The Truth About Delilah Blue. [Paperback]

This is one of those books you can't put down. A great read. Exquisitely written. Well developed, unique characters and Cohen charms you with her tight, descriptive prose. I found myself falling in love with the actual words, and structure of the book as much as the story itself.

Beautiful, captivating, intoxicating...truly an engaging story with characters I want to know. Delilah, Kieran, Victor, Elisabeth, Litchy and Adam are an incredible balance of light and shadow that give depth and reality to this work of fiction that is rarely seen. This is a stunning piece of work.

The Truth About Delilah Blue is, on the surface, a story about a young wanna-be art student who is willing to go to nearly any lengths to get the art degree she desires while she juggles the responsibilities of caring for her ailing father and the shock of dealing with the truth about how they came to be on their own. As the reader dives into this perfectly sculpted story the line between right and wrong gets blurred and just as in 'real life' no one in Delilah's world is entirely good or entirely bad.

It takes little more than the first few pages to fall in love with Delilah, her life and her author. So before you head out to the lake, board a plane or sink into your comfy couch be sure to pick up this fantastic read...you won't be sorry!

If you're a regular reader, you may remember me raving about Tish Cohen's book Inside Out Girl. I was thrilled to see she had a new release The Truth About Deliah Blue - and yes I will be raving again!

Delilah Blue moved with her father Victor from Toronto to Los Angeles when she was eight. She has always believed that her mother abandoned her. Victor has always been overprotective, sheltering 'Lila' from anything or anyone he perceives as a possible danger or threat. As a result Lila has become a bit insular. She has always loved art, as did her mother. For financial reasons, she is unable to attend college. She boldly decides to step out of her comfort zone and do nude figure modeling so she can 'attend' the classes.

Victor is not behaving like himself lately though - he seems to be forgetting things, though he struggles valiantly to hang on to his normal routines. He is only 53. In the midst of this....Delilah's mother appears - along with her young daughter Kieran. She tells a very different story than Victor's. Delilah doesn't know who or what to believe.

Wow. Cohen's forté is character development. Victor's struggle to adhere to his regular routine, picking just the right tie, remembering that a special client likes a certain type of donut, but forgetting salient details was heartbreaking. He knows that something is wrong, but doesn't acknowledge the elephant. Flashbacks to the past are part of the memories Victor hangs on to and slowly but surely we learn how father and daughter came to be in L.A. Lila's struggle to step outside of the invisible fences that surround her will have you silently urging her forward. Lila's mother Elisabeth evoked strong feelings in this reader the more we got to know her. Kieran is a moving character as well - having lived with the loss and her mother's memories of Delilah her entire life.

Cohen explores every character's expectation of what is right and what shoud be done. Not all were what I expected, which I appreciated. A great page turner that I truly enjoyed.

Fans of Lori Lansens and Jodi Picoult would enjoy this book.