Between the Lines [Hardcover]

Jodi Picoult (Author), Samantha van Leer (Author)

Book Description

Release date: June 26, 2012

New York Times bestselling author Jodi Picoult and her teenage daughter present their first-ever novel for teens, filled with romance, adventure, and humor.

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.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Gr 7-10-Fifteen-year-old Delilah likes nothing better than to escape into a book when high school life gets too depressing. But after the hero of her favorite fairy tale comes to life before her eyes, she starts to wonder if she's been spending too much time with books and not enough time with real people. Oliver, a 16-year-old prince, feels trapped in his story, reliving the same scenes over and over. He longs to leave his book, and he is attracted to Delilah, the reader he sees most often hovering above the pages. Delilah and Oliver may be from two different worlds, but they have an emotional connection. Will it be strong enough to bridge the gap that separates fantasy and reality? Written in collaboration with her teenage daughter, this light novel is a departure from Picoult's usual milieu. The story shifts between Delilah's and Oliver's perspectives and is interspersed with sections from the fairy tale in which Oliver is trapped. Full-color and black-and-white illustrations decorate some pages. While the writing style is polished and the pacing is good, the characters lack depth and the ending falls flat. On the whole, this book is a fluffy, fun read for younger teens, but one that lacks emotional punch.-Misti Tidman, Boyd County Public Library, Ashland, KYα(c) Copyright 2011. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Review

"A compulsively readable charmer. The teen dialogue and interior monologues feel authentic, while Picoult’s practiced hand balances humor with larger issues such as abandonment, hope, and existential quandaries related to fate and human nature. Both silhouette and pencil drawings abound; characters climb in and around the text to excellent effect. Younger readers and their parents will appreciate the gentle, wholesome romance, with nary a shred of paranormal action. The tender, positive tone and effective pacing that builds to a satisfying finish will inspire readers to pass the book to a friend—or reread it themselves." --Booklist

"A clever YA romance about the magical relationship between a loner and her fictional “Prince Charming.” Elements from Picoult’s other novels—alternating character viewpoints with distinguishing fonts, snappy chapter endings—are present, and the story is peppered with pop culture references to The Hunger Games, the Kindle Fire, and the X-Men, as well as comic relief in the form of characters like a talking horse that thinks it has a weight problem. Readers...will be swept up by the romantic premise." --Publishers Weekly

"Picoult and her coauthor daughter deliver an enjoyable, metafictive twist on the traditional teen-romance novel.... Book lovers in particular are likely to get a kick out of the blurring of the lines between character and reader, fact and fiction.... Fizzy fairy-tale fun." --Kirkus Reviews

"Picoult and her daughter, Van Leer, have created a multilayered universe where what is real is in the eye of the beholder." --VOYA

"Engagingly written...a fun romp that fans of both fairy tales and teen romance will enjoy." --Shelf Awareness for Readers

“Between the Lines” is a romance between a girl and a boy, but even more, it’s a love letter to the visceral bond between a reader and a musty, beloved book.... The fictional “Between the Lines” is funny and unexpected...and it’s fascinating to watch the authors address the problem of what it would be like to live not just in a story, but in a physical book..."  --The Washington Post

"An exceedingly clever concept that would be challenging to pull off, if not for the deep understanding of character, plot and pacing provided by Picoult... Conceptually, "Between the Lines" is reminiscent of the "Toy Story" movies... An exploration of the nature of escapism that asks whether reality is any more real than make-believe, "Between the Lines" will delight readers of all ages whose imaginations willfully blur that distinction."

--Los Angeles Times

Copyright © 2012, Los Angeles Times

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Age Range: 12 and up
  
• Hardcover: 368 pages
• Publisher: EMILY BESTLER BOOKS/ATRIA/SIMON PULSE; First Edition edition (June 26, 2012)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1451635753
• ISBN-13: 978-1451635751
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (217 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #7,838 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

40 of 46 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Promising Picoult YA Debut June 26, 2012

By Amanda TOP 500 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover

As I long-time fan of Jodi Picoult, I've been watching her career very closely. It's been interesting to watch her change over time, to see her plots evolve and her create a unique formula all her own (something of a female-focused legal plot packed with deep family conflicts and laced with commentary on modern issues and literary elements) and then watch her deviate from that. I was particularly intrigued when Picoult announced that she was working on a YA/MG novel with her daughter. I wasn't sure what to think -could it be really good, or would Picoult be able to translate into the YA world?

Between the Lines is a unique take on the concept of happily ever after. In this world, fairy tales are more than what they seem. Young Delilah is something of a loner, who would rather stick her nose in a book than in anyone else's business. One day she comes across a strange book called Between the Lines, a seemingly stereotypical fairy tale that holds a strange secret of its own. The characters are real people, and when prince charming himself starts speaking to Delilah, she finds that's he's anything but the traditional fairy tale prince. He yearns for more -he yearns for freedom and real love. And it's up to Delilah to free him.

Picoult and Van Leer offer a unique and more in-depth dissection of the traditional fairy tale than anything else I've ever read. The struggles here felt real, honest and most importantly -not easy (like they would be in a traditional fairy tale). I also enjoyed how Picoult wove her trademark multi-character viewpoint style into Between the Lines. Not only do we jump between various characters, we are even treated to actual excerpts from the fairy tale book in the story, and it offers interesting insight into the characters and weaves incredibly well into the overarching plot.

As expected from Picoult, Between the Lines is well-written and solidly plotted, but something about the writing just seemed...simpler here than anything else I've ever read by her. The writing wasn't as complex, the characters weren't as multi-faceted, the plot was a little more linear and not so twisty -perhaps this is just the result of moving in the YA genre, but it was a little jarring for a long-time Picoult reader. Regardless, it worked well for the subject matter.

Between the Lines is a unique and unexpected entry into the YA genre, and a solid debut for Picoult. Not at all disappointing for long-time Picoult fans, but definitely for teens.

24 of 30 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars A fairly decent read, but not extraordinary July 21, 2012

By HD

Format:Hardcover

When I first saw this book pop up for pre-order in the Nook book store, I practically jumped up and down. A young adult novel by the woman who wrote Plain Truth, My Sister's Keeper, and Keeping Faith?! Hell yeah I want to read that! My name was on that pre-order list so fast I'm sure I had to be one of the first.

But this has to be said - for Picoult fans - this is absolutely not the insightful, deep story telling that you can normally expect from Jodi. In fact, nothing at all in this story would remind you even a little bit of Ms. Picoult's writing. It pains me to say it, but I fear that her name was put on the cover so prominently so as to help her daughter's novel push through to the shelves easier.

But I wasn't done yet - I decided that even though it wasn't truly a Picoult novel, I would still give it a fair shot.

I'd give this one a weak 3 stars. Don't get me wrong, I adore young adult novels, and can get caught up in an angst ridden relationship just as easily as the next girl, but Delilah and Oliver's relationship just doesn't ring authentic at all in this story. After only a few short conversations that consist mainly of Oliver watching Delilah read the book - he declares himself completely and utterly in love with her and ready to be wed. And Delilah's fall for him seems just as compulsory and shallow. It seems she only falls in love with Oliver because they both grew up without a father. But even then, Oliver reveals that it was just how he was 'written' in the book, not truly his childhood that she had been relating to. The narrative alternates between Oliver, Delilah, and randomly - the fairy tale itself. I admit, about halfway through, I just starting skipping the parts that were supposed to be part of the fairy tale as they seemed to serve no actual purpose. It'd be one thing if they were being used as a device to let the reader get to know Oliver better - but Oliver spends the entire book complaining about how his 'character' in the fairy tale has absolutely nothing to do with the real him.

I was really bummed that this story didn't pull me in as I had hoped, because the concept actually did seem incredibly interesting. It's that sort of story that could have been so amazing, but it read a little too forced and a lot too skin-deep and predictable.

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Jodi Picoult in a whole new light!! Loved it!! June 26, 2012

By Laura (The Reading Nook

Format:Hardcover

I've always loved reading Jodi Picoult books, I've only read 3-4 of her adult novels but all of them captivated me in a way thats hard to compare too. Her books always tug at your heartstrings, make you question your feelings regarding certain issues, and really make you think, which good novels should make you do (in my opinon). When I heard she was coming out with her first YA novel paired with her daughter I knew right away I wanted to read it.

This book is unlike any of her other novels, in fact I honestly couldn't tell from the writing style that it was even Jodi Picoult, and if I didn't know who wrote the book, I never in a million years would have guessed that she was the author. That being said, the writing was PHENOMENAL, just not typical Picoult that's all. This was a modern day fairy tale. It flipped between the fairy tale, a character in the fairy tale; Oliver, and The girl reading the book; Delilah. I liked how it flipped between the three different perspectives, and the illustrations in the book (althought I read the ARC and the artwork was not final) was stunning. I loved the illustrations that clung to the words in the beginning of the book, I felt it added to the book in a way that was unique and fun.

This book was magical, fun, and I think any book lover will truly enjoy the concept of this book, we all know we've "fallen" for a fictional character before and maybe not to this extreme but its fun to imagine the possibilites of having a magical book that truly comes to life when you open the pages. I truly hope that Jodi Picoult partners on more YA books with her daughter because it certainly was a magical duo.