Even More Canadian Fiction

Finished August 24
The Truth About Delilah Blue by Tish Cohen
This story is mostly told from the point of view of Delilah Blue Lovett, and a little from the point of view of her father. When Delilah was eight, her father brought her to Disneyland from Toronto, and they stayed in L.A. Delilah was told that her mother needed a break. But then she is out of contact with her mother for years. Delilah never really fit in, despite shortening her name to Lila. Lila is now twenty and determined to be an artist, like her mother was, but her father does not support this. He wants her to choose a more practical career. She starts doing life modeling for art classes, so that she can gain instruction without needing to pay for it. As she finds herself baring more than just her body, her mother reenters her life, accompanied by Kieran, Lila's younger stepsister. As her mother divulges the secret of Delilah's move to L.A., Lila begins to question her trust in her father, and to question her own sense of self and identity.
Meanwhile, her father is beginning to show signs of early-onset Alzheimer's and his confusion affects his ability to talk about the past and his motivations. Lila worries about his wellbeing and also worries about her new young stepsister.
Lila is a young woman dealing with a lot of new information and in stepping back and seeing her parents as flawed individuals, she also learns about her own strengths and feelings. I really enjoyed this book, and the growth the characters showed.