"Between the Lines" by Jodi Picoult and Samantha Van Leer

Though I haven't read many of her books, I would still call myself a Jodi Picoult fan.  So when I saw Between the Lines accompanied by a Young Adult sticker, I was instantly hooked.  At first I didn't realize that she had co-written this book with her daughter, Samantha Van Leer.  So even though it wasn't what I was expecting- I loved it!

Since I didn't do my research, I was expecting a typical Picoult novel- not at all what I got.  Instead it's clear that they took Van Leer's idea and ran with it.  And what a great idea it was!  Between the Lines  tells the story of Oliver and Delilah.  Delilah lives in our world.  She's obsessed with books and reading and though she isn't the most popular girl in the school, she's a very normal teenager.  Oliver lives in the fictional world.  He is the main character of the story-within-the-story (also called  Between the Lines) and must play out the same story line again and again every time the book is opened.   Naturally, Delilah is the first to discover that the characters of her favorite fairy tale are actually alive and she finds herself trying to grant Oliver's wish of escaping the pages that hold him prisoner.   

I loved the design of this book.  The illustrations are beautiful and I loved that the alternating chapters have different colored fonts.  It was nice to see that as much care went into the actual printing of the book as went into it's writing.  I wouldn't recommend this book if you are reading it for the same reason I did.  Just because Picoult's name is on the cover, don't expect what you would normally get out of one of her novels.  This book doesn't contain an unexpected twist at the end or anything like that.  But it is a wonderfully sweet story that I enjoyed immensely and one that I think YA readers will enjoy too.



Happy Reading!
-Melly