Title: Between The Lines
Author: Jodi Picoult and Samantha Van Leer
Release Date: June 26, 2012
Source: library

What happens when happily ever after… isn’t?

Delilah is a bit of a loner who prefers spending her time in the school library with her head in a book—one book in particular. Between the Lines may be a fairy tale, but it feels real. Prince Oliver is brave, adventurous, and loving. He really speaks to Delilah.

And then one day Oliver actually speaks to her. Turns out, Oliver is more than a one-dimensional storybook prince. He’s a restless teen who feels trapped by his literary existence and hates that his entire life is predetermined. He’s sure there’s more for him out there in the real world, and Delilah might just be his key to freedom.

Delilah and Oliver work together to attempt to get Oliver out of his book, a challenging task that forces them to examine their perceptions of fate, the world, and their places in it. And as their attraction to each other grows along the way, a romance blossoms that is anything but a fairy tale.

Nancy’s Review:

Between The Lines was a book unlike any other that I have read before. I wasn’t sure if it would have been too childish from me. I’m glad to say that, even though it seemed to be for a younger audience, I found myself completely engrossed in the story. I loved it! I loved everything about it.

First of all, the drawings in the book really made the story come alive for me. I don’t think it would have been quite the same experience without those fantastic illustrations. They gave me a clearer picture of who the characters were and what it was like in the story that Oliver was a part of. Of course, I’m sure that even without the pictures I still would have liked the characters. Delilah, the main character, was great! I really liked her as the protagonist. I felt that she was true to what someone her age would have been like, someone shy and withdrawn. There was no one else who would have handled the Oliver thing as great as she did.

I had my doubts regarding whether the “character speaking through the book” would actually work and keep the story interesting. I think that the authors did a great job with this, as I would have never thought to do it like they did. I found that it was believable and I could actually imagine what the experience of Oliver talking to her must have been like for Delilah. Overall, the book worked for me. Everything about it was fun to read. I’m surprised that Jodi Picoult and her daughter, Samantha, actually wrote a pretty good book. Good job ladies.