The Flywheel

The Flywheel
Written by Erin Gough
Contemporary, LGBT, #LoveOzYA
Published February 1st 2015
309 Pages
Purchased
Published by Hardie Grant Egmont
Add to Goodreads
★★★★★
Seventeen year old Delilah drops out of high school when her romance with another girl goes horribly wrong. Preferring chaos to bullying, Delilah makes it her mission to save her dad's crumbling café, the Flywheel, while he finds himself overseas.

Accompanied by her charming troublemaker best friend Charlie, Delilah sets out to save the cafe, keep Charlie out of prison, and maybe get a date with Rosa, the beautiful flamenco dancer from across the road. But when life is messy enough as it is, can girl on girl romance ever have a happy ending?

This hilarious and accident prone novel is about how to be heartbroken and how to fall in love, about rising above high school drama and wrestling with problems that are, almost too big. It speaks directly to teens and assures them that they're not alone, and does it all with an abundance of heart.
While her father is on a reluctant journey of self discovery after his divorce, seventeen year old Delilah never imagined she would be managing the Flywheel, the small independent coffee house her father owns. Ostracised by her peers, Delilah is tormented for her sexuality and a secret relationship with callous Georgina, in which the teaching faculty believe she had coerced the popular student.

When the manager of the Flywheel is deported and her staff members pilfering dwindling profits, Deliah has no other option but to devote her time to the conservation of the small business with the assistance of best friend Charlie. Reluctant to love again, Delilah's infatuation with flamenco dancer Rosa and Charlie's chaotic romance, Delilah will be forced to contend with Crunch, a large business trying to force the Flywheel into insolvency.

My Thoughts

Delilah finds herself in a precarious position, running her father's small business while he's on an extended journey of self discovery and walking away from her education to ensure the coffee house survives against the push of big business. I absolutely adored Delilah. She's a resilient young woman who although self aware, still feels adolescent fragility as she navigates friendships, relationships and responsibility. She continues to endure homophobia, targeted accusations by her peers. Delilah is a lesbian and after a physical relationship with a fellow student, subjected to taunts that the education facility ignore.

Charlie is adventurous, boisterous and a charming young man with an appreciation of the fairer sex, seemingly infatuated with the thrill of the chase. Charlie was of an immense support to Delilah, thriving as The Flywheel's new in house chef, praised by patrons and creating a new environment by uplifting revenue for the flailing business. Charlie was hilarious, his jovial nature providing banter between he and Delilah and laugh out loud moments.

Although Delilah's parents are noticeably absent for almost the entire narration, Delilah speaks of an incredible fondness for her father and the support and unconditional love he provides, her reasoning behind wanting to save The Flywheel from bankruptcy rather than ask her father to return home. Delilah's relationship with her mother felt incredibly strained, having separated and moved to Melbourne with her younger, questionable lover. Insisting Delilah refer to her by her first name rather than mother, wanting to recapture her youth.

The romance between Delilah and Rosa was often turbulent but the epitome of teen relationships and their complexities. After her experience with Georgia, Delilah isn't interested in another covert relationship which poses an issue with Rosa's conservative family, unaware of her sexuality. It was a great exploration of the stages of sexual preferences and tolerances for experiences that are not your own.

The Flywheel is why I read Australian young adult fiction, wonderfully diverse narratives that represent our communities. Debut author Erin Gough is remarkable.

24 comments

  1. Thanks so much for sharing. This sounds like a good read, and I need to read more f/f novels. I'm glad you thought the romance was realistic, if not perfect. :)

    -Lauren

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    1. It was wonderful Lauren, such a brilliant read and passionate characters. I highly recommend it.

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  2. This sounds like I'm going to want to just sit and hug the book once I've finished reading it, squeal uncontrollably and then tell my mum she has to read it - kinda like when I finished Clancy of the undertow, The sidekicks and Simon and the homosapians agenda.

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    1. YES! It's exactly that kind of read Sarah. It's just so lovely but with so much depth of character. I'd love to see what you think of it.

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  3. So glad to hear you loved this Kelly I am going to be giving this a read soon and I can't wait!

    xx Anisha (https://sprinkledpages.blogspot.com.au/)

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    1. And it's an own voices author too Anisha. I loved Delilah, she's such a passionate young woman who wears her heart on her sleeve. I can't wait to see what you think of it.

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  4. Dammit, it doesn't come out until April here, and it has a different title "Get It Together, Delilah!". I reeeeally want to read this!

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    1. I didn't know it was being released in the US Christy, that's incredible news! Such a wonderful read, the little guy fighting big corporations, the tribulations of being a teen. It's such. Brilliant read. Can't wait to see your thoughts.

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  5. SO GLAD YOU LIKED THIS ONE. And I'm so happy that it's going over to the US, as well - hopefully everyone will realise how awesome our Aussie authors are, and demand more ;)

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    1. I love love LOVED it! I'm kicking myself that it took me so long to read it though.

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  6. Oh wow, this sounds SO good! I had seen the cover around before, but I always assumed it was MG, so now I am REALLY glad to know that it is YA because it sounds SO good! I am also really glad to know it is coming out in the US (thanks to Christy, above me!) so I can keep an eye out for it! Great review :)

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    1. I actually thought the same Shannon. The cover is lovely but it looks very young. I was thrilled to hear it's being released in the US, such a wonderful book that I hope everyone has the opportunity to read.

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  7. ah. not a bad one I think, I will like Delilah.

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    1. She's a wonderful character Ailyn, I can almost guarantee you'll adore The Flywheel too.

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  8. I love that Aussie fiction has always had a lot of diversity. I need to pick up more titles, and I now I know I have this one I can read. Also, I really love the cover! Amazing review as always <3

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    1. Thanks Marianne and I completely agree. I think our young adult in general is really honest and a great representation of how diverse our communities are. The great news is that The Flywheel is being published in the US. Hooray!

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  9. Delilah sounds lovely, utterly lovely and complicated. And, I can appreciate that the author makes the parents' presence felt even though they're not there. It's too often that parents are sort of written off in YA I find. Charlie lol he sounds like the best BFF!

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    1. Charlie was adorable, part of his charm being a skirt chaser is that he loves women and it makes for so many amusing scenes. Delilah is just such a likable character, amazing book Verushka.

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  10. This sounds pretty delightful. I may not be reading a lot of YA lately but I do want to read this, I'll have to pick up a copy. I *love* that cover, so it's going to be a paperback one :D yay books!

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    1. It's beautiful! Such a wonderful read which is not only diverse, but about the little guy battling big business as well. I absolutely loved it.

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  11. I actually put this book on my tbr-list last year or maybe even in 2015, and totally forgot about it. Thanks so much for putting it back on my radar. This sounds wonderful. Why haven’t I read it? I think such cute feel-good GLBT stories are no less important than serious ones.

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    1. I couldn't agree more Ksenia. That's what I love about Aussie young adult, it's so diverse without making a big point of being diverse. It's just representative of our communities and wonderfully represented at that.

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  12. My friend Wendy also enjoyed this one and your review makes me more excited to read it!

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    1. It's such a wonderful read Glaiza, I would love to see what you think of it.

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