Between the Lines by Jodi Picoult and Samantha Van Leer

Title: Between the Lines
Author: Jodi Picoult and Samantha Van Leer
Pages: 353
Genre: Fantasy, Contemporary, Romance, Young Adult
Book Description:
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.
A romantic and charming story, this companion novel to Off the Page will make every reader believe in the fantastical power of fairy tales.

Get it here | Good reads

My Opinion:
Jodi Picoult has always been one of my favourite authors; her books always have so intriguing plot lines and fantastic twists, especially near the end, so when I found out she was writing a novel with her daughter, I was very excited to read it. This is a young adult novel in which a fairy tale character comes to life, taking Delilah on imaginative adventures!

The characters in this book were really well created. Delilah is a very relatable teenager and, if I had read this when I was younger, I would have found a lot in common with her (especially her love for books!) Similarly, Oliver was a fantastic character who clearly represented the thought process of teenage boys! I don't want to give any spoilers however there is another character we meet towards the end who I found to be rather humorous. Although they're all fantastic individually, when you put them together in a narrative, their actions can be foreseen easily, which is a shame.

Because I've read many of Picoult's books before, I had very high hopes for this one. In spite of this, I found the story line to be quite predictable since it followed the plot of a classic fairy tale at times. There was an inevitable romance and journey of self discovery which seemed too common, in my opinion.
As always, there is that unexpected twist at the end of her books, which (to my surprise from the previous reading) did surprise me. It wasn't predictable like the rest of the story had been and, for me, it was the best part of the plot line.

Overall I didn't find this to be as good as some of her other novels. Despite the great ending, it did involve predictable romances and flawed characters. This isn't something I would read again however, if you enjoy romance and young adult fiction, this does cover those bases well.


Favourite Quotes:

I’d much rather pretend I’m somewhere else, and any time I open the pages of a book, that happens

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The act of reading is a partnership. The author builds a house, but the reader makes it a home

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Sometimes the key to happiness is just expecting a little bit less

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Here's what no one ever tells you about love: it hurts, having your heart broken

Rating ★★★

3 out of 5 stars 

 Next book I'm going to review:
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee