Monday, November 12, 2012

Between the Lines by Jodi Picoult & Samantha Van Leer

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. (from Goodreads)

Flo's Review

So this is a book I picked up on a whim while perusing the YA section at my library. I just thought the concept was unique and fun. And that's basically what the book turned out to be. A light, fun read that I looked forward to picking up again and again. It took a fantasy situation and made it very realistic. Like, of course your Mom is going to send you to a shrink if she thinks you are talking to yourself and over obsessed with a book. And I admire Jules, Delilah's BFF, because when Delilah told Jules her tale and asked her if she believed what was happening Jules said, "No, but you do." And that was enough. 

The story rotated between three points of view -- Delilah's, Oliver's, and the fairy tale. I thought it was nicely played to intersperse the fairy tale throughout the story, instead of perhaps putting it all up front or not including it at all. My favorite parts of the story were Oliver's, because I really enjoyed learning about the fairy tale characters real personalities when they were not acting out the story. Throughout the book there are different images and illustrations which help give the story a fairy tale feel. Good touch. I'm not sure I love the ending, but the story was good enough that it doesn't marr my overall reaction to the book. I am also kind of in awe that Jodi and Samantha sat down and wrote this whole thing together. Dang.

Quick Summary: This is a cute, fun read if you're looking for one. 

No comments :

Post a Comment