Between the Lines
by Jodi Picoult & Samantha van Leer
by Jodi Picoult & Samantha van Leer
OK. Where do I start with this one? Hmmm.
I was really hoping for a lot with this book, but it ended up being a hit and miss for me.
The premise was very intriguing, and the fact that Jodi Picoult's name was on the book definitely drew me in. But the writing let me down. The characters were alright, but the MC's - Delilah and Oliver - their relationship seemed 0% authentic, and there was little foundation or development formed in their romance so I found their love hard to believe.
Anyway let's go back to the start - the premise. Imagine your book crush, one day, suddenly STARTS SPEAKING TO YOU FROM THE PAGES OF THE BOOK. Pretty freaking awesome, no? Yep. Well it happens to 15 year old Delilah. Her book crush is a 16 year old royal prince from a fairy tale book Delilah is obsessed with. I love this whole idea. Well done Samantha Van Leer for thinking of it. It was interesting to see Delilah & Oliver working together to try and get Oliver out of his book and into the real world. I didn't have any issues with the science or logic behind it (I'm pretty good at suspending my sense of disbelief). The only issue I had was with the execution of the story. I almost put the book down for good about two thirds of the way through, but I pressed on, and fortunately it got interesting again near the end.
This book is Young Adult, apparently, but the main character isn't even 16 - she's not even an adult yet! Between the Lines reads more like a tween-y Middle Grade novel. The writing itself is quite juvenile, despite having Picoult's name attached to it (I honestly feel like Samantha did most of the writing, and Jodi helped her out with a few pointers here & there). I've read a Jodi Picoult book before, and let me just say, the level of Jodi Picoult's writing skill is not even close to being demonstrated in this book with her daughter.
We get to read the actual fairy tale in this book - chapters alternate between Delilah's POV, Oliver's POV and then the fairy tale excerpts. The book within this book is simply not well-written, in my opinion. It's a shame because it hindered me from believing this was an actual fairy tale book that was published. The writing was just so simple and lacking that magical air that a fairy tale should have. Kinda like Between the Lines as a whole.
I *maybe* would have enjoyed this novel better if I were Delilah's age, but honestly, it's hard to imagine. I really struggled to relate with Delilah and immerse myself in her story (I related to Seraphima more strongly, which really says a lot!). I think it's safe to say I won't be picking up Off the Page.
I'm rating this book a generous 3 stars because of the idea behind the story and the fact that it kept me interested enough to see it through to the end.
I was really hoping for a lot with this book, but it ended up being a hit and miss for me.
The premise was very intriguing, and the fact that Jodi Picoult's name was on the book definitely drew me in. But the writing let me down. The characters were alright, but the MC's - Delilah and Oliver - their relationship seemed 0% authentic, and there was little foundation or development formed in their romance so I found their love hard to believe.
Anyway let's go back to the start - the premise. Imagine your book crush, one day, suddenly STARTS SPEAKING TO YOU FROM THE PAGES OF THE BOOK. Pretty freaking awesome, no? Yep. Well it happens to 15 year old Delilah. Her book crush is a 16 year old royal prince from a fairy tale book Delilah is obsessed with. I love this whole idea. Well done Samantha Van Leer for thinking of it. It was interesting to see Delilah & Oliver working together to try and get Oliver out of his book and into the real world. I didn't have any issues with the science or logic behind it (I'm pretty good at suspending my sense of disbelief). The only issue I had was with the execution of the story. I almost put the book down for good about two thirds of the way through, but I pressed on, and fortunately it got interesting again near the end.
This book is Young Adult, apparently, but the main character isn't even 16 - she's not even an adult yet! Between the Lines reads more like a tween-y Middle Grade novel. The writing itself is quite juvenile, despite having Picoult's name attached to it (I honestly feel like Samantha did most of the writing, and Jodi helped her out with a few pointers here & there). I've read a Jodi Picoult book before, and let me just say, the level of Jodi Picoult's writing skill is not even close to being demonstrated in this book with her daughter.
We get to read the actual fairy tale in this book - chapters alternate between Delilah's POV, Oliver's POV and then the fairy tale excerpts. The book within this book is simply not well-written, in my opinion. It's a shame because it hindered me from believing this was an actual fairy tale book that was published. The writing was just so simple and lacking that magical air that a fairy tale should have. Kinda like Between the Lines as a whole.
I *maybe* would have enjoyed this novel better if I were Delilah's age, but honestly, it's hard to imagine. I really struggled to relate with Delilah and immerse myself in her story (I related to Seraphima more strongly, which really says a lot!). I think it's safe to say I won't be picking up Off the Page.
I'm rating this book a generous 3 stars because of the idea behind the story and the fact that it kept me interested enough to see it through to the end.
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