Between The Lines

Between The Lines

by Jodi Picoult and Samantha Van Leer

Synopsis:

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.

My thoughts:

After reading the summary of this book I felt I just had to read it.  It was a book about a book!  The premise of this book reminded me of being little and thinking that toys come to live when you leave the room. To me this book was a more grown up version of that toy idea. It was a good book and I really liked it but Between The Lines is without a doubt at it's heart a fairy tale.  This story is about princes, love, dragons, friends and overcoming impossible odds to get your happily-ever-after.  Delilah is a loner, socially awkward, and prefers losing herself in a good book.  This takes on a whole new meaning when one of the characters - the charming Prince Oliver -  from her beloved children's book starts talking to her! Suddenly Delilah has someone who she can really talk to and Oliver might have a way out of his story. This book is told from three different perspectives.  We have Delilah,  we have Oliver and then we also have Oliver's fairy tale which I think makes this book rather unique.  I liked getting to know Delilah and Oliver separately.  Delilah is in the 'real world' and dealing with everyday teen issues.  Oliver, however, has only ever know his book world and I found it fascinating to see how all the characters are so very different and have their own personalities. They aren't just what the author wrote them to be; they have their own hopes and fears.  I loved this book but that is probably because I loved fairy tales growing up.  This book is a nice light read and I would recommend it to anyone who still has that little kid in them that wants that warm glow that you get when you hear about a happily-ever-after.