Reggie and Delilah’s Year of Falling by Elise Bryant

Abstract

Reviewed by: Reggie and Delilah’s Year of Falling by Elise Bryant Aaren Tucker Bryant, Elise Reggie and Delilah’s Year of Falling. Balzer + Bray, 2023 [400p] Trade ed. ISBN 9780063212992 $18.99 E-book ed. ISBN 9780063213012 $9.99 Reviewed from digital galleys R* Gr. 7-12 The titular Reggie and Delilah meet by chance at a New Year’s Eve punk show. As a favor to her friends (and crush) in punk band, Delilah has just become their new lead singer, despite her fears of public performance. It’s love at first sight for Reggie when he sees Delilah on stage, but he knows his Dungeons & Dragons t-shirt will out him as a nerd before he can get a chance to talk to her. He decides on some fake-it-till-you-make-it confidence, which seems to work, and thus begins a year of coincidental and not-so-coincidental holiday meetings for the pair. Reggie’s outward confidence inspires Delilah to come out of her shell, but his internal self-doubt leads him from just playing at bravado to a downright lie. Bryant’s latest rom-com features two likable teens who are wracked by insecurities but still doing their best to navigate life, relationships, and being Black in typically white-dominated spaces. Reggie and Delilah’s endearing, awkward fumbles make them an easy pair to root for, but Bryant’s greatest achievement with this book is her incredible skill at utilizing the first-person, dual point-of-view narrative to highlight the differences in how self-perceptions and intentions can differ from an outsider’s perception. The usual misunderstandings necessary for a romcom have a deeper authenticity here, as each protagonist is given enough nuance without tipping the narrative into melodrama. Bryant has truly mastered her medium, delivering powerful lessons for characters and readers alike in the form of a delicious, cozy, joyful romance to usher in the new year. Copyright © 2022 The Board of Trustees of the University of Illinois