkable can always be the result of something devastating, if you choose to find that one positive in a nest of negatives.

This is, in its way, a beautiful, at time tragic love story which, I think, no matter its flaws won’t leave anyone indifferent. It revolves around likable and relate-able characters and approaches to the themes of family, friendship, love, life and death in a very realistic and vivid way. The characters are only 18 years old, but most of the time they seemed like really old souls with the way they were thinking and the way they acted. The romance was sweet and slow-building. It became a bit cheesy in the the 2nd part of the book, but I still liked it enough.

Why I rated it 3 stars:

~ In my opinion, its biggest flaw is that the author tried too hard to make it perfect which unfortunately resulted in its imperfections. Yes, the writing style was better than good, at times even beautiful. There are parts of the story which made me want to rate it with not 5, but 10 stars, but then again, after some chapters every second line became some type of a metaphor about life and world around us, so that, for me, the beauty of it turned soon enough to exaggeration and "cheesiness".

This especially applies to the development of the romance. The book would have probably ended on my favorite shelf if the author had kept it down a bit with the constant usage of different figures of speech.



~ There was some cheesy content towards the end and as you know my tolerance level for cheesy lines is almost non-existent. The dialogues of the MCs in the 2nd half of the book sounded at times more like over-prettified sonnets or odes which only made me roll eyes and think: nooo, not again!



Don’t get me wrong, there’s great depth to this story, but parts like this kind of ruined it for me. It’s a shame it ended up imperfect with all its perfections when it could have been magnificent, but it’s still worth reading. I liked the first half of the story better than the 2nd half with the exception of the ending and that touching epilogue which I loved.

If you are a fan of emotional, heart-wrenching and touching love stories and have bigger tolerance for cheesy content than me, you should definitely give it a try.

There is no stopping this. I don’t think I could if I tried. Whatever this is, whatever we have, I am choosing to look at it as a gift. One I may have to return, but a gift all the same. I will treasure it while I can.

[Aestas Book Blog]

OMG. I loooove the sound of this book!!!!!



We are not guaranteed anything, not even this life.

Rivers Young is the popular guy untouchable by reality. He is like a star—bright, consuming, otherworldly. The thing about stars, though, is that they eventually fall, and he is no different.

He falls far and he falls hard.

Delilah Bana is the outcast enshrouded in all of life's ironies. Alone, in the dark, like dusk as it falls on the world. When Rivers hits the ground, she is the night that catches him. In the darkness, they meld into something beautiful that shines like the sun.

Only, the greater the star is, the shorter its lifespan.

[Chantal · Rating 5 out of 5]

Rivers and Delilah have a special place in my heart. This book is beautifully written and the characters development is remarkable. Delilah helped Rivers see the beauty in life. She helped him grow into a better person and to let the past be the past. Rivers made the rest of Delilah’s life worthwhile. He stayed with her, he cried for her, he loved her. Their story was so beautiful yet so sad and i loved everything about this book.

[Jacqueline's Reads · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 Emotional Bending Stars

I wanted to like Unlit star because I love the plot so much, however I felt the story fell a little flat for me.

Summary

Delilah is cleaning Rivers’ house for the summer. Rivers is the popular guy in school, but after a boating accident, leaving him disfigured has put him in a depression. Somehow Delilah forges a friendship with Rivers to help him look on the brighter side in life.

Reasons why it didn’t work out for me

- The narrative writing is a bit much. I think if 30% of it was cut out, I could have endured it better. Also, I started to skim because it got too much.

- There was a simple plot, but only a few times it was touched. There’s a lot of “nothingness” going on. There’s a lot of random dialogue and random scenes. I understand it’s for character development, but I also wanted something that would draw me in.


- I didn’t like the little hints the author gave throughout the book on Delilah’s issues. I understood she has issues, but it should have been stated bluntly or just revealed later on.

Continuing…

I liked the relationship Delilah and Rivers forged, I guess I just had a hard time with their execution. I kind of wanted some banter back and forth with a little tension. Sure, they are playful, but I felt like it really didn’t amount to anything big until the ending.

I understand the five star reviews and why people loved this one so much. It’s a really emotional read and it grips your heart. You really feel for the two characters. It’s also a very sweet romance between two young kids. I could call this more a YA read than anything. I think if I liked the writing style, this could have easily been a hit for me.

AMAZON

[♥ Sarah · Rating 2 out of 5]

There were some parts of this book that reminded me of A Walk to Remember. (And that's not a particularly good thing, since that book totally kicked this book's behind.)

"You woke my soul up and the rest of me followed." -Rivers

That was the kind of stuff Rivers spouted out to Delilah once they get over their initial "hate" stage. Gah, it was just too much for me. Too cheesy. And really unrealistic.

Also, I thought Delilah was going to be a kick-ass, unique character; she really wasn't. She just kept TELLING me that she was - how she colored her hair different colors, painted her nails in bright hues, how she wore neon colored swim suits and rode her bike everywhere. Turned out, she wasn't trying to "be herself." She was trying to be "unique" - and there was a reason for her so-called "rebellion" against the norm. I just didn't buy it.

It was personally hard for me to connect with her character; she was SO judgmental and closed off. She was on this high horse and everyone else sucked, except for her.

And she was constantly "telling" me (like I was reading her diary, and not a novel) how unique she was. How she felt "sorry" for the pathetic Cool Kids in high-school. Sheesh! This girl seriously had a thing against beautiful, popular people. Well, I guess a lot of people do, but the complete judgmental bitterness and contradictions turned me off.

She hated the Cool Kids, or rather, felt sorry for them. But then she fell in love with one - the Head Cool Guy who previously dated (before her) Head Cool Girl (Delilah's ex friend who apparently also had some sort of eating disorder). *Sigh*

Stereotypes upon stereotypes.

I think the author meant well, and there were *moments* where I enjoyed the chemistry b/w Delilah and Rivers.

I did find Rivers endearing in all his self-pity and misery. But, ultimately, his character didn't have much depth either. And their scenes weren't particularly enjoyable.

Again, it just reminded me too much of A Walk to Remember, and their chemistry didn't really feel authentic. I felt like the ending was just thrown in there for shock value, and thus, was totally unnecessary.

I just didn't think this book was all that; it was just ok.

[Eunice (nerdytalksbookblog) · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved it. Desperately. Undeniably. Wholly. Without regret.

"I could choose to be sad, or I could choose to be happy. Life - it's one choice after another. And how our lives are, that's our choice as well."

I am still currently wiping tears off my face. It was achingly beautiful as it was ultimately satisfying. It was as true as it could get. There are just too much wisdom contained in this book that I could not help myself but stop and ponder, all of it were true. Delilah and Rivers' story just opened up too much realizations, realizations I couldn't help but agree. I loved that each chapter wasn't really revealing everything all at once there was still the sense of surprise, of constantly waiting for the other shoe to drop and when it finally did, it was played out beautifully, exceptionally tear-inducing even. I think I have found another favorite, also the author writes amazingly, it was spot on. It just tugged every heart strings. It wasn't solely about love, but more than anything it tackles, loss, pain, family and the awful realities of life but more importantly how one must live life the way he pleases it, without regrets. No more second-guessing, just basking into the abyss of the unknown.

I loved how the characters evolved, especially Rivers Young. How he turned out into someone worthy and Delilah Bana who was stubborn for all the right reasons, I loved her character, the way she reacts towards things and her principles in life. How she didn't give up despite of the shitty hand she was dealt with. I loved how Rivers and Delilah meld into something stellar, into something so true, it hurts.

Maybe all I am saying is that, you should just read it and see it for yourself and feel the rawness of all the emotions. Now I am pretty sure I cannot fully move on from this. Ah it is just so beautiful it hurts, but I already said that and whatever, just let me sulk about it some more.

[Rebecca Shea · Rating 5 out of 5]

FIVE FUCKING INCREDIBLE STARS. This is the perfect YA Romance. This book destroyed me in every way possible and yearning for more. More that i'll never get, but that's okay. I haven't read a book this good in a long time!

[The Hopeless Romantics Book Blog · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review: Surj Harvey

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Have you ever cried so much that your head hurts, your eyes are sore, your heart feels like it's been squeezed within an inch of its life and your chest feels tight from the agonizing pain it's just experienced? Well that's me right now having just finished Lindy Zart's "Unlit Star." This book was so moving, so touching, so powerful, so profound and it was difficult not to be affected by what I read.

"You woke my soul up and the rest of me followed."

Delilah and Rivers' story touched my heart. It was captivating, beautiful, uplifting and inspirational and it made feel... god did it make me feel. It was like a tidal wave of emotions hitting me all at the same time, each one a contradiction of the next. I felt joy. I felt sorrow, elation and devastation and I laughed and I cried... yup those big, ugly, snot bubble tears fell and I didn't care who saw me fall apart because this story deserved all of that and more.

I'm glad for every day I get, and he wishes the promise of a new dawn would fade into oblivion.

This is my first experience of work by this author and it definitely won't be my last. Right from the start, her writing pulled me in, her ability to put me right in the middle of this beautiful story astounding me. I could visualise Rivers house, the sun room, the pool, his bedroom, the cabin: all key settings that really helped to bring this story to life. And the words... those beautiful words intricately woven through the pages wrapped themselves around my soul, connecting me to the characters and the story they had to tell.

Something remarkable can always be the result of something devastating, if you choose to find that one positive in a nest of negatives.

I don't think there was a single character in "Unlit Star" that didn't affect me in one way or another but it was Rivers and Delilah that really stole the show for me. Their journey as individuals and as a couple took my breath away. The choices they made, the growth in their characters, the lessons that were learned along the way left me in awe of each of them. Even now as I think about Delilah, she brings a smile to my face. She was wise beyond her years that's for sure. Ever the positive thinker, I loved the way she embraced the fact that she was different. Some would say she was weird, I'd say quirky but in the best possible way. She saw the good in everyone, even those that had wronged her and she was selfless to the end. An inspiration if ever there was one. I wanted some of that beautiful sunshine that followed her around. And Rivers. His journey had been a tough one but the lessons he learned made him a better man.

"I am thankful for his life, but I think all he sees is what he's lost, not what he still has. All he sees is a dream taken from him."

As you can tell from this review, I've intentionally stayed away from the story line because for me, this is one book you truly need to experience for yourself. What I will say is, Delilah and River's story is one that will stay with me for a long time and even now when I think about it, I can feel a flurry of emotions taking over. This book is full to the brim with take home messages and if anything, it made me look at my life, the way I live it and the way I see people. An outstanding, heart felt story where beauty was found amongst tragedy.



I couldn't rate "Unlit Star" anything less than 5 Hearts. I'd give it more if I could and it's definitely up there with my all time favourite books.

[April · Rating 5 out of 5]

5 Stars is not enough for this book! You will need a box of tissues while you read this incredible story about Rivers and Delilah. I am having a hard time writing this because no words come to mind to express how I feel after reading Unlit Star. This is a book that everyone needs to read, and then read it again.

[beautyliterate · Rating 3 out of 5]

3/5 stars

This was a quick read for me! I actually started it at 1am this morning even though I marked it as currently reading yesterday and just wrapped it up in the last 30 minutes.

I thought the certain factors really made the book stand out for me like the characters. Individually I thought the characters were interesting to read but for some reason I didn't really feel anything when the romance began to become present. Maybe because it was a shorter book I felt everything was a little too rushed for me. Overall, I did like it just didn't find it to be amazing.

[Carissa · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.5 'My heart needs you, Delilah.' Stars

Life is mostly froth and bubble, 
Two things stand like stone. 
Kindness in another's trouble, 
Courage in your own. 
Adam Lindsay Gordon

This is purely a blissful celebration of contrasts.

Sometimes, it’s not always just about choice. Sometimes as much
as we chose a path, fate always intervenes. And then sometimes, if we tangle fate and choice together, what we get is something……. SPECTACULAR…… IRREVOCABLE…….
And ultimately INTENSELY AWE-INSPIRING that it leaves us mind boggled and out of breath.

Unlit Star is a poignant portrayal of youth and looking beyond the surface.

People don't like ugly things. People don't like things they don't understand.

A melding of separate and different worlds. Two individuals learning about the meaning of life, love and loss. Both fighting their own trials and tribulations.

How do you break through the black and into the light?

Perfect rich boy, Rivers Young, meets working class, awkward, conundrum of an eighteen year old girl, Delilah. When their paths collide, the beauty that is created is blinding and brighter than the stars above. 

"When Rivers hits the ground, she is the night that catches him. In the darkness, they meld into something beautiful that shines like the sun. "

Rivers is scarred- physically and emotionally. After a boating accident, the perfect, pretty boy jock, isn't so perfect anymore. His legs are mangled and scars run the length of his face. Making him brooding and angry, he secludes himself from everyone. Always trying to be perfect for everyone else and himself to. A facade that will soon perish.

Rivers is a perfect mix of clouds and sunshine, openness and hardness. He's an impeccable, yet inconsistent being of all that if good and all that is not.

Delilah, sweet, contradicting Delilah. She is a young face with an old soul. Delilah Bana has a strategic and mature outlook towards life. After a life altering accident at the age of six, Delilah has grown up fast. Her plan is to go on a holiday by train. In her quest to attain this, she takes a job at Rivers house as the housekeeper. But unbeknownst to both herself and Rivers, she will become more than a housekeeper. She will become his strength, his perseverance. Delilah will push Rivers below the surface. To find all the beauty within the ugly. Rivers will learn the true meaning of life through the eyes of a misfit. A perfect misfit.

How does a boy who used to have everything decide he has something to fight for when he's lost all he's known?

Reading their story was heartbreaking, joyful, and poetic. Lindy's words elicited all these emotions within me that drew me down, made me laugh, smirk, and bawl my eyes out. Her use of literary devices made Rivers and Delilah dance before my eyes. My own thoughts got mixed up with this fictional story, yet it's realistic tendencies, stole a piece of my heart, my soul, and these pieces got buried within the pages with Rivers and Delilah.

I will argue that Delilah thought Rivers to live, to treasure every single moment, experience everything. Good an bad, dark and light. To laugh when sad. For me, she made Rivers strong, so that when her turn came, he could be strong for her. Delilah didn't want a reason to be angry with life, with God. She has an innate respect for fate and things that cannot be changed.

“I didn't get to choose whether or not I wanted my life this way, but there was one thing I did choose. It was you. I chose you.”

My favourite part of this book was the epilogue. Hearing Rivers thoughts was amazing. The depth of his emotions. His yearning and his undying love. Embracing his feelings was heart rendering and even more emotional than the actual story.

Lindy Zart, you simply have a way with words. I initially compared your work to that of Amy Harmon's  - Making Faces. However, your story was MORE, it was profound, with such wonderful themes. It made me re-evaluate what's important and it's all about perspective.

Thank you Lindy Zart for allowing me the opportunity to read this 'work of art.'

[Drea · Rating 1 out of 5]

I don't even know how far along I was when I dnf'd this, but it was pretty damn early.

Let's get the positive out of the way: the prose itself wasn't terrible and the grammar was good, which is more than I can say for a good chunk of most NA books. That's about the only nice things I have to say.

The main character annoyed me from the get-go. It was bad enough that she kept name dropping popstars left and right (which was cringeworthy), but she kept talking about how she was a special snowflake because she talked to herself, and liked to dance and sing and talk to squirrels (yes, really). I'm all for quirky characters, but this just felt so forced. That and the book was just trying way to hard to sound deep.

Another extremely annoying thing: the author clearly does not know how depression works. The love interest, a popular guy named Rivers, was in a terrible boating accident, where he was pulled under and got his legs sliced up by the blades (it's a wonder they didn't get severed completely). Rivers was originally going to go to college in Texas on a football scholarship, but can't now because of his injuries. He walks with a limp and is in constant physical pain. Now he spends his time just sitting by the pool, barely talking to anybody. He is clearly depressed, as I think anyone would be in this situation. His college plans have been halted, and he is constantly reminded of this traumatic experience by just looking at his legs, not to mention that he can't even walk properly. So I really couldn't blame anyone in that situation for being a little bit mopey.

But does Delilah care? NOPE. She just can't understand what Rivers has to be sad about, because "at least he's alive!" She thinks that he needs to just snap out of it, wake up and smell the roses!

If only it were that easy, YOU FREAKING MORON.

But that's not what made me quit. What made me quit was her reaction to Rivers' suicide attempt.

Yeah. He tries to drown himself, Delilah saves him and gets all pissy because he's not grateful. Instead of thinking, "shit, this is more serious than I thought. This guy really needs to get some help," what does our little Manic Pixie Dream Girl do?

She says (and I'm paraphrasing), "next time you wanna kill yourself, swallow pills so I won't have to save you. Everyone would be better off."

This is the girl we're supposed to like. This is the girl we're supposed to root for and relate to. This is the girl who Rivers is supposed to fall in love with.

NO.

You can argue that she was just giving him tough love, but that shit doesn't fly with me. Telling a person who just tried to kill themselves to essentially try harder next time is cold, callous, and EXTREMELY insensitive. I had someone say something similar to me years ago when I was struggling with depression, and let me tell ya, it didn't make me feel better. Could you imagine this girl working at a suicide hotline? Good lord.

I cannot read a book told by the pov of such a stupid, STUPID character like this. Honestly, I wish I had the ability to reach into this book and slap Delilah. Multiple times.

0 stars would be too good for this.

[Rahaf · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is just so FULL of wisdom, sorrow and laughter but most of all it is so full of LOVE. what I really loved in this book are the advices and life quotes that were written in every single page; It made me think of things I've never paid enough attention to. What I learnt from this book is that we should never take things for granted, no matter how infinitesimal they are because afterall, we have no control over time nor do we have control over the life we are given to as it can be taken away from us as fast as it was given so all we can do while we are still here is to be thankful for yet another day and yet another chance for us to live and create our own set of memories.

All we have control over in this life, are the actions we take to leave our imprints on this world so after reading such an inspirational book, I am planning to take nothing for granted nor spend a day without smiling or leaving my own unique imprint that not only will it remind people of me once I'm gone but also inspire them to be someone like me. Who knows, maybe this account alone would inspire someone!


Dinfinitely deserves a 5 stars rating.

[*TANYA* · Rating 3 out of 5]

I wanted to really like this book. I struggled with it, I was listening to it on audio and then I switched to reading it because I thought the narrator was maybe the reason why I wasn't feeling the book. And so I started to read it instead thinking it would make a difference but sadly it didn't. The flow of the book was choppy and the "cute-quirkiness" was a bit much.

[Olivia · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was amazing. It was completely like reading poetry. The Dhaliah was so full of life it was incredible to read. The ending was heart-breaking and a little unexpected...(pretty sure I cried for 1 hour) Great read 5 heartbreaking stars

[Mai omar · Rating 5 out of 5]

I don't have enough words to describe the beautifulness of this book. I cried like never before, laughed like never before and lived with every word in this book like never before.
This book has nothing not to love, starting from each and every quote and life tip on every page, I highlighted them all, kinda the whole book. This book shed light on many things that i knew but never was wholly aware of.
This book taught me that never take anything for granted, cling to everything and every chance of happiness even if its small or silly. This book taught me that life and death are inevitable, however we're the ones to choose how to live and how to face our death. I can go on and on with this book and never feel like i've given it its worth. Im grateful for lindy zart for writing such an inspirational book, to give us hope and teach us want we seem oblivious about. I cried rivers in the epilogue specially, never cried for a book like this one. It will forever have a place on my shelf and in my heart.

[Kimberley · Rating 1 out of 5]

I don't hate it, but I can't recommened it.

sigh......

I had hopes for this. I really did. I don't read young adult often, being 50, I feel kind of creepy reading about teen love. This story was well written. It was passionate... and in the back of my mind, I KNEW to brace for something.... heart-wrenching!

I fell in love with 2 sweet characters!! Delilah was funny, insecure and the heart of a tiger!! She brought Rivers out of his darkness..... and I still tried to keep them at arm's length. I didn't want my heart to hurt.

And, try as I might..... what I suspected was happening, was really happening!!!

If I had a perfect life, then I would find this story heart-warming...for the girl that saved the guy.... but my life isn't perfect, there have been health issues for a few years, I read to lighten up my life!

Now I had to mourn a fictional character. I cried so hard at the end.

Lots of Tears. Not many smiles.

[Meg (booksandwinewithmeg.blog) · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Sigh" oh and let's not forget "sad face". I must be on some self destruction path by reading all these sad books! I'm glad it didn't go into explicit detail in the ending, but still enough to make you tear up.
It was beautifully written with constant comments on how life is a simple gift, and I absolutely loved Rivers and Delilah. Great book!
Word of advice: don't read this if you just got done reading "me before you", "Bright Side" or "The Fault in our Start" - small spoiler I get it but it is still a different story line so suck it up

[Jenny Jo Weir · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 Stars. Very good book...not my particular favorite type, but still a great book. It was a little corny and a bit cheesy but that's only because I'm not the mushy type. I really enjoyed this read and love that it will stay with me. It's one of those books you do not forget!

I recommend it to anyone looking for something sweet and touching. I recommend it to anyone looking for a better point of view or different outlook in life. I recommend it to anyone who needs to remember what really matters in life.

[Anne OK · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've got to stop and take a break from these bittersweet and emotionally heart ripping storylines. This is another one that is poignant and heartbreaking - it is one you won't soon forget.