Jeff Zentner is a true talent in the YA contemporary world. Beautiful, beautiful stories. Every time I read one of his books I can't wait for the next one!

Delia and Josie are best friends who host a late night public access horror show. Delia loves horror, and Josie wants to work in TV for her career, so they’re a perfect match. Their friendship is the main focus of this book, and it’s what keeps readers engaged. Each chapter switches between their perspectives, so readers truly get to know each of them and their motivations. This was a fun, mostly lighthearted read.

I first have to say that this book was nothing like I thought it would be. On the other hand, it was more than I expected. Teens need books like these that talk about real-life scenarios and the consequences of their actions. The crafty title may throw people and readers off a bit but don't let that stop you from picking up this book.

This novel at its center is about two teens and their friendship and a whole lot of other fun and funny things in between, laced with some darkness. I know my daughter also read this and said it was one of her favorite books she'd read that year. She said teen girls like her could really relate to the characters as they're growing up and deciding what to do with their lives. That's better than anything I could have said.

Thank you so much to the publisher for approving me. This was a DNF for me, I suppose since I never got back into it and I’m just updating this to move this off my shelf.

I love Jeff's books and this one was no exception to that. I sadly wasn't in the mood to pick this up when I was approved but I did end up reading it at a good time in my life. Sometimes we don't pick the books, the books pick us.

Jeff Zentner is one of those authors that I will read no matter what. Rayne and Delilah are great characters and I adore their relationship. Even the supporting characters are great! Hand to students who enjoyed anything else by Jeff Zentner.

I apologize for the delay of this review! I read this book last year and had thought I'd reviewed it on here only to find out that wasn't the case. Because of the time that's gone by since my last reading of this, this review will be on the shorter side and I apologize for that.

This book honestly took me by surprise because I completely loved it. I loved the friendship between these characters. I remember not being sure how I'd feel about this book before reading and put it off. And in the end, I completely loved this book and find myself a big fan of Jeff Zenter's writing. There's something so genuine about this book that makes you realize that yes, this is about teenagers and you can see it actually happening. It's not uncommon for high school friendships to start to fracture, which this book showed. One character ready to move forward with their life and their career while the other felt left behind. So the ending? It was such a sweet way for it to come to a close. I admit, I teared up over the mother-daughter relationship that sparked. I love this book and I truly can't wait for this author’s next book.

Jeff Zentner stories are impactful and memorable.and this is no exception.
Perhaps the most ‘positive’ story Zentner has written so far. his other books tend to be on the more serious and difficult side of emotion, but this is funny and up-lifting. and it is also every bit as real as his other books

This was kind of emotionally exhausting to read. But also healing? It’s my first Jeff Zentner book and I thought it was really good. There were some things I didn’t like, mostly the weird middle part that didn’t seem to fit with the rest of the book, but there were several things I loved about it.

I loved the focus on the friendship between Delia and Josie. It felt so realistic, the ups and downs and support and love between them. Plus, all the stupid conversations. They just felt alive and real and pretty authentic and I always love a book with a great female best friendship at its core. YA seem so often to center around romances when it’s almost always a best friend that defines our high school years.

But speaking of romance, I have to say that I actually really liked the one in this book. I liked that the love interest wasn’t a typical YA male misunderstood jerk. He was sensitive and sweet and gentlemanly and just a good guy. He’s the kind of guy that really exists, because I’ve met them, but often get overlooked in books. I don’t know why but not everyone is out looking for a “bad boy” and it’s so important to show readers good guys like this. And I loved that about this book. Plus, I enjoyed how cute it was all around.

The end of summer before college feelings in this book are real. I remember feeling so much of this when the summer was coming to an end. It’s such an emotional and difficult time, even when so much is happening that’s exciting. It’s full of so many competing emotions and I feel like Zentner really portrayed this time accurately and it’s not always easy to get through.

There are several other difficult scenes to get through and I don’t want to spoil anything so I’ll just say that I’m really just blown away at how all of these emotions come alive in these pages and I’m not sure I’ll ever get over the scenes with Delia in Florida. You never really expect to see parts of your own life in a book played out in ways you’ve imagine for years but I guess that just happened. It was like years of therapy rolled up in 300 pages of a YA novel. It was a wild ride.

So even with the parts that I didn’t love and the fact that some of this is more personal than I’d really ever want to admit, this book was an emotional journey that was way more realistic than I was prepared for considering it’s about two teens who host their own low-budget campy horror TV show. I definitely recommend it with the note that it gets a little weird and off-track in the middle but ends really well. I’ll have to check out more of Zentner’s books.

I didn't love this as much as Jeff Zentner's other books unfortunately (it also didn't make me cry like the other two did). I'll still read more Jeff Zentner probably, but I won't be recommending this one.

DNF. I loved the author's debut novel but this one didn't do it for me. It kinda felt like he was trying to be John Green here? The POVs switched back and forth a LOT and I struggled to keep track sometimes. This book really wanted to be emotional but just didn't get there for me.

I am definitely a Jeff Zentner fan. The quirky characters, the compelling plots, the outstanding dialog, and the beautiful writing. And I loved the interplay of the strong female characters. Outstanding!

I was given a free copy of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.


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. Now that they're in their senior year, they need to decide if they will move away to college or stay local and continue the show. When one friend decides a different route than the other, what is the fate of the show?

DELIGHTFUL book. LOVED it sooooo much.
#netgalley #jeffzentner #rayne&delilah'smidnightmatinee #besties #horror #mma #teenlove

I felt so torn on how to rate this. There are parts of this story that I really loved. The friendship between Delia and Josie. The sweet and awkward romance between Josie and Lawson. However, I struggled with the pacing so much that there were moments where I seriously considered putting down the book. I wasn't a fan of the ending either. I ended up settling on a 3 star rating for this one, but I am looking forward to reading more from Zentner because the writing style was truly beautiful. It's definitely a book filled with quotable passages. Here are some of my favorites.

I loved this book! I don't know how a man could write such an insightful book about teen girl friendships, but it looks like he did. I had some concerns about the idea that you can just sho old movies on public access tv. That's not how it works. My favorite parts were the conversations between the two girls that basically consists of them riffing off each other. I laughed hysterically.

Rayne & Delilah's Midnite Matinee
by Jeff Zentner
Read an Excerpt
Random House Children's
You Are Auto-Approved
Crown Books for Young Readers
Teens & YA
Pub Date 26 Feb 2019 | Archive Date 01 Feb 2021

A testament to the power of love and great friendships!
I really enjoyed this book written for the Young Reader audience. I like to read what our teens ask for.
Thanks to Net Galley and Random House Children's for this great book!
5 stars.

But this was, in the end, a very meh read.

This plotline has been done (many, many times) before, and it’s been done better. It depends on the reader caring not just about both characters, but their friendship, and that just...didn’t happen for me. I didn’t click with any part of this.

Meh. That's the only thought I had upon finishing it. This was a weird manic pixie dream girl story that I had trouble getting behind.

After reading Rayne & Delilah's Midnight Matinee, it's safe to say Jeff Zentner is still my favorite contemporary author. Despite not really being able to relate to the subject matter of the book, I still enjoyed it. The two main characters are into the world of entertainment, an area I really have no interest in. The most refreshing aspect of this book was Zentner's portrayal of mental illness, which includes a positive portrayal of anti-depressants. This book will definitely appeal to a creative teenage crowd.

While the premise of this book sounded really intriguing, I thought it jumped the shark and got overly silly in the second half. It really didn't have many of the same qualities that I loved about Zentner's other books, and I found the main characters to both be bad friends to one another.