Rayne & Delilah's Midnite Matinee

"Anyone can break your heart--Jeff Zentner can also make you laugh out loud!" --RAINBOW ROWELL, #1 New York Times bestselling author of Carry On and Eleanor & Park

From the Morris Award-winning author of The Serpent King comes a contemporary novel about two best friends who must make tough decisions about their futures--and the TV show they host--in their senior year of high school.

Every Friday night, best friends Delia and Josie become Rayne Ravenscroft and Delilah Darkwood, hosts of the campy creature feature show Midnite Matinee on the local cable station TV Six.

But with the end of senior year quickly approaching, the girls face tough decisions about their futures. Josie has been dreading graduation, as she tries to decide whether to leave for a big university and chase her dream career in mainstream TV. And Lawson, one of the show's guest performers, a talented MMA fighter with weaknesses for pancakes, fantasy novels, and Josie, is making her tough decision even harder.

Scary movies are the last connection Delia has to her dad, who abandoned the family years ago. If Midnite Matinee becomes a hit, maybe he'll see it and want to be a part of her life again. And maybe Josie will stay with the show instead of leaving her behind, too.

As the tug-of-war between growing up and growing apart tests the bonds of their friendship, Josie and Delia start to realize that an uncertain future can be both monstrous...and momentous.

"I laughed, cried, and fell over-the-moon in love with Rayne & Delilah's Midnite Matinee." --JENNIFER NIVEN, New York Times bestselling author of All the Bright Places and Holding Up the Universe

"A testament to the power of friendship and big dreams, Rayne & Delilah's Midnite Matinee had me laughing aloud on one page and sobbing on the next. A resounding triumph." --NIC STONE, New York Times bestselling author of Dear Martin

"Rayne & Delilah's Midnite Matinee starts as comedy about the wildly imperfect, and ends as poetry about the ever-hoping heart. I don't know how you write that book. Fortunately, Jeff Zentner does." --JESSE ANDREWS, New York Times bestselling author of Me and Earl and the Dying Girl

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416 pages

Average rating: 8.12

8 RATINGS

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2 REVIEWS

Community Reviews

Anonymous
Sep 22, 2023
10/10 stars
This was one of my most anticipated reads of 2019! The summary sounded great, the title was cool, the title was intriguing! Just, everything about it. Yes!

I loved Delia so much. Josie was cool and Lawson was adorable and good and wholesome but I just totally associated with Delia. I also grew up in a trailer park with a manic depressive mom (who later left when I was 7/8 years old) and now I struggle with my own issues with depression and abandonment issues. So all of her feelings and anxiety and churned up feelings were not only written accurately but also so relatable! I was crying by the end and I loved this so much!
TheCleverReader
Feb 03, 2023
10/10 stars
This book is a beautiful story about friendship, loss, and love! It will melt your heart, break your heart, and mend your heart back together. It's perfect!

Rayne & Delilah addresses issues like abandonment & depression in the most poetic of ways. It's heavy without feeling heavy. The friendship between Josie and Delia is perfect, even during the times it is tested. If you have a chance to read this than take it because it is one of the best YA Contemporaries out there!

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